TerreStar successfully launched the world's largest, most powerful commercial communications satellite last week from Arianespace's Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. Space Systems/Loral said that the thruster firing to lift it into its final geosynchronous orbit was scheduled for late July 2.
TerreStar 1 has an 18-meter antenna reflector that will be unfolded when the satellite reaches its orbital slot. This large reflector and associated feed system will be able to provide voice, video and data communications to be transmitted over 2 GHz spectrum to a satellite phone no larger than a typical smart phone. The reflector and feed system allows it to generate hundreds of spot beams covering the Continental U.S., Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The satellite will be located at 111 degrees west longitude.
