ARIANESPACE - Flight VS18 Mission poster.
March 9, 2018
Soyuz lift off carrying O3b satellites
Arianespace has successfully launched four additional O3b satellites for the constellation operated by SES Networks.
The launch took place on Friday, March 9 at 2:10 pm (local time) from the Guiana Space Center (CSG), Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana (South America).
Arianespace VS18 - Launch Sequence - March 9, 2018
This mission was the second of the year for Arianespace, the first in 2018 using a Soyuz rocket and the second launch since January for the global operator SES. With this fourth launch for O3b fleet since 2013, all 16 spacecraft in the current O3b constellation have been orbited by Arianespace.
With this latest mission, Arianespace has demonstrated that its family of launchers is extremely well suited to the deployment of communications, navigation and Earth observation satellite systems.
A new launch for SES Networks’ O3b constellation
Today’s mission was the fourth for the O3b satellite fleet operated by global operator SES, following three previous launches to orbit the constellation’s first 12 satellites performed on June 25, 2013, July 10, 2014 and December 18, 2014. With this latest successful launch of four more O3b satellites, Arianespace supports SES Networks’ continued development of its constellation, which started commercial service in September 2014.
The four Ka-band O3b satellites will join the other O3b satellites already in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) to provide low latency, fibre-like connectivity in the booming mobility, fixed data and government markets.
O3b satellites
By expanding its O3b fleet, SES will be able to offer 38% more capacity worldwide, and extend its potential market from 45 to 50 degrees north and south latitude.
These new satellites will enable SES Networks to offer more capacity, extended coverage, greater efficiency and higher reliability. At the same time, they will provide operator-class services to businesses, government customers, telecommunications companies, mobile network operators and internet service providers.
Arianespace will launch four more O3b satellites into Medium Earth Orbit for this constellation in 2019.
SES, a world-leading satellite operator, is the first to deliver a differentiated and scalable GEO-MEO offering worldwide, with more than 50 satellites in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) and 12 satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO).
About Arianespace
Arianespace uses space to make life better on Earth by providing launch services for all types of satellites into all orbits. It has orbited more than 560 satellites since 1980, using its family of three launchers, Ariane, Soyuz and Vega, from launch sites in French Guiana (South America) and Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Arianespace is headquartered in Evry, near Paris, and has a technical facility at the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, plus local offices in Washington, D.C., Tokyo and Singapore. Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, which holds 74% of its share capital, with the balance held by 17 other shareholders from the European launcher industry.
For more information about Arianespace, visit: http://www.arianespace.com/
Images, Video, Text, Credits: Arianespace/SES.
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