A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch four MicroGEO satellites for California-based Astranis to a geosynchronous transfer orbit.
The mission, dubbed ‘Astranis: From One to Many,’ includes the company’s UtilitySat, which is designed to relocate within geostationary Earth orbit over its life to respond to different mission objectives. It will launch alongside three other satellites.
Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is set for 10:39 p.m. EST (0339 UTC). Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff.
Coming into the launch opportunity, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast a greater than 95 percent chance of favorable weather at liftoff on Friday night. Launch weather officers cited no specific concerns that would prevent the launch from a meteorological perspective.
“A broad area of high-pressure over the central United States will bring northwest flow and drier air to the cape Friday and Saturday,” meteorologists wrote in their forecast. “Although the Probability of Violation is slightly higher on the backup day due to a slight chance of a flight-through Cumulus Cloud Rule violation, expect favorable weather for either launch window.”
The Falcon 9 first stage booster for this launch, tail number B1077 in the SpaceX fleet, will be launching for its 17th time. It’s previously missions included Crew-5, GPS 3 Space Vehicle 06 and CRS-28.
Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1077 will land on the SpaceX droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ which is positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. If successful, this will mark the 91st booster landing on ASOG and the 386th booster landing to date.
Small package, big mission
The four satellites onboard the Falcon 9 are called MicroGEO satellites since they are each roughly the size of a washing machine. They were built in Astranis’ Pier 70 facilities in San Francisco, CA, and are designed to operate for about eight to ten years.
Two of the satellites, named NuView Alpha and NuView Bravo, will serve Anuvu’s aviation and marine customers. The agreement between Anuvu, previously known as Global Eagle Entertainment, and Astranis was announced back in July 2021 and will service the North America and Caribbean regions.
“We aim to expand our connectivity network in a way that is scalable and agile for our mobility customers” said Josh Marks, CEO of Anuvu in a 2021 press release. “Astranis and its MicroGEO satellites will offer Anuvu customers freedom from decades-long contracts or outdated legacy systems. Most significantly, they are quick to market, have a mission life of seven to ten years, and can be controlled and updated from the ground, enabling our mobility clients to pivot their business model as new technology is introduced.”
Anuvu ordered the two satellites launching on Friday (originally planned to launch in “early 2023”) in addition to six more that will be added in the future.
Also onboard Friday’s launch is a satellite called ‘AGILA,’ named after the national bird of the Philippines. It is the first of two satellites providing service to that country through a partnership with Orbits Corp.
“Orbits Corp will be able to double the number of people that it connects in the most remote islands of the Philippines,” wrote John Gedmark, Astranis Founder and CEO in a November 2023 blog post. “Millions of people, many of whom live on less than $5,000 per year, will be able to connect to the internet as a direct result.
“Orbits Corp estimates that this two-satellite program will bring up to 10,000 direct and indirect jobs to the Philippines, accelerating economic growth and jumpstarting economic development in many of the smallest and most remote communities in the fast-growing nation.”
GEO mobility
The final satellite aboard the mission is called ‘UtilitySat,’ which will initially be used in service of Astranis customer, Apco Networks, an internet service provider, in Mexico.
This is the first of two MicroGEO satellites sold to the company, which has the ability to “connect up to five million people,” Gedmark said in a 2023 blog post.
“A number of our employees at Astranis come from Mexico, some from small communities where connectivity is very poor, or non-existent,” he said. “As they told us, and as we found from further research, the need for better connectivity in Mexico is self-evident — more than 30 percent of the country does not have internet access today, and satellite is often the only way to connect the remote and rural communities scattered across the rough, mountainous terrain of Mexico’s 32 states.
“And the nation itself is focused on improving satellite internet availability. Connectivity is a constitutional right in Mexico, and the President has made connectivity a national priority.”
UtilitySat is unique from the other three satellites on this mission because it is designed to adjust its orbital position and support a different mission than its original one at launch.
“UtilitySat is the world’s first multi-mission commercial GEO satellite, capable of conducting fully operational broadband connectivity missions in Ka, Ku, and Q/V bands,” Astranis wrote on its website. “A fully maneuverable satellite with onboard propulsion, UtilitySat will perform multiple such missions throughout its life on orbit — relocating or repointing each year, month, or day to serve urgent customer needs.”
The company said it plans to launch “a fleet of UtilitySat satellites in the coming years.”
Excited to announce UtilitySat, the world’s first multi-mission geostationary satellite, that we’re launching at the end of this year.
This is a first of its kind. And a new product line– providing on-demand connectivity for disaster relief, bridge capacity, and other missions.… pic.twitter.com/8tJS5fDPcE
— John Gedmark (@Gedmark) August 9, 2023
