Satellite operator SES, already extremely busy in the In-Flight Entertainment space, has ordered a new High Throughput Satellite from Thales Alena to increase further  its services to the airline industry.
SES says it has also secured a long-term ‘anchor’ client in what will be a joint venture with Thales. The satellite, SES-17, will primarily serve airline passengers over the Americas, the Caribbean, Central America and the Atlantic Ocean. It is scheduled for launch in 2020.
The ‘anchor’ tenant is Thales and its FlytLIVE service, a new and next-generation connectivity solution for airlines, with full Internet services, including video streaming, games, social media and live television to passengers travelling over North America, South America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean. Thales will launch FlytLIVE in 2017, operating it prior to the launch of SES-17 in 2020 on two existing Ka-band multi-beam satellites from SES.
SES-17 will be an all-electric version of Thales Alenia Space’s Spacebus NEO platform, SES-17 will weigh more than six metric tons at launch and will offer payload power in excess of 15 kW, with a design life of 15 years. Its highly flexible payload, with close to 200 spot beams of different sizes,

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