Two more Boeing-built O3b mPOWER satellites are sending and receiving signals in space after launching from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida at 5:26 p.m. The satellites separated from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket about two hours after launch and will join the first six O3b mPOWER to further enhance SES’s ability to deliver high-speed, reliable connectivity to global users.
“These satellites are the most advanced commercial communications satellites we’ve built to-date,” said Michelle Parker, Boeing Space Mission Systems vice president. “It’s exciting to work with SES to get these satellites into service.”
The O3b mPOWER system, SES’s second-generation medium Earth orbit (MEO) constellation, is designed to transform industries with terabit-level capacity, roundtrip latency of less than 150 milliseconds, and unmatched service availability.
“O3b mPOWER is our most powerful, technically advanced, flexible satellite constellation in space,” said Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES. “As we increase the number of satellites in our constellation, we also exponentially increase the capacity and efficiency of our network. Ever since the start of service of O3b mPOWER earlier this year, we have seen how it has become an integral part of the connectivity experience of our customers. We have also learned a lot and have put all of those insights to work as we progress in our innovation journey to scale up our services and meet even the most sophisticated requirements of our customers.”
Boeing will oversee the satellites through in-orbit testing before a handover to SES in approximately four months.
“From concept to reality, designing and delivering this first-of-its-kind technology to SES has been remarkable,” said Parker.
Equipped with more than 5,000 digitally formed beams, each of the O3b mPOWER satellites are able to fulfill dynamic, high-density demand in the air, sea, or land, opening new use cases for SES users. Coupled with an extensive ground infrastructure, the software-driven system enables SES to address current and future connectivity needs for governments and enterprises across the globe.
