However, the European satellite operator is still grappling to overcome the power issues impacting its fleet
In what should have been a big day of celebration, SES announced that its medium Earth orbit (MEO) O3b mPOWER software-enabled satellite constellation was now operational and ready to provide connectivity services around the globe, ranging from tens of Mbps to multiple gigabits per second.
However, the day was tinged with some disappointment given the constellation has been dealing with power module issues on its Boeing satellites, leading to a delayed go-live of around four months.
In its third quarter 2023 results call last October, SES noted that the electrical “trip-offs”, first noticed in August, in the existing fleet had increased with a few becoming non-recoverable events, according to Via Satellite. As a result, the initial satellites would see a “significant reduction” in their expected lifetime and available capacity, according to the company.
SES went to work with Boeing to upgrade the five yet-to-launch satellites and the two companies agreed to add two further satellites to the constellation – after agreeing to share the risk and the capex. No doubt nervous satellite insurance brokers and watching closely to see what impact the power issues will have on the longevity of the constellation.
To date, SES has launched six out of 13 O3b mPOWER satellites, which together with strategically located satellite ground stations, enable SES to serve customers across multiple market segments around the world. With the O3b mPOWER system now operational, SES strengthens its unique MEO network capabilities by complementing its O3b constellation. SES expects to launch the next two O3b mPOWER satellites in late 2024.
The operator likes to point out that it now offers GEO, MEO and low Earth orbit (LEO) solutions – the latter through strategic partnerships.
“We are very excited that O3b mPOWER is now ready to serve our customers around the world. Over the last few years, our SES team, along with our technology partners across space and ground segments, have worked tirelessly to bring our O3b mPOWER system online. I’m proud to say that all the core infrastructure is deployed, tested and ready on a global basis,” said new SES’s CEO Adel Al-Saleh (above).
“The demand for O3b mPOWER solutions is very high, and this moment has been long-awaited by our customers. Over the coming weeks we will work with our mobility, government, enterprise and cloud customers on O3b mPOWER onboarding plans,” he said. We’re eager to empower their operations with reliable, high-performance, and secure services.”