LUXEMBOURG -- SES announced that ASTRA 1P, the company's most advanced satellite positioned at 19.2 degrees East, has completed comprehensive testing and is now fully operational.

Following its successful in-orbit raising and performance testing, ASTRA 1P will now start serving public and private broadcasters, sports organisations and content owners, achieving another milestone in SES’s commitment to delivering high-quality broadcast services to the widest audience possible.

ASTRA 1P is SES’s most powerful wide-beam satellite to broadcast from the 19.2 degrees East TV neighbourhood. Equipped with 80 transponders, ASTRA 1P can support hundreds of HD TV channels, ensuring the delivery of superior image quality to viewers across key European TV markets.

“With ASTRA 1P now fully operational, we are setting a new standard for satellite broadcasting in Europe,” said Milton Torres, CTO of SES. “This new offering will enhance our ability to deliver premium content with superior reliability and image quality to 118 million TV households. This includes sports and events content, where we are seeing growing demand from viewers, as well as sports leagues, teams, federations and rights holders.”

Built by Thales Alenia Space, ASTRA 1P was successfully launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket on 20 June 2024 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.