O3b mPOWER

O3b mPOWER

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O3b mPOWER is a communications satellite system currently under construction and, as of May 2022, scheduled to begin launching in the third quarter of 2022. Owned and operated by SES, O3b mPOWER initially comprises 11 high-throughput and low-latency satellites in a medium Earth orbit (MEO), along with ground infrastructure and intelligent software, to provide multiple terabits of global broadband connectivity for applications including cellular backhaul to remote rural locations and simultaneous international IP trunking.

The O3b mPOWER satellites use fully shapable and steerable spot beams that can be shifted and scaled in real time to suit individual users. The satellites will join SES' existing constellation of 20 first-generation O3b satellites in MEO and operate in conjunction with them and the SES fleet of geostationary satellites.

Satellites

The O3b mPOWER satellites are based on Boeing's multi-orbit BSS-702X satellite bus with an all-electric propulsion system and a payload that can be reprogrammed from the ground to reallocate resources "on the fly".

The electronically steered phased array antennas can provide up to 5000 spot beams per satellite each shaped and pointed as required to specifically distribute power and bandwidth to individual user's terminals and, using the full Ka-band spectrum, enable uncontended speeds from 50 Mbit/s up to 10 Gbit/s.

With frequency reuse, each O3b mPOWER satellite can deliver hundreds of gigabits in capacity, with multi-terabit capabilities across the full constellation. SES' Adaptive Resource Control (ARC) software and digital payload processing systems synchronise space and ground system resources to electronically control routing, power levels, throughput, and frequency allocation dynamically, in real time.

Coverage

From MEO, the O3b mPOWER satellites can deliver high-bandwidth connectivity between latitudes 50° N and 50° S (covering 96% of the global population) to mobile and/or remote terminals of 0.3 m to 5.5 m, and is expected to find application in the following markets:

• Mobility: cruise, commercial shipping, aero
• Telecom: telco, mobile network operators, cloud providers
• Government: military, government agencies, non-governmental organisations
• Enterprise: oil and gas, mining

Proposed additional satellites operating in a second medium earth orbit at an inclination of 70° would give near-complete global coverage.

History

In September 2017, SES announced Boeing would build seven "super-powered" medium earth orbit satellites for launch in 2021 to provide flexible and scalable, low-latency satellite-based networks with terabits of throughput, hugely expanding the capacity of the existing constellation of 12 (now 20) first-generation O3b satellites.

In March 2018, SES announced partnerships with Alcan Systems, Isotropic Systems and Viasat to develop compact, high-throughput user terminals for the O3b mPOWER system.

In September 2019, SES announced it had partnered with satellite payload and network management systems developer, Kythera Space Solutions to develop the ARC (Adaptive Resource Control) software to enable the dynamic control and optimisation of power, throughput, beams and frequency allocation on O3b mPOWER and other future high-throughput satellites (such as the geostationary SES-17, launched in October 2021) and their networks.

Also in September 2019, SpaceX was contracted to launch the first seven O3b mPOWER satellites using Falcon 9 rockets with two launches of four and three satellites planned for 2021.

In February 2020, Princess Cruises announced a partnership with SES for early access to the O3b mPOWER system, using a hybrid network of both MEO and geostationary satellites to provide connectivity to its fleet at sea. Also in February 2020, Orange, a user of the first generation O3b system in Africa and the Middle East since 2017, announced it would be the first telco to adopt the O3b mPOWER system, to extend its consumer and business broadband services in Africa, providing connectivity to remote locations, starting in the Central African Republic.

In August 2020, the order for an additional four O3b mPOWER satellites, also from Boeing, was announced. These satellites will be more powerful than the original seven, increasing the total throughput of the entire O3b mPOWER constellation by 90%. The expected launch pattern for the whole O3b mPOWER constellation was also changed, with SpaceX contracted to provide two further launches on Falcon 9 rockets, each rocket carrying a maximum of three satellites, and the first three satellites expected to launch late in 2021, six more on two launches in 2022, and the final two in 2024.

In September 2020, SES and Microsoft announced that SES was the medium Earth orbit connectivity partner for the Microsoft Azure Orbital ground station service that enables network operators to control their satellite operations and capacity from within the Azure cloud computing service. Under their agreement, SES and Microsoft will jointly invest in Azure Orbital ground stations for the MEO and Earth Observation segments, initially in the United States, which will be installed and managed by SES. Also, satellite telemetry, tracking and control systems and data ground stations for the O3b mPOWER satellites will be located with Microsoft's Azure edge sites to provide O3b mPOWER customers with "one-hop" access to Azure cloud services.

In November 2020, SES announced that Gilat and ST Engineering iDirect are developing the modem platforms and ground infrastructure for the O3b mPOWER communications system. In December 2020, SES agreed with Australian telco, Pivotel Group Pty to build a new ground station at Pivotel's teleport in Dubbo, New South Wales to use the O3b mPOWER system to provide high-speed, low-latency connectivity across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

In February 2021, SES announced that four of the five top cruise companies have contracted connectivity services using the O3b mPOWER system ahead of the satellites' launch and with the majority extending beyond 2025.

In August 2021, Microsoft became the first cloud computing provider customer for the O3b satellite system, with Microsoft buying managed satellite connectivity services from SES for the Microsoft Azure cloud service. Microsoft is initially using the existing first generation O3b satellites, before upgrading to the faster broadband speeds from O3b mPOWER satellites when they come into operation in 2022.

In February 2022, SES formed a joint venture with India's biggest telco, Jio Platforms (JPL). The newly formed Jio Space Technology Limited will deliver broadband services in India of up to 100Gbps capacity, using both the O3b mPOWER constellation and SES's SES-12 high-throughput geostationary satellite, to extend JPL’s terrestrial network, enhancing access to digital services in unconnected areas within India and the region. JPL and SES will own 51% and 49% equity stake respectively in the new company.

In February 2022, Orange announced that, along with SES, it will deploy and manage the first O3b mPOWER gateway in Africa, to provide high-speed, low-latency, and cloud-optimised connectivity services across Africa, and to support telemetry, tracking and command functions for the O3b mPOWER satellites. The gateway will be located at the Sonatel teleport in Gandoul, Senegal.

In March 2022, SES announced the acquisition of DRS Global Enterprise Solutions (GES), a US-based subsidiary of defence contractor, Leonardo DRS which provides managed satcom services to the US Defence Department and other government agencies. When the transaction is concluded (expected towards the end of 2022 after regulatory approvals) the business will be combined with SES subsidiary, SES Government Solutions, greatly expanding market access for the O3b mPOWER system at the time it is planned to begin operations.

In May 2022, SES subsidiary, SES Government Solutions, in partnership with Earth imaging company, Planet Labs PBC, was awarded a US$28.96 million contract from NASA’s Communications Services Project for real-time, always-on low-latency connectivity services to NASA spacecraft, using SES's geostationary orbit satellites and medium Earth orbit satellites, including the O3b mPOWER constellation.

See also

• O3b
• SES S.A.
• O3b Networks
• Boeing 702 satellite bus
• SpaceX