[SatNews]  The ASTRA 2G satellite for SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) is ready for its scheduled launch on board an ILS Proton booster from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on December 28 at 03:37:49 Baikonur Time (December 27 at 22:37:49 CET and 16:37:49 EST).

Designed and manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space, ASTRA 2G is based on the highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform. The satellite will have a launch mass of 6 tons, a wingspan of 40m, once its solar arrays are deployed in orbit, and a spacecraft power of 13kW until the end of its 15 year design life.

ASTRA 2G will be deployed in geostationary orbit at the 28.2/28.5 degrees East neighborhood to provide next generation broadcast and broadband services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The spacecraft carries 62 Ku-band transponders and 4 Ka-band transponders. ASTRA 2G will be the 24th SES satellite to be launched by ILS Proton, and the ninth Eurostar satellite in the SES fleet. Three more E3000s are currently in production for SES. The Proton booster itself will mark its 401st launch with ASTRA 2G.

A live broadcast of the launch in high definition quality will be available via Astra at the orbital position of 19.2 degrees East, channel 1.037, downlink frequency 11023.25 MHz, horizontal polarization, Symbol rate 22.0 MSym/s, FEC 5/6, service ID 5221, service name ASTRA 2G Launch.

A webcast will also be available via http://astra2g.imgondemand.com/. The video transmission of the launch of ASTRA 2G will begin approximately 30 minutes before liftoff.

The SES infosite may be accessed at http://www.ses.com/