Author Topic: LIVE: Soyuz-ST-B/Fregat-MT (VS18) - O3b FM13-16 - Mar 9, 2018  (Read 26469 times)

Offline russianhalo117

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AOS 13 & 15 confirmed. Insertion of the second pair was nominal. Speeches are up next which I will not be covering.
« Last Edit: 03/09/2018 06:44 pm by russianhalo117 »

Offline Chris Bergin

Sats call back home as healthy.
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Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Happy customer:

Quote
Our babies are in orbit! All 4 brand new #O3b satellites are in orbit. Acquisition confirmed. All sats healthy and on their way to #MEO! Thanks @arianespaceceo to you and the team. Great job. Great day. 😎

https://twitter.com/stevieco3b/status/972198546744147969

Offline russianhalo117

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Happy customer:

Quote
Our babies are in orbit! All 4 brand new #O3b satellites are in orbit. Acquisition confirmed. All sats healthy and on their way to #MEO! Thanks @arianespaceceo to you and the team. Great job. Great day. 😎

https://twitter.com/stevieco3b/status/972198546744147969
In post launch speeches they were referred to as the Block-3a launch with Block-3b launch being next year.

Offline jacqmans

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March 9, 2018 

Arianespace gives a lift to four more satellites in the O3b Medium Earth Orbit constellation


Four additional spacecraft for SES’ O3b Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite constellation were orbited today by a Soyuz launch from French Guiana, supporting a long-time Arianespace customer and underscoring the medium-lift workhorse launcher’s suitability for a full range of missions.

Departing from the Spaceport’s ELS launch complex near the city of Sinnamary, and ascending into clear skies over French Guiana, Soyuz deployed its four passengers during a flight of approximately 2 hrs., 22 min. This included the propulsion of Soyuz’ first three stages, as well as four burns of its Fregat upper stage.

Today’s launch was Soyuz’ 18th from French Guiana since it began service at the Spaceport in 2011, and was designated Flight VS18 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system.

Impressive numbers for the SES/Arianespace relationship

In post-launch comments at the Spaceport, Luce Fabreguettes, Arianespace’s Executive Vice President Missions, Operations & Purchasing, noted that the mission’s payloads are the 54th, 55th, 56th and 57th spacecraft orbited by Arianespace for global satellite operator SES – extending an exceptional partnership that dates back to 1988.

O3b spacecraft are utilized by the SES Networks operation of SES to provide low latency, fiber-like connectivity in the growing mobility, fixed data and government markets. These trapezoidal-shaped Ka-band relay platforms, produced by Thales Alenia Space, have a liftoff mass of 700 kg. each.

Speaking from the Spaceport after the mission’s completion, SES Chief Technology Officer Martin Halliwell confirmed that ground tracking stations acquired signals from all four satellites lofted by Flight VS18, and thanked Arianespace for the successful launch. “This important mission increases our capacity in Medium Earth Orbit by 38 percent,” he said.

Halliwell noted that SES would be back at the Spaceport in early 2019 with the next four O3b satellites.

Enhancing SES Networks’ services from orbit


The passengers on today’s flight will join the 12 O3b satellites already in orbit, launched by Arianespace using its medium-lift Soyuz workhorse that carries four spacecraft on each launch. The previous missions were performed in June 2013, July 2014 and December 2014. Positioned at approximately 8,000 km., the O3b satellites are some four-times-closer to Earth than geostationary-orbit satellites.

The four newly-launched satellites will enable SES Networks to offer more capacity, enhanced coverage, increased efficiencies and greater reliability while delivering carrier-grade services to telecommunications operators, mobile network operators, enterprises, internet service providers and government customers.

After today’s Flight VS18, Arianespace has five more SES satellites in its backlog, comprising four additional spacecraft for SES Networks’ O3b constellation, and the all-electric SES-17 – to be used by SES for high-speed inflight connectivity and high-powered data services.

Thales Alenia Space-built satellites on Flight VS18

In comments after Flight VS18, Arianespace’s Luce Fabreguettes also offered her congratulations to Thales Alenia Space, another long-time partner that produced the four O3b spacecraft lofted on today’s Soyuz mission. “With 154 Thales Alenia Space produced satellites orbited since 1981 by Arianespace, and 11 more in our backlog, we will certainly continue to partner for many common successes,” she added.

Patrick Mauté, Thales Alenia Space’s Chief Technical Officer, said the Soyuz launcher “operated like clockwork – perfectly,” and complemented the launch teams’ “skills, competency, and great talent,” adding they were the keys to today’s successful launch.

Flight VS18 was Arianespace’s second mission in 2018 with a member of its complete launcher family – which also includes the heavyweight Ariane 5 and light-lift Vega. It continues a busy year of activity for Arianespace, which has identified a total of 14 launch opportunities from the Spaceport.

Arianespace’s next mission is Flight VA242 with an Ariane 5, which will carry a dual-payload to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) that includes the HYLAS 4 satellite for Avanti.

http://www.arianespace.com/mission-update/vs18-success-o3b/
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

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March 9, 2018 


http://www.arianespace.com/press-release/flight-vs18-arianespace-orbits-four-more-o3b-satellites-for-ses-on-its-fourth-mission-for-the-o3b-constellation/

Flight VS18: Arianespace orbits four more O3b satellites for SES on its fourth mission for the O3b constellation


Arianespace has successfully launched four additional O3b satellites for the constellation operated by SES Networks.

The launch took place on Friday, March 9 at 2:10 pm (local time) from the Guiana Space Center (CSG), Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana (South America).

This mission was the second of the year for Arianespace, the first in 2018 using a Soyuz rocket and the second launch since January for the global operator SES. With this fourth launch for O3b fleet since 2013, all 16 spacecraft in the current O3b constellation have been orbited by Arianespace.

With this latest mission, Arianespace has demonstrated that its family of launchers is extremely well suited to the deployment of communications, navigation and Earth observation satellite systems.

A new launch for SES Networks’ O3b constellation

Today’s mission was the fourth for the O3b satellite fleet operated by global operator SES, following three previous launches to orbit the constellation’s first 12 satellites performed on June 25, 2013, July 10, 2014 and December 18, 2014. With this latest successful launch of four more O3b satellites, Arianespace supports SES Networks’ continued development of its constellation, which started commercial service in September 2014.

The launch at a glance:
•First Soyuz launch by Arianespace in 2018.
•18th Soyuz launch from CSG.
•43rd, 44th, 45th and 46th satellites launched by Soyuz from CSG.
 

The four Ka-band O3b satellites will join the other O3b satellites already in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) to provide low latency, fibre-like connectivity in the booming mobility, fixed data and government markets.

By expanding its O3b fleet, SES will be able to offer 38% more capacity worldwide, and extend its potential market from 45 to 50 degrees north and south latitude.

These new satellites will enable SES Networks to offer more capacity, extended coverage, greater efficiency and higher reliability. At the same time, they will provide operator-class services to businesses, government customers, telecommunications companies, mobile network operators and internet service providers.

Arianespace will launch four more O3b satellites into Medium Earth Orbit for this constellation in 2019.

Arianespace launches 57 satellites for SES in a 30-year partnership

SES, a world-leading satellite operator, is the first to deliver a differentiated and scalable GEO-MEO offering worldwide, with more than 50 satellites in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) and 12 satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO).

•The four O3b satellites on Flight VS18 are the 54th, 55th, 56th and 57th satellites launched by Arianespace for SES since 1988.
•Arianespace has 5 more SES satellites in its order book: SES-17 and 4 more O3b satellites.
 

Arianespace and SES have developed an exceptional partnership over the last 30 years, made even stronger by this latest successful launch. Because of its versatile and complementary family of launchers, Arianespace is perfectly suited to address SES’s GEO/MEO strategy and the requirements of its future programs.

The Arianespace family: especially well-suited to constellation launches

With its current family of launchers (Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega) and its future family (Ariane 6 and Vega C), Arianespace enjoys an excellent position in the growth market of satellite constellations, whether for navigation, telecommunications or Earth observation; and for initial deployment, as well as subsequent replacement launches.

Right from its service entry in 2020, Ariane 6 will offer three major advantages for constellations: larger payload capacity, a restartable Vinci upper stage engine, and the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), allowing the sequential release of satellites to prevent any collisions.

With its family of launchers, Ariane 5 ES, Soyuz and Vega, Arianespace has orbited 110 satellites for constellations, equal to nearly 20% of all satellites launched since its founding:
•72 satellites for commercial satellite operators;
•38 satellites for governments and institutions.
 

To address the specific needs of constellations with small satellites (0-400 kg.) – primarily for Earth observation – two multiple launch systems for Ariane 6 and Vega C are now being developed with the European Space Agency and the European Commission.

Shortly after the official announcement of the orbital injection of the O3b satellites on today’s Flight VS18 mission, Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, said: “With this second launch of the year, and the first by Soyuz, Arianespace is proud to help its long-standing customer SES meet its ambitious goals, for the second time in 2018. We are honored by the renewed confidence placed in us by SES, for whom we have launched 57 satellites since 1988, including the entire O3b constellation. I also would like to congratulate Thales Alenia Space, another loyal partner, which built all four O3b satellites. I would like to thank the Russian space agency Roscosmos for their commitment to our partnership based on Soyuz. My thanks go as well to CNES/CSG, our ground segment partners and all employees at the launch base, who continue to support us as we go from success to success. And of course, congratulations to all Arianespace staff, for this 18th Soyuz launch from CSG.”


O3b satellites

O3b satellites are built by Thales Alenia Space at its plant in Cannes, France. The payload offers Ka-band wide beams. These four O3b satellites will be positioned in medium Earth orbit (MEO) at an altitude of 7,830 km.

The satellites weighed a combined total of 2,800 kg. at liftoff (700 kg. per satellite).
 
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

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Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

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Successful Launch of Four O3b Satellites Expands Fibre-like Connectivity

Written on 09 Mar 2018


Launched on a Soyuz rocket, the new satellites will augment SES’s MEO fleet to accommodate the booming demand for high performance bandwidth

GUIANA SPACE CENTER, KOUROU, 9 March 2018 – SES announced today that its four new O3b Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites were successfully launched into space by Arianespace onboard a Soyuz rocket, from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana at 14:10 local time.

The new Ka-band satellites will join SES’s existing constellation of 12 MEO satellites, orbiting at approximately 8,000 km from Earth – four times closer to the planet than geostationary (GEO) satellites, delivering connectivity with a low latency, fibre-like performance. Built by Thales Alenia Space, the four new O3b satellites will enable SES to bring more capacity, enhanced coverage and increased performance to market. By augmenting its O3b fleet, SES is scaling its unique ability to connect people, businesses, and continents with high performance communications anywhere on Earth.

The O3b constellation is expanding to continue to drive digital equality and to support digital transformation across the globe. The additional capacity will enable SES Networks to cater to the growing consumption of bandwidth in the telecom, cloud, maritime, energy, and government markets.

Steve Collar, Chief Executive Officer at SES Networks, and CEO designate of SES, said, “We are very excited to have four more O3b satellites in orbit, and we look forward to them joining the constellation in May and serving our customers around the globe. The demand for high performance bandwidth and networks continues to grow and, as the only successful non-geostationary broadband system, we need these new satellites to fulfil demand across a wide range of verticals and applications. From connecting underserved communities and meaningfully transforming lives through improved broadband access, to delivering state of the art satellite-enabled network services to ships, planes and government platforms, our O3b fleet offers unique and differentiated performance and is driving our customers’ businesses forward.”   

Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology Officer at SES, added, “This was the fourth launch performed by Arianespace for our O3b fleet and we have yet another batch of O3b satellites planned for 2019 on their Soyuz rocket as well. This is the beauty of our MEO constellation: it can easily be scaled to respond to demand in an agile manner while beams can be allocated dynamically to where the demand is, and thus deliver low-latency connectivity where our customers need it. By augmenting our fleet, we will offer more throughput, more coverage, and more capabilities to our customers.”

Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, said, “With this second launch of the year, the 18th Soyuz from the Guiana Space Center, Arianespace is very proud of the confidence placed by SES in our service solutions for both MEO satellites and GEO satellites. We are very pleased to support our long-standing partner SES in the expansion and evolution of its O3b fleet.”

In addition to these four new satellites, another four O3b satellites are scheduled to launch in H1 2019. The first 12 O3b satellites were launched by three Soyuz launch vehicles in 2013 and 2014.

Read more at https://www.ses.com/press-release/successful-launch-four-o3b-satellites-expands-fibre-connectivity#cPrm0o3T2RyvMQhj.99
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

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Fourth batch of O3b satellites in orbit

09.03.2018

Thales Alenia SpaceTelecommunications

https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/space/press-release/fourth-batch-o3b-satellites-orbit

Cannes, March 9th, 2018 – The four latest satellites in the O3b constellation built by Thales Alenia Space for SES Networks were successfully launched today from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana (South America) by a Soyuz rocket.
 
 These four new satellites will expand the current O3b constellation of 12 satellites, which have been operational in orbit since 2014. Together, they will offer more capacity, improved coverage, greater efficiency and even higher reliability.

  Thales Group - O3b_1100 

 Thanks to these high-performance satellites, SES Networks, the SES business unit dedicated to global data networks, provides broadband services to telecom and mobile network operators, Internet service providers, enterprises, and customers in the mobility, energy and government sectors.

 O3b satellites are positioned at an altitude of 8,000 km along the equator, four times closer to the Earth than satellites in geostationary orbit. Operating in the Ka-band, they offer telecommunications and Internet connectivity services at a fibre-like speed across the globe.

“After having delivered 46 telecom satellites in 2017, Thales Alenia Space is delighted to celebrate the kickoff of 2018 launches with our long-standing partners, SES and Arianespace,” said Jean Loïc Galle, President and Chief Executive Officer of Thales Alenia Space. “This latest cluster of four satellites joins its sister satellites in orbit, after their launches in 2013 and 2014, to boost the constellation’s service capacity. We are proud to help our customer SES grow their market, and we are ready and willing to offer new telecom solutions that provide even higher performance, with more integrated and digital systems.”

« Last Edit: 03/10/2018 08:56 am by jacqmans »
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

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Jacques :-)

Offline Stan Black

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Re: Soyuz-ST-B/Fregat-MT (VS18) - O3b FM13-16 - Mar 9, 2018
« Reply #110 on: 03/10/2018 12:43 pm »
Fregat MT 133-06
Fairing R15000-030

Soyuz rockets are insured during the transportation to the launch site. One tender indicates 30/136 as the next to fly. That rocket cost the same as two previous rockets; suggesting the same batch production date. 30/136 is the internal factory serial number, 30th machine of the 136th series. The Р (cyrillic) or R15000 indicates year 2015.

Р15000-011 (21/136)
Р15000-012 (24/136)
Р15000-013 (30/136) - ?

Curiously for this launch the fairing was 6/137, and came form a different rocket.

http://www.zakupki.gov.ru/223/purchase/public/purchase/info/common-info.html?noticeId=2385730
http://www.zakupki.gov.ru/223/purchase/public/purchase/info/common-info.html?noticeId=3650503
http://www.zakupki.gov.ru/223/purchase/public/purchase/info/common-info.html?noticeId=4258157

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Full launch coverage:


Offline Jester

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Fregat MT 133-06
Fairing R15000-030

Soyuz rockets are insured during the transportation to the launch site. One tender indicates 30/136 as the next to fly. That rocket cost the same as two previous rockets; suggesting the same batch production date. 30/136 is the internal factory serial number, 30th machine of the 136th series. The Р (cyrillic) or R15000 indicates year 2015.

Р15000-011 (21/136)
Р15000-012 (24/136)
Р15000-013 (30/136) - ?

Curiously for this launch the fairing was 6/137, and came form a different rocket.

http://www.zakupki.gov.ru/223/purchase/public/purchase/info/common-info.html?noticeId=2385730
http://www.zakupki.gov.ru/223/purchase/public/purchase/info/common-info.html?noticeId=3650503
http://www.zakupki.gov.ru/223/purchase/public/purchase/info/common-info.html?noticeId=4258157

Interesting,, this maybe explains the old style Arianespace logo on the fairing...

Offline Satori

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Did anyone get the exact launch time for VS18?

Offline Jester

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Without you know what...
« Last Edit: 03/14/2018 04:34 pm by Jester »

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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