SES O3b mPOWER 1 & 2 (Falcon 9)
16 December 2022
Space Launch Complex 40
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

On 16 December 2022 at 5:48 p.m., SpaceX launched the SES O3b mPOWER 1 & 2 mission to medium-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. After stage separation, the Falcon 9 first stage landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

This was the eighth launch and landing for this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously launched CRS-22, Crew-3, Turksat 5B, Crew-4, CRS-25, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13G, and one Starlink mission.

The rocket was visible only for a few moments before disappearing into an overcast sky.

EXCERPTS FROM SES MEDIA RELEASES
O3b mPOWER Satellite rendition over the Asia-Pacific region. IMAGE CREDIT: SES

SES announced today that the first two O3b mPOWER satellites were successfully launched into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, United States, at 5:48 pm local time.

Built by Boeing and designed to deliver unprecedented performance with first-of-its-kind software-driven payload, O3b mPOWER is SES’s second-generation medium earth orbit (MEO) system. Customers leveraging O3b mPOWER are set to transform their operations and benefit from terabit-level scale; the highest, most flexible, guaranteed throughput; round trip latency of less than 150 milliseconds and unmatched service availability.

O3b mPOWER Constellation global view rendition. Image Credit: SES

The O3b mPOWER ecosystem is easily scalable and comprises an initial 11 powerful satellites, each equipped with more than 5,000 digitally formed beams, and an extensive next-generation O3b mPOWER ground infrastructure. It enables SES to address current and future connectivity needs for governments, mobile network operators, energy companies, world-class cruises, and enterprises across the globe. Key customers who have signed up for O3b mPOWER include Microsoft, Princess Cruises, Marlink, Jio Platforms, Orange, Claro Brasil and the newly-announced Vodafone Cook Islands.

O3b mPOWER commercial service is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2023.

All contents copyright Lunar Cabin