With this, the system completes the six medium earth orbit satellites required to offer high-performance network services delivering high throughput, predictable low latency, flexibility and service availability.
13-satellite constellation planned
Last month, SES announced it will add to the constellation two more satellites built by Boeing, bringing the total number of O3b mPOWER satellites to 13. The additional investment is expected to be covered within SES's existing committed capex envelope.
The first four O3b mPOWER satellites launched in the last year have arrived at their target orbital position and are undergoing in-orbit checks, including a series of system validation tests encompassing both space and ground components.
Busy 2023
In 2023 alone, SES has rolled out and tested more than 160 O3b mPOWER terminals over the existing O3b constellation to serve a wide range of customers including cruise lines, telecoms and governments.
'With the fifth and sixth O3b mPOWER satellites launched and going operational in the next few months, we are gearing up to deliver the high-performance connectivity services our customers need. By building resiliency into the network, we are confident our customers will be able to depend on us to deliver the reliable and secure connectivity required to run their operations,' SES CEO Ruy Pinto said.
Q2 start for O3b mPOWER commercial service
O3b mPOWER commercial service is expected to begin during the second quarter of 2024.
SES recently teamed with Starlink to integrate its low earth orbit and SES’s medium earth orbit services for cruise lines in a joint offering, SES Cruise mPOWERED + Starlink, integrated, sold and delivered by SES.
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