SpaceX launches Badr-8 to bolster Arabsat’s satellite fleet

TAMPA, Fla. — SpaceX launched the Badr-8 TV broadcast and telecoms satellite May 27 for Saudi Arabia-based fleet operator Arabsat, equipped with a jamming-resistant optical communications payload demonstrator.

The 4,500-kilogram satellite lifted off at 12:30 a.m. Eastern on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, and separated from the rocket in geosynchronous transfer orbit about 37 minutes later.

The rocket’s reusable first stage used a drone ship to make its 14th landing following the mission, delayed from May 24 due to poor weather conditions.

Airbus Defence and Space, which built Badr-8 based on its Eurostar Neo platform, declared the launch successful several hours later.

It might take several more months for the 17-kilowatt satellite to make use of all-electric propulsion to succeed in its 26 degrees east orbital slot, where it will replace Arabsat’s 15-year-old Badr-6 satellite.

Operating at the tip of its 15-year-design life, Badr-6 showed its age in February after a thruster issue led to a short lived outage.

Badr-8 is designed to interchange and expand Arabsat’s C-band and Ku-band capability across Europe, Middle East, Africa, and central Asia over its 15-year design life.

The satellite also carries an experimental photonics feeder link called Teleo, which Airbus developed with support from France’s space agency. 

In line with Airbus, Teleo is designed to offer space to ground optical communications at gigabit speeds. 

Optical communications are more robust against signal jamming compared with conventional radio frequency technology, Airbus said, and the demonstrator is about to play a critical role in expanding the manufacturer’s capabilities on this area.

Arabsat’s fleet comprises 10 satellites across 4 orbital positions. 

The corporate announced its latest satellite order last 12 months, picking Airbus’ European rival Thales Alenia Space to construct Arabsat 7A to interchange Arabsat 5A, which launched in 2010 with 15 years of expected operational life.