JCSAT-16 is a geostationary

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Ear ...

operated by

SKY Perfect JSAT Group The SKY Perfect JSAT Group is a Japanese corporate group that claims to be Asia's largest satellite communication and multi-channel pay TV company. It owns the SKY PerfecTV! satellite broadcasting service and the SKY Perfect Well Think content ...

and designed and manufactured by

SSL SSL may refer to: Entertainment * RoboCup Small Size League, robotics football competition * ''Sesame Street Live'', a touring version of the children's television show * StarCraft II StarLeague, a Korean league in the video game Natural language ...

on the

SSL 1300 The SSL 1300, previously the LS-1300 and the FS-1300, is a satellite bus produced by Maxar Technologies. Total broadcast power ranges from 5 to 25 kW, and the platform can accommodate from 12 to 150 transponders. The SSL 1300 is a modular pla ...

platform. It has a launch weight of , a power production capacity of 8.5 kW and a 15-year design life. Its payload is composed of K_u band and K_a band transponders. SKY Perfect JSAT Group plans to use JCSAT-16 as an in-orbit backup satellite for the Ku- and Ka-band satellites serving the Japanese market.

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...

Falcon 9 Falcon 9 is a partially reusable medium lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo and crew into Earth orbit, produced by American aerospace company SpaceX. The rocket has two stages. The first (booster) stage carries the second stage and pa ...

Flight 28 propelled JCSAT-16 to a

geosynchronous transfer orbit A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a type of geocentric orbit. Satellites that are destined for geosynchronous (GSO) or geostationary orbit (GEO) are (almost) always put into a GTO as an intermediate step ...

on August 14, 2016.

History

In April 2014,

announced that it had been awarded a contract by

to manufacture two satellites:

JCSAT-15 JCSAT-15 is a communications satellite designed and manufactured for SKY Perfect JSAT Group by SSL on the SSL 1300 platform. It has a launch weight of , a power production capacity of 10 kW and a 15-year design life. Its payload is composed ...

and JCSAT-16. The latter would be an 8.5 kW satellite with K_u band and K_a band payload for a broad range of orbital locations. It would be used as a back-up to the existing fleet. On September 10, 2014, JSAT announced that it had signed a launch service contract with SpaceX for the launch of JCSAT-16 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. On April 3, 2016, it was announced that Kratos had been selected for supplying a Ku-band antenna for JCSAT-16 TT&C at its Superbird Platform West ground station. Also, it was stated that the satellite had passed the critical design review. On July 13, 2016, SSL delivered JCSAT-16 to the launch site in Cape Canaveral for launch processing and integration. This was the second launch of the year for JCSAT and also the second time the company used the

launch services, both times also happening in 2016. On August 4, 2016, JSAT announced that the expected launch date of JCSAT-16 was on August 14. JCSAT-16 first stage landing

At the scheduled August 14 at 05:26 UTC, SpaceX successfully launched the JCSAT-16 satellite into a 184 km × 35,912 km × 20.85° orbit on a

rocket. The first stage successfully landed afterwards. At 5:58 UTC, the satellite separated from the upper stage. The satellite manufacturer, SSL, announced that 33 minutes after launch, the satellite was in good health and sending signals. While JCSAT-16 was supposed to serve as on-orbit backup at the 124° East longitude position, it will be repositioned into service at the 162°East position to replace Superbird-B2, a satellite past its design life. Originally Superbird-8 was supposed to replace Superbird-B2, but a mishap during transport to the launch site in March 2016 meant that it would be delayed between one and two years. On late September 2016, parts of Falcon 9 second stage reentered the atmosphere and landed over Java and Madura, Indonesia. Some parts like the Helium COPV (Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel) landed mostly intact and damaged an animal enclosure, but there was no further damage or harm.

References

{{Orbital launches in 2016 Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Satellites using the SSL 1300 bus Spacecraft launched in 2016 Communications satellites of Japan Satellites of Japan SpaceX commercial payloads

History

See also

References