{"id":16512,"date":"2015-03-02T20:32:42","date_gmt":"2015-03-02T12:32:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/plasma-driven-satellites-launched-from-cape-canaveral\/"},"modified":"2015-03-02T20:32:42","modified_gmt":"2015-03-02T12:32:42","slug":"plasma-driven-satellites-launched-from-cape-canaveral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/plasma-driven-satellites-launched-from-cape-canaveral\/","title":{"rendered":"Plasma-driven satellites launched from Cape Canaveral"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-4437\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/f9f16_quick.png\" alt=\"f9f16_quick\" width=\"621\" height=\"386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/f9f16_quick.png 1008w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/f9f16_quick-300x187.png 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/f9f16_quick-768x478.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\"><\/p>\n<p>Two communications satellites blasted off Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, kicking off more than a half-year of novel maneuvers in orbit using plasma drive engines to position the spacecraft 22,300 miles above Earth and link the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>Loaded with payloads for Eutelsat and Asia Broadcast Satellite, the Falcon 9 rocket started up its nine kerosene-fueled engines, passed an automated computer-run health check, and soared away from Cape Canaveral at 10:50 p.m. EST Sunday (0350 GMT Monday). The 22-story launcher steered due east from Florida\u2019s Space Coast, casting an orange glow across a hazy moonlit sky as it climbed through the atmosphere atop 1.3 million pounds of ground-shaking thrust.<\/p>\n<p>The slender white launcher, capped with an aerodynamic shroud covering the mission\u2019s two satellite payloads, surpassed the speed of sound 73 seconds after liftoff. The booster\u2019s nine Merlin engines cut off just shy of the mission\u2019s three-minute mark, following by staging and ignition of a single-engine upper stage for the first of two firings on Sunday\u2019s flight.<\/p>\n<p>The rocket\u2019s composite payload shroud jettisoned moments later, and the Falcon 9\u2019s second stage engine switched off after accelerating to orbital velocity about nine minutes into the flight.<\/p>\n<p>The engine fired again after a 17-minute coast phase as the Falcon 9 transited the Atlantic Ocean, then the rocket began a carefully-choreographed sequence to deploy the pair of two-ton satellites \u2014 first the ABS 3A spacecraft, then the Eutelsat 115 West B bird five minutes later.<\/p>\n<p>The satellites reached a \u201csupersynchronous\u201d transfer orbit stretching up to 63,000 kilometers (39,146 miles) above Earth, with a low point of about 410 kilometers (254 miles) and an inclination of 24.8 degrees, according to Ken Betaharon, chief technology officer for ABS, which is based in Hong Kong and Bermuda.<\/p>\n<p>The mission marked the first time SpaceX launched two large satellites in one flight, and the procedure was also the debut of a patented tandem payload stack developed by Boeing, which manufactured the Eutelsat 115 West B and ABS 3A spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX bypassed an experimental booster flyback tried on previous Falcon 9 launches. The satellite duo on Sunday\u2019s launch, with a combined weight of more than 9,000 pounds, &nbsp;required the full measure of the Falcon 9\u2019s propellant load.<\/p>\n<p>The Falcon 9 released the satellites in an on-target orbit, and officials declared the launch a success, completing SpaceX third satellite delivery mission of the year and the medium-class rocket\u2019s 16th mission overall.<\/p>\n<p>The video below shows separation of the Eutelsat 115 West B satellite from the Falcon 9 rocket Sunday night.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"vine-embed\" src=\"https:\/\/vine.co\/v\/O07jjD9Eb5Q\/embed\/simple\" width=\"678\" height=\"678\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><script async=\"\" src=\"\/\/platform.vine.co\/static\/scripts\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Two more Falcon 9 launches are on track for liftoff in the next six weeks.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX\u2019s next launch is set for March 21 with the TurkmenAlem52E\/MonacoSat communications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space of France on behalf of the government of Turkmenistan.<\/p>\n<p>The company\u2019s next resupply mission to the International Space Station is due for launch around April 10.<\/p>\n<p>Next up for the Eutelsat and ABS satellites is a series of intricate maneuvers to raise their orbits using only xenon-fueled ion thrusters, a design innovation incorporated for the first time into the tandem payloads launched Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>The two spacecraft mark the debut for a new lightweight platform called the Boeing 702SP, which differs from other communications satellite designs with the removal of the large fuel tank that forms the core of most spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>Half of the weight of most communications satellites is taken up with fuel, sometimes carrying up to 5,000 pounds of liquid propellant for in-space maneuvers. The innovation of the Boeing 702SP allows satellite operators to order smaller spacecraft that can host extra communications capacity to replace the mass freed up with the removal of the fuel tanks, said Mark Spiwak, president of Boeing Satellite Systems International Inc.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the big drivers was cost,\u201d Spiwak said. \u201cWe\u2019re able to get the launch cost significantly reduced, get more payload mass to orbit, and reduce the overall cycle time of (building each satellite).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ABS 3A had a launch weight of about 4,400 pounds and rode in the upper position inside the Falcon 9 rocket\u2019s nose cone. Eutelsat 115 West B was a little heavier at about 4,850 pounds, comprising a beefier central structure to help support the weight of the ABS spacecraft riding on top.<\/p>\n<p>Large communications satellites built by Boeing and other companies have used electric propulsion before, but the spacecraft have always carried chemical rocket fuel to supplement their ion engines.<\/p>\n<p>Without the need for liquid fuel, each satellite weighs less than 5,000 pounds. Betaharon said a spacecraft with comparable capabilities would weigh more than 8,000 pounds without the all-electric propulsion system.<\/p>\n<p>With the reduced weight at launch, two lighter payloads can ride into orbit together on SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket, which is only powerful enough to loft one large telecommunications satellite at a time.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4438\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4438\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-4438\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/B_EGEjPVIAA1AMC.jpg-large.jpeg\" alt=\"The Falcon 9 rocket streaks downrange in this long exposure photograph. Credit: SpaceX\" width=\"620\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/B_EGEjPVIAA1AMC.jpg-large.jpeg 1023w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/B_EGEjPVIAA1AMC.jpg-large-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/B_EGEjPVIAA1AMC.jpg-large-768x513.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4438\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Falcon 9 rocket streaks downrange in this long exposure photograph. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe real driver for that lighter solution was to be able to stack two commercial communications satellites on top of each other and provide a dual launch,\u201d said Mike Connelly, director of Boeing\u2019s product line for the new 702SP platform. \u201cWhen you look at the mass of a satellite, with kind of a classic satellite system, it\u2019s dominated by the fuel load of the direct-to-orbit mission.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGoing to an all-electric system, you\u2019re able to reduce the fuel load by almost a factor of 10,\u201d Connelly said. \u201cThat fuel load reduction allowed us to stack the satellites on top of each other, and give the customers a two-for-one deal on the launch costs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sunday\u2019s launch was the first time Eutelsat or ABS flew a satellite with SpaceX, which has scooped up dozens of commercial launch contracts after undercutting the prices of competitors and logging successful flights to demonstrate the reliability of the global launch industry\u2019s newest big player.<\/p>\n<p>The Falcon 9\u2019s delivery of the Eutelsat and ABS satellites to orbit Sunday also notched the first of at least a half-dozen launches this year with commercial communications payloads.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpaceX has a bunch of really bright young people,\u201d Betaharon said in an interview with Spaceflight Now. \u201cThey need a little more experience, but to be fair to them, I think they have really worked very hard to accommodate us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey need a little bit more experience in planning \u2026 With these guys, they often have to make real-time decisions in their next steps and schedule, but I think that\u2019s going to slowly disappear once they have enough launches behind them,\u201d Betaharon said. \u201cThey are, like I said, a bunch of bright young people, and we\u2019ve been here to support them. They need a little bit of adult supervision, but otherwise they are OK. But I think they are really hard-working people and very accommodating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The deal Eutelsat and ABS got for Sunday\u2019s launch proved too good to pass up, and officials announced in March 2012 the selection of Boeing to build the satellites and SpaceX to launch them.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4394\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4394\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-4394\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16402976919_9335649b93_z.jpg\" alt=\"Artist's concept of the Eutelsat 115 West B satellite. Credit: Boeing\" width=\"620\" height=\"496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16402976919_9335649b93_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16402976919_9335649b93_z-300x240.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4394\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist\u2019s concept of the Eutelsat 115 West B satellite. Credit: Boeing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Eutelsat and ABS paid less than $30 million a piece to launch their satellites on the Falcon 9, a benefit of the SpaceX launcher\u2019s bargain prices and Boeing\u2019s effort to shrink the mass of communications spacecraft, officials said.<\/p>\n<p>Such a low price for the launch of a communications satellite is \u201calmost unheard of,\u201d according to Betaharon, a satellite industry veteran with more than 35 years of experience.<\/p>\n<p>Another tandem Falcon 9 launch with Eutelsat and ABS spacecraft is scheduled before the end of 2015.<\/p>\n<p>The downside of relying on ion thrusters to reshape the spacecraft\u2019s orbit is it takes much longer \u2014 six months for ABS 3A and eight months for Eutelsat 115 West B \u2014 for the satellites to reach their final locations in geostationary orbit.<\/p>\n<p>Compare that to less than a month for communications satellites with conventional liquid propellant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe advantage you get with xenon-ion is very high ISP (specific impulse, or efficiency), but the consequence is that the thrust is low and it takes longer to get from the transfer orbit to geosynchronous orbit,\u201d Connelly said. \u201cThe basic science of the transfer orbit doesn\u2019t change, it\u2019s just the amount of time to get through the orbit-raising period.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The thrusters are the same as the units flown on previous Boeing satellites, and they work by consuming xenon gas, using electricity to ionize the propellant, the spitting out plasma at high speed. The thrust delivered by the four engines on each satellite is comparable to the pressure exerted by holding a piece of paper, but the upside is the thrusters can fire nearly continuously.<\/p>\n<p>ABS 3A\u2019s destination is at 3 degrees west longitude, blanketing the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East with television programming, Internet services, cellular backhaul, and maritime communications capacity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf everything goes well, and we have no issues with the electric thrusters, it should be in orbit and operational around the end of August or the beginning of September timeframe and last for about 22 years,\u201d Betaharon said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4395\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4395\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-4395\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16401814560_f6a51035ba_k-2.jpg\" alt=\"The ABS 3A satellite (top) and the Eutelsat 115 West B satellite (bottom) are stacked inside Boeing's factory in El Segundo, California. Credit: Boeing\" width=\"620\" height=\"775\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16401814560_f6a51035ba_k-2.jpg 1638w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16401814560_f6a51035ba_k-2-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16401814560_f6a51035ba_k-2-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16401814560_f6a51035ba_k-2-819x1024.jpg 819w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4395\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ABS 3A satellite (top) and the Eutelsat 115 West B satellite (bottom) are stacked inside Boeing\u2019s factory in El Segundo, California. Credit: Boeing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The ABS payload hosts 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders, replacing and extending communications coverage currently provided by the ABS 3 satellite, which launched in 1997 and is nearing the end of its life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVirtually every geographic market you can see from that location, we are covering it with C- and Ku-band,\u201d Betaharon said. \u201cAlso, the Ku-band beam covering Europe allows us to have a trans-Atlantic coverage from Europe to North America. That can be used for navigation or for other in-flight connections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery service you can imagine that can be provided via satellite can be provided with this one,\u201d Betaharon said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a very high-performance satellite, and the beams are very powerful, and some of the capacity is already spoken for ahead of time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Eutelsat 115 West B satellite will slide into a parking slot at 114.9 degrees west longitude over Latin America.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe launch of the next-generation Eutelsat 115 West B satellite is a milestone that will position us as a major satellite operator across the continent,\u201d said Patricio Northland, CEO of Eutelsat Americas. \u201cIt will transform the 114.9 degrees west orbital position that is already a neighborhood of choice for fast-growing high-speed data and mobility markets in North and South America.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eutelsat acquired the spacecraft launched Sunday with the French operator\u2019s purchase of Mexico\u2019s Satmex in 2014. Satmex originally negotiated the satellite\u2019s manufacturing and launch deals with Boeing, SpaceX and ABS in 2012.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis satellite will address data services, including broadband access, cellular backhaul, VSAT solutions and social connectivity,\u201d said Michel de Rosen, CEO of Eutelsat.<\/p>\n<p>The new satellite \u2014 fitted with 34 Ku-band and 12 C-band transponders \u2014 will replace a former Satmex spacecraft launched in December 1998 and reach customers in a wide swath of the Americas from Alaska to Patagonia. It also carries an instrument package for the Federal Aviation Administration to improve air navigation over the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Eutelsat says it is the first of five new spacecraft the company expects to launch this year.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two communications satellites blasted off Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, kicking off more than a half-year of novel maneuvers in orbit using plasma drive engines to position the spacecraft 22,300 miles above Earth and link the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Loaded with payloads for Eutelsat and Asia Broadcast Satellite, the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3681,4118,670,2135,1424,4119,4128,1542],"class_list":["post-16512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-abs","tag-abs-3a","tag-boeing","tag-boeing-702sp","tag-eutelsat","tag-eutelsat-115-west-b","tag-falcon-9-flight-16","tag-space-launch-complex-40"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16512"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16512\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}