SES Space & Defense, headquartered in Virginia, continues to advance secure and mission-focused satellite connectivity solutions for US government and allied partners worldwide. Providing SES’s global fleet of more than 120 satellites and an integrated multi-orbit architecture, SES Space & Defense delivers resilient, agile and scalable SATCOM capabilities across Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO). By integrating capacity across multiple orbital regimes, the company enables government users to match mission requirements with the most appropriate orbit—balancing latency, throughput, coverage and resiliency for tactical and strategic operations.
Resilient & Agile SATCOM Across All Orbits
SES Space & Defense implements a true all-orbit strategy, combining GEO, MEO and LEO resources into unified, mission-tailored networks. This approach ensures coverage across 99 percent of the world’s population while providing redundancy and agility for defense, security and disaster response operations. Each orbital layer provides distinct operational advantages:
- LEO for ultra-low latency and rapid responsiveness
- MEO for predictable low-latency and high-throughput performance
- GEO for global reach and wide-area coverage
Through vendor-agnostic integration and multi-band capabilities, SES Space & Defense supports multi-domain operations including airborne, maritime, land mobile and fixed enterprise environments.
O3b mPOWER: High-Performance MEO Connectivity
At the core of SES’s MEO offering is O3b mPOWER, a second-generation MEO satellite system engineered to support high-demand government missions. Operating at approximately 8,000 km altitude, MEO provides an optimal balance between low latency and broad coverage reaching approximately 96% of the globe.
O3b mPOWER delivers:
- Multiple gigabits per second (Gbps) of committed information rates (CIR)
- Secure and uncontended bandwidth
- Predictable low latency
- Flexible and steerable beams
For defense agencies operating at the tactical edge including airborne, maritime and communications-on-the-move (COTM) environments O3b mPOWER enables real-time information exchange and mission-critical data delivery.
O3b mPOWER Sovereign Services support government-preferred waveforms and direct connectivity to government-owned gateways. The system’s open network architecture accommodates government-defined terminals and modems, ensuring interoperability and long-term flexibility. Certified user terminals available via lease or purchase to support both fixed and mobile applications, providing scalable deployment options aligned with operational needs.
MEO Global Services (mGS) Program
The Medium Earth Orbit Global Services (mGS) Program provides O3b mPOWER capacity to deliver resilient SATCOM capabilities to participating nations, including the United States and Luxembourg under NATO partnership agreements. The enterprise-level program enables shared access to MEO capacity through volume pricing and cost-sharing mechanisms, increasing affordability while maintaining high-performance connectivity for defense, security and disaster recovery missions.
Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Integration
SES Space & Defense integrates LEO services as part of its all-orbit strategy, becoming the first COMSATCOM operator to unify GEO, MEO and LEO solutions within a single managed framework. As an authorized reseller of major LEO providers, SES enhances network resiliency and redundancy for government customers. By incorporating LEO into its architecture, SES increases mission survivability and supports latency-sensitive operations requiring rapid response and persistent connectivity.
Geostationary (GEO) High Throughput Capabilities
SES’s GEO High Throughput Satellites (HTS) provide global coverage and robust Ku-band and Ka-band services through advanced spot-beam technology. When combined with O3b MEO capacity, SES delivers a multi-orbit, multi-band solution capable of intelligent load balancing and application-aware traffic routing.
GovSat-1: GovSat-1 operates in geostationary orbit at 21.5° East, providing coverage across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and significant maritime regions including the Mediterranean, Baltic, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Key capabilities include:
- High-power X-band and Military Ka-band frequencies
- Advanced global X-band beam coverage
- Fully steerable spot beams
- Anti-jamming features
- Encrypted telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C)
GovSat-1 supports Communications-on-the-Move (COTM), Communications-on-the-Pause (COTP), and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) applications.
Hosted Payload Solutions
SES Space & Defense offers end-to-end hosted payload solutions that provide a cost-effective and accelerated path to orbit. Government-dedicated payloads such as transponders, imaging sensors and environmental monitors can be hosted aboard commercial satellites, eliminating the need to develop standalone spacecraft. This model supports faster deployment timelines, mitigates budgetary constraints and allows agencies to test and operationalize new technologies efficiently.
LEO Relay Services
SES Space & Defense is implementing a multi-band, multi-orbit relay architecture combining global C-band coverage with high-throughput Ka-band relay via O3b mPOWER. This solution supports NASA and emerging commercial relay markets, enabling assured low-rate and high-capacity data relay capabilities. The integrated approach ensures low-latency, high-reliability data transfer for space missions and remote operations.
Satellite altitude directly influences latency, coverage and throughput, making orbital selection a critical factor in mission performance. SES Space & Defense provides the distinct advantages of each orbital regime to optimize connectivity solutions: Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) provides predictable low latency and high throughput; Low Earth Orbit (LEO) enhances responsiveness and network redundancy; and Geostationary Orbit (GEO) ensures continuous wide-area coverage. By integrating these layers into a unified multi-orbit architecture, SES delivers tailored satellite connectivity solutions aligned with the operational demands of government and defense users.
About SES Space & Defense
SES Space & Defense is a US-based provider of secure satellite communications and network services for government and defense customers. Headquartered in Virginia, USA, SES Space & Defense operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of SES, delivering mission-focused connectivity solutions providing SES’s global multi-orbit satellite fleet. The company provides resilient satellite communications services across Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), supporting secure voice, video and data connectivity for U.S. government agencies and allied partners. Through access to SES’s O3b MEO constellation and GEO satellites, SES Space & Defense enables low-latency, high-throughput communications designed to defense, intelligence and civilian government missions. SES Space & Defense integrates space segment capacity with managed network services, teleport infrastructure and secure ground systems to deliver end-to-end communication solutions. Its offerings support applications including tactical communications, disaster response, mobility connectivity, enterprise networking and mission-critical operations worldwide.
