All articles tagged with #ses
SpaceX launched three telecom satellites for SES on September 13, 2026, marking the 700th mission for the Falcon rocket family. The Falcon 9 booster B1080, on its 29th flight, landed on the drone ship 'A Shortfall of Gravitas.' This mission completed the O3b mPOWER constellation in medium Earth orbit, with the satellites expected to enter service by mid-2027.
SpaceX is set to launch the final three O3b mPOWER satellites for SES on Sunday from Cape Canaveral, completing the 13-satellite medium Earth orbit constellation. The mission, designated O3b mPOWER-F, will use Falcon 9 booster B1080, which is on its 29th flight. The satellites, built by Boeing, were delayed by electrical issues affecting earlier units, leading to the addition of two extra spacecraft. Once operational by mid-2027, the constellation will support commercial and government broadband needs, validating SES's software-defined payload technology. This launch marks the 400th orbital launch from SLC-40, with SpaceX responsible for 345 of them.
SpaceX successfully launched the final three satellites for the SES O3b mPOWER constellation from Cape Canaveral on September 13, 2026. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 2:49 p.m. EDT, carrying satellites F11, F12, and F13 to medium Earth orbit. This mission marked the 56th orbital launch from Florida’s Space Coast in 2026 and the 400th orbital launch from Space Launch Complex 40. The first-stage booster, B1080, completed its 29th flight by landing on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas. The deployment of these final satellites completes the 13-spacecraft constellation, which is expected to enter full service by mid-2027.
SpaceX successfully launched the final three O3b mPOWER satellites for SES on September 13, 2026, from Cape Canaveral. The Falcon 9 booster, B1080, completed its 29th flight and landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas. This mission completes the 13-satellite constellation in medium Earth orbit, which will begin full operations by mid-2027.
The U.S. Space Force awarded contracts totaling about $437.6 million to Viasat and SES to build four small geostationary satellites for the Protected Tactical Satcom-Global (PTS-G) network designed to resist jamming and cyberattacks. The four satellites (Swarm 1) will be split evenly between Viasat and SES and delivered by March 2029 to enable X-band and Ka-band military communications in a swarm architecture to improve resilience. A second procurement of four additional satellites is planned for 2028, with deployment targeted for 2031; other contractors in the program include Astranis, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman.
The Office of Personnel Management proposes to overhaul the Senior Executive Service candidate development programs by standardizing content, shortening timelines to 9-12 months, increasing training hours, and adding mentorship and developmental assignments to better prepare federal employees for senior leadership roles, aiming to create a more consistent and effective leadership pipeline across government agencies.
SpaceX successfully launched two SES O3b mPOWER communication satellites into medium Earth orbit using a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida, with the first stage landing on a drone ship at sea; this marked the sixth launch and landing for booster B1090 and is part of SES's expanding high-throughput satellite constellation.
SpaceX successfully launched a third pair of O3b mPower satellites for SES, bringing the total number of satellites in orbit to six. These satellites will enable SES to begin commercial services in the second quarter of 2024. The O3b mPower constellation has been facing electrical issues that have reduced its initial capacity. The launch of the fifth and sixth satellites was delayed due to these issues, and Boeing will provide additional satellites and fixes under an amended contract. Despite the challenges, SES has tested over 160 O3b mPower terminals this year and is on track to provide coverage to 96% of the world's population.
SpaceX is set to launch the SES O3b mPOWER mission today, deploying two communication satellites into medium Earth orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket will take off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with the first stage expected to make a vertical landing on the drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas." The two satellites will expand the O3b constellation, providing high-speed connectivity to customers in late 2023. This launch marks SpaceX's 84th mission of the year.
SpaceX will launch the second pair of O3b mPOWER broadband internet satellites into medium-Earth orbit for SES, providing internet services over most of the populated world. The launch window is scheduled to open at 4:08 PM ET and conclude at 5:36 PM ET.
SpaceX launched the third and fourth satellites for SES' O3b mPower broadband network on April 28, bringing the company one step closer to launching its next-generation broadband constellation in medium Earth orbit. The first pair of satellites launched in December 2020 have reached their target positions, and the company needs just six of the 11 Boeing-built satellites to start providing services that promise 10 times more throughput than its current MEO constellation.
SpaceX is set to launch two SES O3b mPower satellites on its Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch window opens at 5:12 p.m. EDT, and the webcast is expected to begin 15 minutes before launch. The Falcon 9's first stage will return to Earth and land on the SpaceX droneship Just Read the Instructions. The two satellites will become the third and fourth members of SES' O3b mPower constellation, which will provide low-latency communications services to customers around the world.
During the second stage of its Falcon 9 rocket mission on March 17th, SpaceX captured stunning views of Earth in a short timelapse video. The rocket was delivering two telecommunications satellites for SES, but turned its attention to capture the blue waters, clouds, and land. The video reminds us of the original "blue marble" photo by NASA in 1972 and is a short but exciting clip.
SpaceX has released a video filmed from the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket, showing Earth as a beautiful blue marble with white clouds and patches of land. The footage was taken as the rocket delivered two telecommunications satellites for Luxembourg-based company SES to geosynchronous transfer orbit. The satellites will provide C-band television and data services over the US. The video likely shows Earth from an altitude of around 22,200 miles.
SpaceX shared footage from its recent launch of two satellites for SES S.A., showcasing the Falcon 9 rocket's liftoff and separation of its first and second stages. The satellites were placed on a trajectory for a geosynchronous transfer orbit, higher than the low Earth orbit used by Starlink spacecraft. SpaceX also shared a short video clip from the second stage, which continued its journey after deploying the SES spacecraft at an altitude of approximately 1,400 kilometers. The second stage is not reusable, but SpaceX plans to make its entire Starship rocket fully reusable.