Broadband – Spaceflight Now

SES selects SpaceX for two Falcon 9 launches

September 12, 2019

Two SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches will loft seven high-throughput broadband satellites for SES’s O3b mPower constellation in 2021, SES announced this week.

Chinasat 18 communications satellite encounters problem after launch

August 20, 2019

A communications satellite designed to deliver broadband services to rural China, airline passengers and maritime vessels suffered “abnormalities” after separating from its Long March 3B launcher Monday, Chinese state media confirmed Tuesday.

Viasat swaps Ariane 5 launch for new Ariane 6 rocket

June 17, 2019

Viasat has modified an existing contract with Arianespace to launch one of the company’s next-generation broadband Internet satellites on Europe’s next-generation Ariane 6 rocket, rather than on-board an Ariane 5 launcher, officials announced Monday.

SpaceX’s first 60 Starlink broadband satellites deployed in orbit

May 24, 2019

SpaceX successfully delivered the first 60 members of the company’s Starlink broadband satellite fleet to orbit Thursday night after a launch from Cape Canaveral.

Q&A with Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX (members only)

May 17, 2019

Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and chief executive, spoke with reporters via conference call May 15 as the company prepared for the launch of the first 60 satellites to build out a network of potentially thousands of broadband relay stations in low Earth orbit providing high-speed Internet to consumers around the world.

SpaceX postpones Starlink launch to update satellite software

May 17, 2019

For the second consecutive day, SpaceX called off a Falcon 9 launch attempt at Cape Canaveral on Thursday evening, this time to complete a software update on the first 60 satellites for the company’s Starlink network to provide high-speed Internet service from orbit.

SpaceX releases new details on Starlink satellite design

May 15, 2019

The 60 satellites SpaceX is set to launch Wednesday night, beginning the build-out of a broadband network of orbiting spacecraft that could eventually number thousands, are based on a new flat-panel design, with krypton-fueled plasma thrusters, high-power antennas, and a capability to autonomously steer away from other objects in space.

Falcon 9 launch timeline for the Starlink 1 mission

May 15, 2019

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket

May 15, 2019

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 10:30 p.m. EDT Thursday (0230 GMT Friday). The 229-foot-tall launch vehicle delivered 60 satellites to orbit to begin the deployment of SpaceX’s Starlink Internet network, a fleet of spacecraft that may eventually number thousands.

Falcon 9 rocket rolled out for first dedicated Starlink launch

May 13, 2019

SpaceX ground teams at Cape Canaveral transferred a Falcon 9 rocket to launch pad 40 and rotated the booster vertical Monday for a preflight hold-down firing, ahead of a liftoff scheduled for Wednesday night carrying 60 satellites into orbit for the company’s planned Starlink broadband constellation.