Page 58 - SAMENA Trends - November 2020

SATELLITE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

NASA Sentinel-6 Satellite in Good Health After Launch

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, a joint U.S.- with the European Space Agency (ESA). director of NASA’s Earth Science Division.
European satellite built to monitor global ESA is developing the new Sentinel family “The changing Earth processes are
oceans is in good health after its Nov. 21 of missions to support the operational affecting sea level globally, but the impact
launch, NASA said in a post-launch news needs of the Copernicus program, on local communities varies widely.
release. The satellite was launched by managed by the European Commission. International collaboration is critical to
SpaceX on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space “The Earth is changing, and this satellite both understanding these changes and
Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air will help deepen our understanding of informing coastal communities around the
Force Base in California on Saturday, Nov. how,” commented Karen St. Germain, world.”
21 at 12:17 p.m. ET. Ground controllers
have acquired the satellite’s signal, and
initial telemetry reports showed the
spacecraft in good health. The satellite
will now undergo a series of checks and
calibrations before it starts collecting
science data in a few months. According
to NASA, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will
extend a nearly 30-year dataset on sea
level collected by an ongoing collaboration
of U.S. and European satellites while
enhancing weather forecasts and providing
detailed information on large-scale ocean
currents to support ship navigation near
coastlines. Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich
and the upcoming Sentinel-6B compose
the Sentinel-6/Jason-CS (Continuity of
Service) mission developed in partnership

Kacific Plans Second Satellite: Kacific2

Kacific Broadband Satellites Group has started directing resources and Western Asia, and potentially Eastern Africa. Like Kacific1,
towards the planning and design of its next satellite, Kacific2. Kacific2 will use a spot beam system with dynamic bandwidth
Kacific2 will add capacity to its largest, high-demand markets reallocation to respond to changes in market demand pre and
of Indonesia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, as well as post launch. This advanced technology allows Kacific to respond
expand its reach wider into South East Asia and further into Central rapidly to new growth opportunities and provide a broader range
of services for each market, by changing bandwidth configuration
even when the satellite is already in orbit. Kacific2 will also take
advantage of the latest beam forming technologies. Christian
Patouraux, Kacific CEO, says that Kacific1 has established a
market presence and distribution channels for its high-speed
broadband internet business in a number of key markets. “The
successful launch and deployment of Kacific1 last year and
current strong demand for its services allowed us to prove both
our capabilities and our business case despite the pandemic.
We’ve shown how rapidly we can meet pent-up demand for
internet access in Asia and the Pacific with satellite technology,
not only as trunk and mobile backhaul links to telcos but also as
direct broadband internet to governments and to ISPs serving
enterprises and consumers.” “It’s exciting to move forward with
the active planning towards our next satellite Kacific2, which is an
important part of our growth strategy” he adds.

58 NOVEMBER 2020