SES Americom retires Spacenet-4 After 15 years' service

[Analoguesat]

SES Americom has conducted its last operations on the Spacenet-4 (SN-4) satellite, safely de-orbiting the satellite more than 200 km beyond the geosynchronous orbital belt. Since late 2000, the satellite provided C-band intercontinental connectivity across the Pacific Ocean from 172 degrees East to customers delivering content between East Asia and the US west coast. In operation since 1991, SN-4 exceeded its expected service life by more than 50% due to efficient management of on-board fuel.

"Spacenet-4 was a valuable spacecraft in our fleet and provided consistent services to a great variety of customers while it operated over the US at 101 degrees West. During its 15 years of service, SN-4 supported broadcasters, cable programmers, government agencies, educational institutions, advanced aeronautical and maritime services, and private corporate networks delivering television, data, internet access and distance learning. It's a great reflection on the quality of the spacecraft, as well as the quality of the team that operated it, that we could depend on SN-4 for so long," said Dany Harel, SES Americom Vice President, Space Systems and Operations.