All change from AMC-9
July 6, 2017
By Chris Forrester
The loss of SES-owned AMC-9 on June 17th because of its on-board problems at 83 degrees West, and even reports of the satellite’s breaking up, has meant major changes for SES’ clients. AMC-9’s transmission payload is inert so there is no danger of interference to other satellites in its path.
According to a detailed report from Satellite Transponder Guide, SES has moved AMC-6 as a substitute forsome AMC-9 capacity and recently arrived at 83 degrees West. SES has also made use of AMC-4, despite it being en-route to a mid-Pacific (134.9 W) orbital slot for a mission to supply capacity for in-flight connectivity specialists Gogo. AMC-4 will be a temporary home for data traffic and operate at 83 degrees West for the time being.
Other non-SES satellites are being used as gap-fillers, although the bulk of AMC-9’s lost capacity has now been relocated to satellites including AMC-15, SES-2 and SES-1.