SES's O3b mPOWER fully-funded communications system (see image) comprises 11 high-throughput and low-latency satellites built by Boeing, as well as an automated and intelligence-powered ground infrastructure. All are to be launched using Falcon 9 rockets at Cape Canaveral, with the next launch scheduled for 2021.
“O3b mPOWER is the cornerstone of our multi-orbit, cloud-enabled, high-performance network that will serve our enterprise, mobility and government customers into the next decade, and we are merely a year away from its first launch,” said Steve Collar, CEO of SES.
“We have a strong and long-standing partnership with SpaceX and we are excited to add the launches of additional O3b mPOWER satellites that will drive higher throughput, greater efficiency and substantially more bandwidth to our industry-leading network.”
The satellites will be able to deliver connectivity services ranging from 50Mbps to multiple gigabits per second to telecommunications, maritime, aeronautical, and energy, as well as governments and institutions across the world. Orange and Carnival Cruises are among the first customers.
“SES’s selection of SpaceX to support launch of the full O3b mPOWER constellation is a testament to our deep partnership built over the past decade,” said SpaceX vice president of commercial sales, Tom Ochinero.
“We look forward to working with SES to make history again through the successful deployment of this new system.”
SES’s work with SpaceX dates back to 2013 when SES became the first to launch a commercial GEO satellite with the company, and later as the first ever payload on a flight-proven SpaceX rocket.
Next year’s O3b mPOWER launch has been described as “another one for the record books” due to the terabit-scale capabilities of SES’s O3b mPOWER communications system.
