SAN FRANCISCO, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Boeing on Tuesday announced that the company delivered the third and fourth O3b mPOWER satellites to content connectivity service provider SES, with the duo embarking for Cape Canaveral, U.S. state of Florida.
The pair will launch to medium Earth orbit (MEO) to provide fiber-like broadband connectivity to people around the world, joining the first two satellites on orbit, the announcement said.
"As we get ready to launch the next pair of O3b mPOWER satellites in the coming weeks, we are excited to have them join the first two satellites which are currently undergoing rigorous testing as they arrive at their target medium Earth orbit," said Ruy Pinto, Chief Technology Officer at SES. "We will be delivering networks that offer the industry's best throughput, high availability and predictable performance that are essential for our customers' critical applications and creating new business opportunities for SES."
Boeing is contracted to deliver 11 O3b mPOWER satellites to SES, but just 6 satellites are needed in equatorial MEO to provide global connectivity services, according to the announcement.
"We are proud to have successfully delivered the third and fourth O3b mPOWER satellites and are looking forward to delivering the remaining satellites in the constellation," said Michelle Parker, vice president of Space Mission Systems at Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
With seven more satellites in production, Boeing teams are introducing efficiencies into the manufacturing process. A team has reduced the bus module build time by more than 50 percent, and delivered similar efficiency improvements for payload integration and test, the company said.
The first two O3b mPOWER satellites launched in December 2022.
