Biggest Commercial Satellite in the World Reaches Space
Europe’s space conquistadors successfully hoisted the world’s largest commercial satellite into orbit on July 1, 2009. The behemoth satellite, called TerreStar-1, was launched from the space base in French Guiana.
Owned by American telecommunications company TerreStar Networks, the satellite weighs 15,233 pounds (6.9 tons). Due to its mass, TerreStar-1 was the single payload aboard its vehicle, an Ariane-5 heavy rocket designed to bear two telecommunications satellites at a time.
Launching firm Arianespace used an Ariane 5 ECA rocket for TerreStar-1. The rocket and its freight departed from the spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at approximately 1:52 PM. Hours later, TerreStar-1 hovered above the planet in geostationary orbit.
At its fullest, TerreStar-1’s wingspan would stretch for 106 feet once it spreads its solar wings, which await deployment. The satellite would also unfurl its 60-foot S-band antenna in weeks’ time.
TerreStar should have launched in June. However, the inauspicious weather in French Guiana caused the launch to be delayed for the fourth time.
Arianespace has planned seven launches for Ariane 5 ECA in 2009 alone. The TerreStar-1 sendoff was third, 189th overall since the introduction of Ariane in 1979.
“Today’s launch is just the beginning of the TerreStar story,” said Jeff Epstein, TerreStar Networks’ president.
Although TerreStar Networks is based in Reston, Virginia, TerreStar-1 was developed in California by Space Systems/Loral. The satellite should give North Americans portable voice/data communications through handsets that use S-band.
Arianespace has other significant launches in the pipelines. According to Arianespace executive Jean-Yves Le Gall, the company is launching Vega, a new rocket, toward the end of 2009. Vega will be saddled with payloads of up to 1.5 tons.
ArianeSpace has also entered into a business deal with Russia to launch Soviet-era Soyuz rockets in 2010. The firm will be launching Soyuz 2, a leviathan that can carry payloads of up to three tones. In comparison, rockets launched from the Russian spaceport Baikonur could only transport 1.7-tonne payloads.