Mid ocean launch for Google-backed O3b broadband satellites

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 24 September 2008 03:41

Business IT - Networking

The first 16 satellites of O3b, which is planning to launch a network of medium earth orbit satellites to provide broadband backhaul services for ISPs and cellular network operators in developing countries will be launched on a Russian rocket from a platform in the middle of the ocean starting in late 2010.

The Sea Launch Company will launch the 700kg satellites, eight per launch, into an equatorial orbit 7,825 kilometres above the earth on board a Zenit-3SL rocket using a new purpose-built multi-spacecraft dispenser. Once in orbit the satellites are expected to have a lifetime of ten years, the main limiting factor being the fuel needed to keep them in the correct orbit.

The satellites are being built by French company Thales Alenia Space. They will provide a round trip transmission delay of 0.1 seconds, compared to almost 0.5 seconds for geostationary satellites. Each satellite will have a capacity of 10Gbps.

O3b Networks - backed by Google, Liberty Global and HSBC - unveiled earlier this month its plans for the system, promising that it would deliver "fibre performance over satellite at prices comparable to fibre" enabling ISPs and telcos in developing nations to deliver "cost-effective voice and broadband services at speeds equivalent to those enjoyed in the developed world."

Greg Wyler, O3b Networks founder and CEO, said: "With the placement of our first eight satellites, we will provide emerging-market network operators with a low-cost, high-speed alternative to connect their 3G, WiMAX and fixed-line networks to the rest of the world. This will allow consumers and businesses in emerging markets to benefit from high-speed Internet connectivity for educational, medical and commercial applications."

The Sea Launch floating launch platform was conceived and built to enable rockets to be launched from the equator, the optimal location for placing satellites into equatorial or geostationary orbits. Sea Launch also offers launch services for medium weight satellites from the Baikonur Space Centre in Kazakhstan.