OTTAWA, CANADA, April 27, 2016 – Telesat, a leading global satellite operator, has procured two prototype Ka-band satellites for operation in low earth orbit (LEO) that Telesat anticipates launching mid-to-late 2017 as part of a test and validation phase for an advanced, global LEO satellite constellation that Telesat is developing. Through an authorization issued by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), Telesat has secured priority rights to certain Ka-band spectrum in non-geostationary orbits (NGSO) at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to operate such a constellation.Telesat has contracted with Space Systems Loral (SSL) of Palo Alto, California, and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), an independent British company within the Airbus Defence & Space group, for the procurement of the prototypes. By drawing on the advanced technologies and expertise of these leading manufacturers, Telesat will test and demonstrate two distinct spacecraft in LEO, a key step in optimizing the design and performance of Telesat’s contemplated LEO constellation.
...Our two Phase 1 LEO satellites will be launching later this year. One is being built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. based in the U.K., a company within the Airbus Defence and Space group. It will be placed into LEO orbit using an ISRO Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The second is being built by Space Systems Loral, partnering with the Space Flight Laboratory at the University of Toronto, and will be delivered to orbit on a Soyuz launcher. ...
https://iz.ru/664893/dmitrii-strugovetc-anastasiia-sinitckaia/novaia-orbita-vostochnogoGoogle translate:QuoteIn total, 17 sats are planned to be put into orbit from the Russian territory, among them LEO Vantage and AISSat-3 (both Canada), IDEA (Japan), SEAM (Sweden), two Landmapper-BC and 10 LEMUR (all USA), D- Star One (Germany).As part of Roscosmos' commitments, the Russian student satellite Baumanets-2 will also be launched.
In total, 17 sats are planned to be put into orbit from the Russian territory, among them LEO Vantage and AISSat-3 (both Canada), IDEA (Japan), SEAM (Sweden), two Landmapper-BC and 10 LEMUR (all USA), D- Star One (Germany).As part of Roscosmos' commitments, the Russian student satellite Baumanets-2 will also be launched.
Quote[SpaceNews Nov. 6, 2017] FCC grants Telesat LEO market access despite ViaSat protestsFollowing market approval given to OneWeb in June, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Nov. 3 granted global fleet operator Telesat permission to reach the U.S. with a constellation of 117 low-Earth orbit satellites....Canada-based Telesat is the second LEO constellation after OneWeb to receive market access from the United States.The FCC also granted Space Norway market access Nov. 3 to reach the U.S. with two satellites in non-geostationary elliptical orbits. Both Telesat and ViaSat sought to block Space Norway.I don't see this on the FCC site yet.
[SpaceNews Nov. 6, 2017] FCC grants Telesat LEO market access despite ViaSat protestsFollowing market approval given to OneWeb in June, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Nov. 3 granted global fleet operator Telesat permission to reach the U.S. with a constellation of 117 low-Earth orbit satellites....Canada-based Telesat is the second LEO constellation after OneWeb to receive market access from the United States.The FCC also granted Space Norway market access Nov. 3 to reach the U.S. with two satellites in non-geostationary elliptical orbits. Both Telesat and ViaSat sought to block Space Norway.
Soyuz Failure Results in Loss of First Telesat Phase 1 LEO SatelliteVostochny Cosmodrome, Eastern Russia, November 28, 2017 – Telesat learned this morning that the Soyuz 2 launch vehicle that was to place 19 spacecraft into orbit, including Telesat’s first Phase 1 LEO satellite, has failed.Notwithstanding this failure, Telesat’s plans to develop a state-of-the-art, high capacity LEO constellation that will deliver transformative, low latency, fiber-like broadband to commercial and government users worldwide, remain on track. A second Phase 1 LEO satellite is scheduled for launch in the coming weeks on ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Sriharikota launch site.
The successful launch of an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Jan. 11 marked not just the return to flight of the rocket but also major achievements for several of the companies with payloads on board the vehicle....Canadian satellite operator Telesat also had a payload on the rocket, one of its two demonstration satellites for its planned low Earth orbit constellation. The 168-kilogram LEO Phase 1 satellite, built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. in the United Kingdom, will test technologies Telesat plans to use in a 120-satellite constellation the company plans to deploy by 2021. The other satellite, built by the University of Toronto’s Space Flight Laboratory, was lost on a failed Soyuz launch in November.“The launch of our Phase 1 satellite is the starting point in making our next generation LEO system a reality and we thank SSTL and ISRO for the success of the mission to date,” Dan Goldberg, president and CEO of Telesat, said in a statement. The company said it will use the satellite in trials with a number of customers in “growing enterprise segments” later in the year.
Another interesting object from the January PSLV launch was Telesat's LEO Vantage 1, deployed into a 496 x 508 km orbit. While I wasn't paying attention, it raised orbit slowly between Jan 21 and Apr 5 and is now in a 996 x 1004 km SSO.
THALES ALENIA SPACE AND MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES’ SSL FORM CONSORTIUM TO FURTHER DESIGN AND DEVELOP TELESAT’S LEO SATELLITE CONSTELLATIONTelesat has selected consortium to participate in its LEO system ‘design phase’07/30/2018CANNES, France and WESTMINSTER, Colo. - July 30, 2018 - Thales Alenia Space, a Joint Venture between Thales (67 %) and Leonardo (33 %), and SSL, a Maxar Technologies company (NYSE: MAXR; TSX: MAXR), have signed a consortium agreement to pursue the development and manufacture of Telesat’s highly advanced global LEO satellite constellation and end-to-end system. In addition the consortium, led by Thales Alenia Space, announced today that they have been awarded a contract by Telesat for a System Design and Risk Management Project for the Telesat LEO constellation.Following a highly rigorous process involving leading satellite manufacturing companies, Telesat selected the Thales Alenia Space / Maxar consortium for its LEO design phase based on the consortium’s compelling proposal for the end-to-end system, the maturity of the required technologies, and the competitiveness of its solution. The three companies will work together on the design of the end-to-end system, including satellites, gateways, user terminals, operations centers, and ground network. Telesat will provide funding during this phase and anticipates selecting a prime contractor, either the Thales Alenia Space / Maxar consortium or an alternate team, in mid-2019 for Telesat’s LEO program – space segment, ground segment and system integration. Telesat’s LEO constellation will transform global communications by offering an unsurpassed combination of capacity, speed, security, resiliency and low cost with latency performance that is as good or better than the most advanced terrestrial networks. These capabilities will be available globally and will enable Telesat LEO to become a core component in satisfying many of the world’s most challenging communications requirements. Telesat LEO will accelerate 5G expansion, end the digital divide with fiber-like high speed services into rural and remote communities, and establish new levels of performance for commercial and government broadband on land, sea and in the air.The Thales Alenia Space / Maxar consortium brings proven experience, industrial capability and a strong supplier base for fully integrated communications satellite systems, including payload antenna design, on-board processing and LEO satellite production. The companies have formed fully integrated teams across multiple work streams located in France, the U.S. and Canada in order to apply the consortium’s very best talent to every task. The Thales Alenia Space / Maxar solution will enable Telesat’s LEO constellation to deliver for its customers multi-Terabits of highly secure, low latency communications around the globe at the most competitive cost.
2's a crowd: @AirbusSpace @AirbusDefence has been hired by Telesat to perform design study for Telesat LEO program. @MDA_maxar @MaxarTech @sslmda & @Thales_Alenia_S are doing a competing study. Decision in early 2019 on who's the prime.
https://twitter.com/telesat/status/1090950636957515778Looks like Alphabet (Google's parent company) picked Telesat as a partner.
Quote from: Ronsmytheiii on 01/31/2019 08:44 pmhttps://twitter.com/telesat/status/1090950636957515778Looks like Alphabet (Google's parent company) picked Telesat as a partner.That's is a little weird, because they are investor in SpaceX (Starlink) and their compete together...
I've long thought the Telesat constellation was a more formidable competitor than OneWeb.People like to act like Musk is all hype and no action (dumb), but Wyler has been hyping OneWeb for much longer, and it STILL hasn't had anything launch. Telesat, on the other hand, has been quietly working.
Quote from: Robotbeat on 02/01/2019 01:35 pmI've long thought the Telesat constellation was a more formidable competitor than OneWeb.People like to act like Musk is all hype and no action (dumb), but Wyler has been hyping OneWeb for much longer, and it STILL hasn't had anything launch. Telesat, on the other hand, has been quietly working.OneWeb has satellites at the launch pad. Telesat hasn't even selected a contractor yet.
Quote from: gongora on 02/01/2019 01:50 pmQuote from: Robotbeat on 02/01/2019 01:35 pmI've long thought the Telesat constellation was a more formidable competitor than OneWeb.People like to act like Musk is all hype and no action (dumb), but Wyler has been hyping OneWeb for much longer, and it STILL hasn't had anything launch. Telesat, on the other hand, has been quietly working.OneWeb has satellites at the launch pad. Telesat hasn't even selected a contractor yet.Telesat has already launched prototypes over a year ago whereas OneWeb has not. The whole argument that “we can skip prototypes and go straight to production” is incredibly naive for a new company & just because Wyler’s good at hyping that solution doesn’t mean I have to be naive enough to believe it. But the horse race is missing the point: Telesat’s architecture is superior.