OTTAWA, Canada -- Telesat has completed orbit raising and payload testing on its Phase 1 LEO satellite. Following completion of these activities, Telesat announced on May 22 that the spacecraft is now ready to support live demonstrations of its capabilities.
Telesat's Phase 1 LEO satellite, also known as LEO Vantage 1, lifted off aboard an Indian PSLV on January 12, 2018 along with other small satellites. Telesat plans to deploy 120 satellites in low Earth orbit by 2021 to provide low-latency, high speed broadband services.
Telesat has already signed agreements with other companies in the satellite industry - including Global Eagle Entertainment, OmniAccess and Optus Satellite - to collaborate in live, over-the-air trials of Telesat Phase 1 LEO. Telesat expects other companies to join in the testing as well.
Built by SSTL based on its SSTL-42 platform the Phase 1 LEO satellite had a launch mass of 168 kilograms. The company's Phase 1 testing will demonstrate key features of the LEO design and by working with other companies, Telesat be able to match system performance with projected requirements of customers. Testing will also enable partners to assess what role Telesat's constellation could play in their next-generation broadband networks.
Telesat is one of a number of incumbent geosynchronous satellite operators investing in LEO satellites. Others include Intelsat, SKY Perfect JSAT, and most recently Eutelsat. With these investments, companies are betting that they can better serve high demand broadband customers by positioning satellites closer to Earth, minimizing latency issues that have caused problems with geosynchronous satellites orbiting farther away.
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