A second pair of O3b mPower satellites for upgrading SES’ medium Earth orbit (MEO) broadband network is due to arrive at their SpaceX launchpad in Florida this week, Boeing announced April 11.
The satellites set off via truck last week from Boeing’s manufacturing facilities in El Segundo, California, Boeing Satellite Systems International president Ryan Reid said. He declined to provide specific timings because of security concerns.
The first two of 11 O3b mPower satellites Boeing is building for SES launched on a Falcon 9 in December.
Each O3b mPower satellite is designed to provide up to 10 gigabits of throughput, roughly 10 times more than the first-generation of 20 Thales Alenia Space-built O3b satellites SES currently operates in MEO.
SES only needs six O3b mPower satellites in equatorial MEO to provide initial global services from the next-generation network, which is based on Boeing’s BSS-702X satellite platform
The fifth and sixth O3b mPower satellites are currently in final integration and testing stages in California, according to Boeing, ahead of a SpaceX launch slated for before the end of June.
The latest deployment delay was announced during SES’ Feb. 27 financial results, when the operator said launches for the second and third pairs of O3b mPower satellites had slipped from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2023.
SpaceX is slated to launch a fourth pair of O3b mPower satellites before the end of this year. The final three satellites are due to be launched on a single Falcon 9 mission in 2024 to complete the constellation.
