Mission Update
TerreStar-1 is welcomed to French Guiana for its June launch on Ariane 5
The large shipping container with TerreStar-1 is unloaded after arriving at Cayenne’s international airport aboard an An-124 cargo jet.
May 18, 2009
The world’s largest commercial satellite ever to be launched has arrived in French Guiana, where the TerreStar-1 spacecraft will be readied for Arianespace’s late June mission aboard a dedicated Ariane 5.
TerreStar-1 was delivered to Cayenne’s Rochambeau International Airport, making the trip from its U.S. production site in Palo Alto, California on an An-124 cargo aircraft. After being unloaded from this four-engine jetliner in its protective container, the satellite was readied for transfer to Europe’s Spaceport for the startup of pre-launch processing.
Built by Space Systems/Loral for TerreStar Networks, TerreStar-1 will use the 2-GHz spectrum with an antenna sized at nearly 60 feet across when fully opened. It is designed to provide integrated satellite and terrestrial mobile services for critical communications, using conventionally-sized dual-mode handsets.
Once in orbit, TerreStar-1 will be capable of generating over 500 spot beams that cover the Continental U.S., Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The upcoming TerreStar-1 flight will be Arianespace’s third Ariane 5 launch of 2009, following last Thursday’s on-target mission to deep space with the Herschel telescope and Planck observatory for the European Space Agency; and the February 12 dual-payload success with HOT BIRD™ 10 and NSS-9 satellites for two of the world’s leading satellite communications operators – Eutelsat and SES.
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