Artist's depiction of Arabsat-6A affixed to the Falcon Heavy's second stage. Image Credit: Nathan Koga / SpaceFlight Insider
Posted on 03/04/2018 11:24:06 PM PST by SunkenCiv
The Arabsat-6A satellite has completed primary assembly and has been shipped to Lockheed Martin's Sunnyvale, California facilities to begin testing in preparation for flight...
When Arabsat-6A was transported from Denver to Sunnyvale, the satellite was housed inside of a "mobile clean room." This container ensures that the spacecraft was kept safe and secure.
"Arabsat-6A and its companion satellite, Hellas Sat 4/SaudiGeoSat-1 are the most advanced commercial communications satellites we've ever built," said Lisa Callahan, vice president and general manager of Commercial Civil Space for Lockheed Martin via a statement issued by the company...
If everything goes according to plan, Arabsat-6A should deliver TV, internet and mobile phone services to the Middle East, Africa and Europe after it is launched atop of SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A later this year (2018)...
Using the second of Lockheed Martin's LM 2100 series satellites (Lockheed Martin is building five modernized LM 2100 satellites). The Colorado-based company produced Arabsat-6A as part of a two-satellite Arabsat-6G initiative for Arabsat. The other satellite in the Arabsat 6G program, dubbed Hellas Sat 4 (SaudiGeoSat-1), completed assembly in November of 2017 and was also sent to Sunnyvale.
In California, the spacecraft will be tested to undergo all of the stresses that it can be expected to encounter on its way to orbit. Sound, high and low temperatures as well as being placed in a vacuum. It is hoped that these tests will validate the spacecraft prior to its flight on on-orbit operations. If so, Arabsat-6A will be shipped to Florida's Space Coast in preparation for flight.
(Excerpt) Read more at spaceflightinsider.com ...
Artist's depiction of Arabsat-6A affixed to the Falcon Heavy's second stage. Image Credit: Nathan Koga / SpaceFlight Insider
The launch has been bumped to not-earlier-than late 2018.
Hey, Jack! Which way's Mecca?
Doesn’t say where it will orbit, but to get cell and internet without latency they are going to need a dozen satellites in low earth orbit.
The orbital engineers are going to have a severe problem on their hands when they discover the satellite will be constantly spinning in an attempt to always point east...
It’s geostationary, not LEO. And I doubt they’re worried about latency. As Sam Kinison screamed, “we have deserts too, we just don’t live in ‘em, *******!”
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