New TV satellite Astra 1P was successfully launched last night. The satellite will serve 119 million TV households across Europe, securing the future of some satellite TV services until the end of the next decade.
- Astra 1P launched aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday evening (US time).
- Secures future of satellite orbital position that’s been in use since 1988.
- But launch highlights lack of succession for satellites that carry Sky UK/ROI and Freesat channels.
Satellite operator SES is celebrating the successful launch of its newest TV satellite, which will serve audiences across Europe.
Astra 1P is one of two new satellites that will replace aging existing satellites at 19.2°E, meaning TV services can continue to broadcast from that orbital position until the end of the next decade.
The satellite will be the most powerful wide-beam satellite to ever orbit at 19.2° East. SES promises it will “ensure superior reliability while delivering unparalleled image quality for broadcasters and content owners across some of SES’s largest TV markets in Germany, Spain and France.” It will carry 80 transponders – more than any other SES direct-to-home broadcast satellite ever launched.
After a delay earlier in the week, Astra 1P was successfully launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, United States, on 20 June at 5:35 pm local time [10:35pm UK]. It is due to go into service by early 2025. By 2028, Astra 1P is due to be joined by a second new satellite – Astra 1Q. 1Q is currently scheduled to launch in 2026 but could temporarily be deployed elsewhere.
Astra 1 satellites brought mass-market satellite TV to the UK
Satellite TV started at 19.2° East with Astra 1A in 1988. The satellite was later joined by 1B, 1C and 1D and was the home of Sky UK’s original analogue satellite service. UK services left 19.2° East in stages between 1998 and 2001, moving to digital transmission via Astra 2A-C at 28.2° East.
New Astra 1 satellites were launched as Europe switched from analogue to digital satellite TV and old satellites reached end-of-life.
The newest of those existing satellites – Astra 1N, there is no Astra 1O – is already 13 years old. Broadcast satellites typically have a life span of 15 years, but the oldest satellite at 19.2° East is nearly 20 years old.
Successors for Euro satellite TV, but what about the UK and Ireland?
But while Astra 1P will be joined by Astra 1Q by 2028 to serve continental viewers, there’s no plan currently in place for successors to the current fleet of Astra 2 satellites. These are due to reach end of life by the end of the decade.
While no broadcaster has publicly gone on record to confirm the end of the UK-specific satellite TV, Sky UK/ROI is already starting to cut satellite installer roles and is pushing its IP-delivered TV service. The BBC, noting Sky’s online shift, has called for an agreed plan involving Sky and other broadcasters to organise the anticipated end of satellite broadcasting.
Astra 1P and 1Q were first ordered back in 2021, with 1Q only due to be in service by 2028, giving an idea on the timescales involved for replacing existing satellites. The two satellites will replace the four currently in orbit, indicating that fewer satellites will be needed in the future as more services move online and HD/SD simulcasting ends.
New features
While Astra 1P is a classic wide-beam satellite with coverage across Europe (including the UK with an appropriately installed dish) and parts of North Africa, Astra 1Q will be a new style satellite that can be used for more than just traditional wide-beam satellite TV services.
Astra 1Q will contain both wide beams to cover for Astra 1P, but it will be customisable in orbit, with high-throughput spotbeams allowing for TV services to focus broadcasts on specific parts of Europe only.
The simulated image at the top of the article above shows Astra 1P (left) with the very different looking Astra 1Q to the right.
Thanks to the customisable spotbeams, Astra 1Q will also be easily deployable to other orbital positions. So it could – for example – act as stopgap if one of the current Astra 2 satellites fails early and before final decisions are made over UK/Ireland satellite TV.
Eutelsat also secures future of satellite TV
Meanwhile, rival satellite operator Eutelsat recently launched replacements for its Hot Bird satellites at 13° East. Two satellites now replace the three birds that previously provided TV and radio services across Europe, Middle East and North Africa. The new Hot Bird 13F and 13G secure satellite TV services until the mid 2030s.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: SES