On its second Falcon 9 mission of the weekend, SpaceX will launch a pair of internet-providing satellites for Luxembourg-based company, SES. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is planned during an 89-minute window that opens at 4:08 p.m. EST (2108 UTC).
Based on the forty fifth Weather Squadron’s launch weather forecast, there may be a 70 percent probability of favorable weather at liftoff with cumulus clouds being the most important watch item. Should the launch slip to Monday, weather deteriorates to the purpose that there would only be 40 percent favorable weather.
Spaceflight Now can have live coverage with commentary of the O3b mPOWER 5&6 launch starting about an hour before liftoff.
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That is the third launch of the Boeing-built O3b mPower satellites for SES. O3b means “Other 3 billion,” in reference to the billions of individuals around the globe without access to consistent, reliable web service. The primary two O3b mPOWER satellites launched on Dec. 16, 2022, followed by the second pair on April 28, 2023. The satellites operate in a medium Earth orbit (MEO), roughly 8,000 kilometers above the Earth.
SES said in an its 12 months-to-Date (YTD) 2023 results statement that business service from the O3b mPOWER 5&6 satellites is anticipated in early second quarter of 2024, a delay from the tip of 2023.
O3b mPOWER headwinds
The launch of the third pair of satellites for the O3b mPOWER constellation comes at a difficult time for SES. Among the many first 4 satellites that launched, there have been “an increased variety of sporadic power module switch offs… including just a few non-recoverable events,” in line with the corporate.
Boeing and SES have been examining the foundation causes and mitigation possibilities for those satellites, which have already launched. As these investigations have been happening, the launch of the third pair of O3b mPOWER satellites was delayed multiple times throughout 2023.
“We have now identified the causes of the facility module issues with the initial 4 satellites in orbit and have now put in place a plan to handle those issues,” said Roy Pinto, the CEO of SES, in an announcement accompanying the YTD 2023 results filing.
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The O3b mPOWER satellites have greater than 4,000 beams per satellite which are adjustable to focus bandwidth for high-demand areas. That’s in comparison with the unique O3b satellites, built by Thales Alenia Space, which only had 10 beams per spacecraft.
“It has been determined that the anticipated operational life and available capability of the initial O3b mPOWER satellites will likely be significantly lower than previously expected,” SES said in its financial filing. “SES has secured firm commitments from Boeing and each firms are closely collaborating to deliver the total lifecycle capabilities of the constellation.”
A part of that commitment is that the remaining satellites under contract, numbers 7 through 11, will receive recent upgrades and two more satellites will likely be added to the constellation. That may bring the O3b mPOWER constellation as much as a complete of 13 satellites, in comparison with the 20 in the unique O3b constellation.
SES has not specified what the upgrades will seem like or how extensive they might be.
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Meeting financial incentive goals
Getting six of the O3b mPOWER satellites as much as MEO has been a priority for SES not only to start the service as quickly as possible, but additionally to receive a fiscal incentive from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Like other satellite web operators, like Intelsat and SpaceX, SES must vacate the C-band spectrum that was auctioned off to 5G wireless operators. The corporate had to satisfy a Dec. 5 deadline so as to receive a $3 billion payment.
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“I’m delighted to verify that we’ve now collected the total $3 billion (pre-tax) in accelerated relocation payments from Phase II U.S. C-band clearing,” Pinto said. “With the clearing accomplished ahead of schedule, we’ve fully delivered on the objectives of enabling accelerated deployment of 5G services within the U.S., protecting the critical broadcast services delivered by our customers, and realizing significant value creation for SES.”
SES said it has a contract backlog of €4.7 billion (about $5 billion), which incorporates a $830 million for SES-17 (launched Oct. 24, 2021) and O3b mPOWER combined.
The launch of the following pair of O3b mpOWER satellites is targeting the back half of 2024. Satellites 9, 10 and 11 are expected to launch in 2025 with 12 and 13 launching in 2026.