SES Astra
 |
|
| Privately owned subsidiary | |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Fate | Subsumed by parent |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Defunct | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Betzdorf, Luxembourg |
| Products | Satellite Services |
| Revenue | US€950 million (2010) |
| US€536. million (2010) | |
|
Number of employees
|
292 (2010) |
| Parent | SES |
| Subsidiaries |
SES ASTRA TechCom ASTRA Platform Services ASTRA Broadband Services |
| Website | SES ASTRA |
SES Astra SA was a corporate subsidiary of SES, based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg, that maintained and operated the Astra series of geostationary communication satellites between 2001 and 2011.
Formed in 1985 as Société Européenne des Satellites (SES), it was Europe's first private satellite operator. In November 2001, upon the purchase of GE Americom from General Electric (renamed to SES Americom), SES Global was formed as the parent company to SES Americom and SES Astra. SES Astra was formed at that time as a subsidiary company to contain all of SES's existing European based satellite operations.
In September 2011, SES Astra and sister subsidiary SES World Skies (formed from SES Americom and SES New Skies) were merged back into SES S.A. to streamline operations under a single management system. Subsidiaries of SES Astra, such as HD Plus and ASTRA Broadband Services became direct subsidiaries of SES. The brand name, Astra, representing the satellite family and the broadcasting system continues to be used and, although the corporate website (www.ses-astra.com) was closed when SES Astra was consolidated into the parent, the consumer site (www.OnAstra.com) remains in operation.
A book, High Above, telling the story of the creation and development of Astra, SES, and SES Astra, and the history of recent developments of the European TV and media industry, along with their context in the wider development of broadcasting and space technology, was published in April 2010 to mark the 25th Anniversary of SES.
At the end of 2011, Astra satellite broadcasts were received in over 135 million households in Europe and North Africa; 57.6 million households in Astra services via a direct-to-home dish. Another 67.8 million households received Astra services via a cable headend, and 9.8 million households received Astra services via an IPTV network. The satellite constellation was broadcasting 200 high definition TV channels. Sixteen million households watched high definition TV channels via Astra satellites.
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Wikipedia