As per this schedule (I'm not sure how up to date it is), the first of Vega-C is planned for March 2022, JUICE in Q3 2022, Ariane 6 first flight in Q3/4 2022, MTG-I1 in Q4 2022, and Euclid in Q1 2023.https://twitter.com/AschbacherJosef/status/1452582751010439178
WASHINGTON — Fleet operator Intelsat on June 15 said it has ordered six new satellites — four from Maxar Technologies and two from Northrop Grumman — that it needs to continue telecommunications services in the United States with less spectrum by early December 2023. The satellites are for C-band services, mainly television broadcasting, that satellite operators will have to conduct with less C-band airwaves in the United States after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission auctions 300 megahertz of the spectrum for use in cellular 5G networks.<snip>Intelsat is the customer behind the multi-satellite order Maxar disclosed in May, Intelsat spokesperson Melissa Longo told SpaceNews by email.<snip>The satellites Maxar will build are named Galaxy-31, Galaxy-32, Galaxy-35 and Galaxy-36; the satellites from Northrop Grumman are named Galaxy-33 and Galaxy-34. All six are expected to be ready for launch in 2022, according to their manufacturers.<snip>Luxembourg- and Virginia-based Intelsat, having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May, obtained court approval for $1 billion of debtor-in-possession financing June 10 to ensure it could move forward with vacating the spectrum on an accelerated timeline. If Intelsat can clear its customers from the 300-megahertz swath by Dec. 5, 2023, it will receive $4.87 billion in accelerated clearing payments through the FCC, which said it will require spectrum bidders to make those payments for advanced access to the spectrum. That’s two years faster than the FCC’s mandatory deadline for satellite operators to leave the spectrum.
https://www.arianespace.com/press-release/intelsat-entrusts-arianespace-for-the-launch-of-three-c-band-satellites-on-ariane-5-and-ariane-6/[dated Sept 17, 2020]Arianespace will launch the Galaxy 35 and Galaxy 36 satellites together as a stacked pair in 2022, and Galaxy 37 in 2023. Both launches will be performed from Europe’s Spaceport in South America aboard an Ariane 5 and Ariane 64 launch vehicle, respectively.
Launched:№ – Date - Satellite(s) - Rocket - Launch Site - Time (UTC)2022NET Q3 - Galaxy 35, Galaxy 36 - Ariane 5 ECA - Kourou ELA-3Changes on September 21st
Quote from: Salo on 01/25/2022 05:27 am2023March - Galaxy 37 - Ariane 64 - Kourou ELA-4Galaxy-37 aka Galaxy-13RThis launch order is gone [from Arianespace], goes to SpaceX. https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1229094530086/December%202021%20Quarterly%20Report%20-%20Intelsat%2012-29-2021.pdf
2023March - Galaxy 37 - Ariane 64 - Kourou ELA-4
Galaxy 35 and 36 launch delayed to Q4 2022....
There is still another set of tests to go and these involve a ‘fit and release’ check of the launcher clamp band and adapter, supported by Arianespace. Then follows acoustic testing, final alignment and reference performance test at the end of April.The satellite will then be released for final functional checks, including the system validation testing with both ‘launch and early orbit phase’ and routine mission control centres, Telespazio and Eumetsat respectively.The final documentation set for the Qualification and Acceptance Review are under preparation. The consent to ship to Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, is planned for early October with launch targeted for mid-December.
The satellite, which is scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2022, will enable Intelsat to more intensively use the 4000-4200 MHz band, thereby facilitating the successful transition of existing services to the upper 200 MHz of C-band spectrum ahead of the clearing deadlines without any disruption to customers.
The Galaxy geocommsats in-service annual quarters; not launch annual quarters:Quote from: GWR64 on 05/17/2022 05:10 pmThe in service date has been postponed, quarterly report from March 31st. (not paying attention )
The in service date has been postponed, quarterly report from March 31st. (not paying attention )
https://www.eumetsat.int/science-blog/meteosat-third-generation-cutting-edge-weather-dataQuoteECMWF’s Dr Tony McNally explains how the revolutionary next-generation satellites, Meteosat Third Generation, will improve weather forecasts.Published on 23 May 2022As devastating storms, floods, and other extreme weather events become more frequent, it is essential to track the complex systems of the Earth. Today, thousands of researchers and data users are coming together at the Living Planet Symposium in Bonn, Germany to discuss how best to tackle this formidable challenge. One of the world’s largest Earth observation conferences, the symposium provides experts with an opportunity to exchange ideas on how satellites can best be used to collect wide-ranging information about the planet, from monitoring wetlands, forests, and biodiversity, to tracking the health of the oceans and keeping tabs on diminishing Arctic sea ice, to measuring greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.One essential contribution that will be highlighted at the European Space Agency-organised event are the cutting-edge Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites, the first of which is set to launch in November.
ECMWF’s Dr Tony McNally explains how the revolutionary next-generation satellites, Meteosat Third Generation, will improve weather forecasts.Published on 23 May 2022As devastating storms, floods, and other extreme weather events become more frequent, it is essential to track the complex systems of the Earth. Today, thousands of researchers and data users are coming together at the Living Planet Symposium in Bonn, Germany to discuss how best to tackle this formidable challenge. One of the world’s largest Earth observation conferences, the symposium provides experts with an opportunity to exchange ideas on how satellites can best be used to collect wide-ranging information about the planet, from monitoring wetlands, forests, and biodiversity, to tracking the health of the oceans and keeping tabs on diminishing Arctic sea ice, to measuring greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.One essential contribution that will be highlighted at the European Space Agency-organised event are the cutting-edge Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites, the first of which is set to launch in November.
SAT-LOA-20220607-00058QuoteGalaxy 36 is scheduled for launch in Q4 2022.
Galaxy 36 is scheduled for launch in Q4 2022.
Q2 status report [filed June 30]
Operation centres in tune for upcoming weather satellite28/07/2022ESA / Applications / Observing the Earth / Meteorological missions / meteosat third generationIn just a few months’ time Europe’s first Meteosat Third Generation satellite will soar into the skies on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana. From geostationary orbit, this new satellite, carrying two new highly sensitive instruments, will take weather forecasting to the next level. Taking a significant step towards launch, the satellite operations teams at two different centres have completed an all-important suite of tests ensuring that their procedures are fully compatible with the satellite.These final tests, known as system validation tests, involved both Telespazio’s control centre in Fucino in Italy and Eumetsat’s mission operations facility in Darmstadt in Germany.Telespazio is responsible for the satellite’s launch and early orbit phase, which covers the period from separation from the rocket to arrival at geostationary orbit. This phase takes around ten days and includes four burns of the satellite’s liquid apogee engine and deployment of the solar arrays and communications antennas.Eumetsat is responsible for commissioning, routine operations in orbit and the provision of satellite data to national weather services and other users.Slated for launch at the end of November, the first Meteosat Third Generation Imager, MTG-I1, satellite carries a Flexible Combined Imager and a Lightning Imager.To meet more than the 20-year operational life of the mission, the full MTG system comprises six satellites, four MTG-I and two sounding satellites, MTG-S.The two MTG-I satellites will operate in tandem – one scanning the full Earth disc, including Europe and Africa, every 10 minutes, while the other will provide a local area coverage, for example covering only Europe, with a faster repeat cycle.The single MTG-S satellite will also provide local-area coverage over selected parts of Earth, with a repeat cycle of typically five minutes.At the moment, it’s all steam ahead to get the first of these satellites, MTG-I1, into orbit.The recent system validation tests took two weeks of double shift work at the Telespazio and Eumetsat control centres. The respective centres ran key operational procedures both for routine satellite commanding and contingency recoveries to demonstrate the compatibility of the control centres with the MTG-I1 satellite.Over 350 different procedures were exercised during the campaign, for which review and testing against the complex MTG-I satellite simulator has been on-going since early in the year.Ultimately, thanks to the close cooperation between all parties – including ESA, Eumetsat, Telespazio and the MTG industrial support team from Thales, OHB and Leonardo – the overall system validation test campaign has been successfully completed on time.This means that the MTG-I1 satellite can be released for the last few tests prior to shipment to the launch site in French Guiana.Following completion of this significant milestone, a tired but happy, Angela Birtwhistle who is responsible for coordinating the ESA operations activities reflected on a job well done, “After a long and intense preparation phase for what are the last system validation tests for MTG-I1, requiring the commitment and hard work by so many people from all organisations, it was very rewarding to achieve this key milestone.“It is so important for the success of MTG-I1’s launch and operations – and was achieved in an extremely cooperative and collaborative atmosphere.”After a short break the next major activity for the operation teams is the participation in several weeks of simulation campaigns, both for the launch and early orbit phase and routine operations. Again, routine and contingency operations will be exercised, this time against the satellite simulator.This activity will be spiced up by the simulations officer introducing several unexpected failures with the operations support team expected to jump into action and recover the situation.In parallel, the satellite will complete its testing in Europe, the main element of which relates to the final electromagnetic and radio frequency compatibility tests in Thales’ facilities in Cannes, France.This will be followed by packing and shipping, by boat, to Kourou, French Guiana, at the end of September.Once safely in Kourou, final preparations for lift off will take around seven weeks. Launch is scheduled for late November.The extensive and rigorous preparation work by the operations support team will then prove its worth when the separation of the satellite from the Ariane 5 rocket takes place and the MTG-I1 early orbit activities start for real.MTG is a cooperation between ESA and Eumetsat. ESA is responsible for the definition and implementation of the MTG satellites and procurement of recurrent hardware, while Eumetsat is in charge of operating the spacecraft throughout its lifetime. The MTG satellites will replace the current Meteosat Second Generation operational system.
