![]() ![]() ![]() It was SpaceX’s 51st launch mission so far this year. The mission for Jupiter-3 was Falcon Heavy’s seventh flight since its debut in 2018. Jupiter-3 was deployed on the third Falcon Heavy of 2023, coming after its April 30 launch for primary passenger ViaSat-3 Americas, a 5.6 metric ton satellite operated by EchoStar broadband rival Viasat that later suffered an antenna anomaly.Īrcturus, the first satellite built by Astranis that was also on the flight with a mass of around 400 kilograms, suffered an unrelated post-launch issue that means it will not provide broadband over Alaska as planned. Heaviest commercial communication satellites SatelliteĪll data is collected from publicly available sources, no privately sourced company information is included in this analysis. Maxar-built Telstar-19 Vantage had a launch mass of roughly seven metric tons. Jupiter-3 unseats Telesat’s Telstar-19 Vantage that launched in 2018 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 as the largest commercial communications satellite ever deployed. Maxar said Jupiter-3, at about the size of a standard school bus when antennas and solar panels stowed and with a wingspan of a Boeing 737 when fully deployed, is the largest spacecraft it has ever made. ![]() He said the company has a number of “pinch points” to address but its constraints are highest in the United States, where it intends to put the largest chunk of Jupiter-3’s capacity to work.ĮchoStar ordered Jupiter-3 (also called EchoStar-24) in 2017 from Space Systems Loral before it rebranded as Maxar Technologies, and had initially planned to launch it in 2021 before the pandemic led to production issues at Maxar and other satellite manufacturers. Jupiter-3 enables the company “to start growing again in our key markets where we’ve been hesitant to add new customers because of the capacity limitations,” EchoStar chief operating officer Paul Gaske said, “and it also allows us the opportunity to improve plans for our existing customers.” SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket is used to deploy various satellites into orbit for commercial, scientific, and governmental customers. The broadband services would address rising demand over the Americas, where it has been losing subscribers as capacity constraints weigh on the business.ĮchoStar recently said Hughes broadband subscribers are using about 15% more bandwidth on average year-on-year amid intensifying competition in the market, including from SpaceX’s Starlink broadband constellation. SpaceXs brawny Falcon Heavy rocket launched for the seventh time ever Friday night (July 28), sending a huge communications satellite skyward. Jupiter-3 is set to double the capacity of the operator’s Jupiter fleet with an additional 500 gigabits per second, after reaching its 95 degrees west orbital slot and completing health checks the operator expects to wrap up in the fourth quarter. Deployment of JUPITER 3 confirmed /G2Xhcumnb2- SpaceX July 29, 2023ĮchoStar’s Hughes Networks Systems subsidiary, which is set to provide Jupiter-3’s broadband services, confirmed the satellite has started sending and receiving its first signals post-launch, and that engineers had deployed its solar arrays. ![]()
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