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The satellite will be the first-ever dedicated satellite for the entire state of Alaska and will have an immediate impact on bridging the state’s digital divide when service begins later this year.
SAN FRANCISCO, March 16, 2022–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Astranis Space Technologies Corp. announced today that the first MicroGEO satellite is ready for launch following successful completion of final tests.
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Arcturus, Astranis Space Technologies’ first MicroGEO satellite undergoing environmental testing. (Photo: BusinessWire)
Astranis has now completed all major testing necessary to get its first MicroGEO spacecraft ready to be shipped to the launch site, including vibration and vibroacoustics testing, final deployment testing of solar panels and antennas, propulsion system tests, software tests and electrical checks. This follows a successful thermal vacuumor TVAC, a test campaign that ended at the end of last year.
Vibration and vibroacoustic tests, collectively known as the vibration test campaign, are among the most intense tests of structural and mechanical endurance for any spacecraft. During the vibration, the vehicle was subjected to low to medium frequency mechanical vibrations and medium to high frequency acoustic vibrations simulating the extreme forces it must withstand during launch. Next, Astranis engineers performed a final series of software and hardware checks to ensure the payload is fully functional and the satellite remains mission-ready.
“After successfully completing this final round of testing, our first commercial satellite is now officially ready for launch,” said John Gedmark, CEO and co-founder of Astranis. “Passing these checks is always something to celebrate, but this time it’s especially meaningful because we’re building something new the world has never seen before and sending it into space for the whole first time.”
When the satellite enters service later this year with capacity leased exclusively from Alaska satellite provider Pacific Dataport Inc. (PDI), it will have an immediate impact on bridging the state’s digital divide. The compact yet powerful MicroGEO satellite is expected to triple the satellite bandwidth currently available in the state while providing consumers with true broadband speeds and reliability at about half the cost of existing services.
“Comprehensive, ubiquitous coverage of Alaska has been our primary mission from the beginning, and Astranis is helping us achieve that,” said Chuck Schumann, CEO of Pacific Dataport Inc. “Alaska is the largest state with the most low population density. every day people who live in very isolated places, telling us how thirsty they are for fast and reliable high-speed internet service. Imagine a village with few roads that is only accessible by a small airstrip. There are no cell towers, no cable and no Affordable and reliable broadband is a generational change for a community like this and this satellite is going to help us make that change for our entire state.
Astranis MicroGEO satellites are 1/20 the size and cost of traditional GEO communications satellites. With a lower price and much shorter build times compared to legacy satellites, Astranis provides dedicated satellite bandwidth as a service, enabling customers like PDI to connect people in places that have been neglected, underserved or out of the market for a quick connection. , reliable high-speed Internet.
To learn more about how Astranis MicroGEO satellites can make affordable high-speed internet a reality for unconnected people everywhere on the planet, visit Astranis.com.
About Pacific Dataport Inc.
Pacific Dataport Inc. (PDI) is a midstream satellite provider headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. PDI was founded to enable Internet access for everyone, everywhere in Alaska. PDI is focused on delivering affordable mid-mile and last-mile broadband using the latest satellite technology from the Aurora Satellite Network. PDI’s customers include telecommunications (wired and wireless), non-profit organizations, hospitals, health clinics, schools, libraries, governments (tribal, local, state and federal) and corporations, Alaska Native villages and tribes.
The Aurora satellite network is a combination of new high-throughput geostationary satellites and low-Earth orbit satellites. High-speed broadband satellites are the most cost-effective way to provide broadband service over a wide geographic area. Used in tandem with satellites in low Earth orbit, it enables a hybrid network with high data rates as well as low latency. Hybrid networks provide inherent backup and redundant service to customers while keeping costs as low as possible. With Alaska’s vast and treacherous landscape, there are villages and communities that will never see terrestrial broadband solutions in our lifetime. PDI will serve any location in Alaska with broadband this year.
For more information on PDI, please see pacificdataport.com.
About Astranis
Astranis is building small, low-cost telecommunications satellites to connect the four billion people who currently lack Internet access. Each spacecraft operates from geostationary orbit (GEO) with a next-generation design weighing just 400 kg, using a proprietary software-defined radio payload. This unique digital payload technology allows frequency and coverage flexibility, as well as maximum utilization of valuable spectrum. By owning and operating its satellites and offering them to its customers as a turnkey solution, Astranis is able to provide bandwidth as a service and unlock previously inaccessible markets. This allows Astranis to launch small, dedicated satellites for small and medium-sized countries, Fortune 500 companies, existing satellite operators and other customers.
Astranis has successfully launched a test satellite into orbit and is now underway with its first commercial program – a satellite to deliver high-speed internet access to Alaska that will more than triple available bandwidth across the state. This satellite is now in final assembly and is expected to be launched in 2022. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and has a team of more than 175 people, including world-class engineers from SpaceX, Boeing, Skybox, Qualcomm, Apple and Google. Astranis has raised over $350 million from leading Silicon Valley and growth investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Venrock and BlackRock.
For more information, follow us on Astranis.com or on Twitter at @astranis_space.
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