JCSAT-17 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 ...

. The satellite was designed and manufactured by

Lockheed Martin Space Lockheed Martin Space is one of the four major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. It has its headquarters in Littleton, Colorado, with additional sites in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Sunnyvale, California; Santa Cruz, California; Huntsvill ...

on the LM-2100 platform, and was launched on 18 February 2020 on an

Ariane 5 Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It is launched from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in French Guiana. It has been used to deliver payloads in ...

. The satellite mainly provides service to Japan and the surrounding regions. Utilizing several

S-band The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the conventiona ...

transponders In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight tran ...

with a flexible processor, the satellite has the capability to redirect communications capacity to concentrate on disaster relief efforts or other high-volume events.

History

On 3 February 2016,

SKY Perfect JSAT 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 ...

awarded

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Lockheed Martin Space is one of the four major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. It has its headquarters in Littleton, Colorado, with additional sites in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Sunnyvale, California; Santa Cruz, California; Huntsville ...

a contract to build JCSAT-17 using a modernized variant of the

A2100 The A2100 is a model of communications satellite spacecraft made by Lockheed Martin Space Systems. It is used as the foundation for telecommunications payloads in geosynchronous orbit, as well as GOES-R weather satellites and GPS Block IIIA satelli ...

satellite bus. Eventually, this bus became known as LM-2100, which is expected to provide JCSAT-17 with a minimum 15-year lifespan. On 4 January 2017,

announced it had contracted

Arianespace Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It undertakes the operation and marketing of the Ariane programme. The company offers a number of different launch vehicles: the heavy- ...

to launch JCSAT-17 on an

Ariane 5 ECA Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It is launched from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in French Guiana. It has been used to deliver payloads into ...

. The satellite was shipped to

Kourou Kourou () is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It ...

in January 2020.

Spacecraft

JCSAT-17 was built by

on the LM-2100 platform. The spacecraft uses an 18-metre reflecting

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

to provide targeted

communications to Japan and surrounding regions. Once in orbit, the new satellite unfurled a 18-metre-diameter S-band mesh communications antenna made by

L3Harris Technologies L3Harris Technologies (L3Harris) is an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology service (economics), services provider that produces Command and control, C6ISR systems and products, wireless equipment, tactical ...

, formerly known as

Harris Corp. Harris Corporation was an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider that produced wireless equipment, tactical radios, electronic systems, night vision equipment and both terrestrial and sp ...

, of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. The spacecraft uses

Ku-band The Ku band () is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally german: Kurz-unten), because it is the lower part of the ori ...

transceivers for

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. ...

avionics Avionics (a blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fitt ...

communications.

Launch

JCSAT-17 was launched from

Guiana Space Centre The Guiana Space Centre (french: links=no, Centre spatial guyanais; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximat ...

ELA-3 ELA-3 (french: Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 3, lit=Ariane Launch Complex 3), is a launch pad and associated facilities at the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana. ELA-3 is operated by Arianespace as part of the expendable launch system for ...

on 18 February 2020 at 22:19:00 UTC aboard an

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload (spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and syste ...

. As with most Ariane 5 missions, the satellite was co-manifested and therefore shared a launch with the South Korean

weather satellite A weather satellite or meteorological satellite is a type of Earth observation satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites can be polar orbiting (covering the entire Earth asynchronously), or ...

GEO-KOMPSAT 2B. Approximately 31 minutes after launch, JCSAT-17 separated from the

SYLDA Sylda is a village and a former municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Arnstein.geostationary 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 f ...

. The S-band and C-band payloads on JCSAT-17 will be used by NTT Docomo, a Japanese mobile phone company, to provide mobile connectivity across Japan and surrounding regions, according to Sky Perfect JSAT.

References

{{Orbital launches in 2020 Spacecraft launched in 2020 2020 in Japan Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Satellites using the A2100 bus Communications satellites of Japan Ariane commercial payloads