O3b FM13, FM14, FM15 & FM16

Launch data:

Spacecraft data:

The four O3b MEO satellites for launch by Soyuz are positioned atop the vehicle′s Fregat upper stage. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace

O3b MEO satellites are mated to the Fregat upper stage of their Soyuz launcher. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace

Besides higher-level encryption and a minor refinement of the antennas, the new 03b satellites will be identical to the 12 that were launched in 2013 and 2014, according Thales Alenia Space. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Photo Optique Video du CSG/P. Piron

The “upper composite” containing four O3b MEO satellites is shown after integration atop the Soyuz launcher. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace

Description:

• O3b is a satellite constellation designed for telecommunications and data backhaul from remote locations.
  The first four satellites were launched on 25 June 2013, eight more in 2014 (four satellites on 10 July 2014 and four on 18 December 2014), and four more on 09 March 2018. The constellation will be extended to twenty satellites in 2019.
  The constellation is owned and operated by O3b Networks, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of SES S.A. The O3b constellation began offering service in March 2014.
• Each satellite is equipped with twelve fully steerable Ka band antennas (two beams for gateways, ten beams for remotes) that use 4.3 GHz of spectrum (2×216 MHz per beam) with a proposed throughput of 1.6 Gbit/s per beam (800 MBit/s per direction), resulting in a total capacity of 16 GBit/s per satellite. Each beam′s footprint measures 700 km in diameter. O3b claims a mouth-to-ear one-way latency of 179 milliseconds for voice communication, and an end-to-end round-trip latency of 140 ms for data services. The maximum throughput per TCP connection is 2.1 Mbit/s. For maritime applications, O3b claims a round-trip latency of 140 ms, and connectivity speeds of over 500 Mbit/s.
• The satellites are powered by gallium arsenide solar arrays and lithium ion batteries and weigh approximately 700 kilograms (1,500 lb) each.
• The satellites were constructed by Thales Alenia Space, a division of Thales Group. The first satellite (PFM) was built in the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center, while the rest of the constellation was assembled, integrated and tested in Thales Alenia Space Italy′s Roman facilities.

Mission details:

• Arianespace launched a Soyuz/Fregat from the Centre Spatial Guyanais on Mar 9, 2018 with the fourth quartet of O3b communications satelllites for SES. The O3b equatorial MEO constellation provides broadband internet for the ′other 3 billion′ in the developing world.
• The Soyuz delivered the Fregat upper stage to an -1186 x 194 km x 5.3 deg trajectory. The Fregat made multiple burns to 160 x 205 km, 190 x 7869 km, 7831 x 7835 km. O3b FM14 and FM16 were deployed at 1911 UTC; FM13 and FM15 were deployed at 1932 UTC.

External links:

• Wikipedia: Satellite Information
• Satellite tracking (n2ya.com): Real time satellite tracking