The SES-4 satellite will be launched into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on board an ILS Proton Breeze M rocket at 00.41 am local time on December 27, 2011 (December 26, 2011 at 19.41 CET).

SES-4 is a 20-kilowatt satellite with 52 C-band and 72 Ku-band transponders. It has C-band beams serving the eastern hemisphere of Europe and Africa, full coverage of the Americas, and a global beam to support mobile and maritime customers.

Four high-power, regional Ku-band beams will provide service to Europe, the Middle East, West Africa as well as North and South America with extensive channel switching capability between C- and Ku-band transponders for enhanced connectivity.

The new satellite is based on the flight-proven Space Systems/Loral 1300 platform and designed to deliver services for 15 years or more. SES-4 will be the 50th satellite in the global SES fleet and will also be the largest, most powerful SES satellite. It will replace the NSS-7 satellite at 338 degrees East longitude and provide incremental capacity at this orbital slot.

In Europe the video broadcast of the launch via Astra satellite is available on the orbital position 23.5° East, on 12168.00 MHz/V.