The orbital launch yr is about to kick off in Florida in the identical method it ended 2023: with the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. On board the workhorse launch automobile is a communications satellite tv for pc for Sweden-based Ovzon. Liftoff of the rocket is ready on the opening of a ten-minute launch window that begins at 6:04 p.m. EST (2304 UTC). It’ll mark the second Falcon 9 flight in lower than 24 hours, following the launch of 21 Starlink satellites from California late Tuesday.
The mission will ship the Ovzon-3 satellite tv for pc to geostationary orbit, marking the primary, privately-funded Swedish satellite tv for pc launched.
Spaceflight Now can have reside protection with commentary from the Cape starting about an hour earlier than liftoff.
“Sweden has a robust historical past with the satellite tv for pc space, however it is a first for Sweden and I believe that’s one thing we’re very happy with,” stated Kristofer Alm, the Chief Advertising and marketing Officer for Ovzon. “And I believe that Sweden is a really robust based mostly to proceed our growth.”
Following liftoff on Wednesday, the satellite tv for pc will spend the following three months reaching its orbital slot of 59.7 East. As soon as it will get there, Ovzon will start its full testing marketing campaign. The plan is that by mid-2024, the satellite tv for pc will likely be full operational.
“The great factor is we’re not completed then. We’re going to maintain including capabilities,” Alm stated. “Clearly, a few of these capabilities will likely be customer-driven, some that we’ll do as a result of it’s on our roadmap.”
At its core, the Ovzon-3 satellite tv for pc is designed for vital missions with so-called near-peer capabilities. Alm stated the concept is for the satellite tv for pc to be operable with out being reliant on the bottom phase of the structure, serving to it’s immune to jamming or different intrusive operations.
The satellite tv for pc options 5 steerable spot beams that permit it to regulate the place it’s delivering the best person capability and can perform with Ovzon’s suite of satellite tv for pc terminals.
“Protection is our major goal market. Protection is the place we’ve been most profitable, however we’ve began to broaden. We now have nationwide safety, public security,” Alm stated. “So we’re doing like fireplace and rescue providers in Italy and different components of Europe the place they want cellular terminals, strong terminals. They want a service that may be shortly activated.”
“And that’s one other a part of our benefit, that we have now the full-service chain. So, we will activate and deploy a community in mainly 24 hours,” Alm added.
Assembly an evolving problem
Ovzon was based in 2006 to supply a service of leasing on-orbit capability via using its on-the-ground terminals. One of many firm’s major prospects traditionally has been the U.S. Division of Protection.
Alm stated because the years went on, Ovzon leaders determined that having their very own satellite tv for pc was necessary to increase their capabilities and supply a brand new service for presidency prospects inside the European market.
“We’ve all the time been a Swedish firm with a U.S. buyer base and now we’re a Swedish firm with a U.S. and a European buyer base and I believe that’s actually thrilling,” Alm stated.
Alm pointed to the continuing Russian warfare in Ukraine as a second of evolution with reference of the worldwide neighborhood having a larger appreciation for having resident vital communications. He stated the market is now extra prepared for this kind of service than it was even simply two years in the past.
“One factor that occurred when the Russians went into Ukraine was they jammed satellite tv for pc communications. And the way did they do this? Effectively, they knocked out the bottom phase,” Alm stated. “Our satellite tv for pc can perform with out the bottom phase. So, once we inform that to our buyer, they’re like ‘Ooh.’”
“So, they’ve studied what’s happening there and we will carry capabilities to deal with that,” Alm added. And that’s meant that the narrative that we’re placing forth has turn out to be extraordinarily related for lots of European prospects proper now.”
Price ready for
The debut of Ovzon’s first satellite tv for pc marks the primary privately-funded satellite tv for pc for Sweden, but it surely has additionally confronted some headwinds. A mixture of manufacturing delays and the COVID-19 pandemic put the satellite tv for pc notably not on time and the price heading into the launch was estimated round 2 billion Swedish kronoa (equal to roughly $195 million). It was unique scheduled to launch on an Ariane 5 however was not able to fly earlier than the European workhorse rocket was retired.
Alm stated regardless of the struggles, they’ve had robust help from their monetary backers on their technique to launch.
“After all, the expectations are excessive and now that we’re [ready to launch] they’re going to be even increased, however I believe we see that as a problem and we’re able to embrace it,” Alm stated. “Clearly, it’s as much as us to ship now and I believe that’s a part of the joy forward as a result of now we’re given a instrument that may permit us to proceed the expansion that we’ve been on.
Beginnings of an enormous yr
The launch of the Ovzon-3 satellite tv for pc continues what SpaceX hopes to be a traditionally busy yr for the corporate. The mission would be the second orbital launch of 2024 for SpaceX and the primary of the yr with a paying buyer.
The primary stage booster supporting this mission, tail quantity B1076, will likely be making its tenth flight to this point and can return to Touchdown Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral House Pressure Station about eight minutes after liftoff.
This mission kicks off a busy couple of months for SpaceX that will likely be highlighted by the launch of two crewed missions to the Worldwide House Station, the launch of a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft to the ISS and a Moon-bound mission with Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander.
In a press release on X, previously referred to as Twitter, SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev reiterated the corporate’s aim of launching 144 instances earlier than the yr is out.
“The launch system (pads, restoration, flight {hardware}) must be able to 13 [per] month so we will play catch up when deliberate upkeep, debacles and climate inevitably sluggish us down,” he wrote.
We’re aiming for 144 launches in 2024 (12 per 30 days). The launch system (pads, restoration, flight {hardware}) must be able to 13/month so we will play catch up when deliberate upkeep, debacles and climate inevitably sluggish us down.
— Kiko Dontchev (@TurkeyBeaver) January 3, 2024
