JCSAT-2B, known as JCSAT-14 before commissioning, is a

geostationary A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitude ...

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 Earth. C ...

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 s ...

and designed and manufactured by SSL 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 platf ...

platform. It had a launch weight of , a power production capacity of 9 to 9.9 kW at end of life and a 15-year design life. Its payload is composed of 26 C band and 18 K_u band

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 trans ...

with a total bandwidth of 2,853 MHz. SKY Perfect JSAT Group will use JCSAT-2B as a replacement for

JCSAT-2A JCSAT-2A, known as JCSAT-8 before launch, is a geostationary communications satellite operated by SKY Perfect JSAT Group (JSAT) which was designed and manufactured by Boeing Satellite Systems on the BSS-601 platform. It has Ku-band and C-ban ...

to provide communications services to Japan, Asia, Russia, Oceania, and the Pacific Islands.

History

On June 11, 2013, SSL announced that it had been awarded a contract by

to manufacture JCSAT-14. It would be a 10 kW satellite with 26 C band and 18 K_u band transponders with a 15 years of expected life. It was scheduled for launch in 2015. On January 10, 2014, JSAT announced that it had signed a launch service contract with

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 ...

for the launch of JCSAT-14 aboard a

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 payl ...

rocket. The expected launch date was the second half of 2015. But the failure of

Falcon 9 Flight 19 SpaceX CRS-7, also known as SpX-7, was a private American Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station, contracted to NASA, which launched and failed on June 28, 2015. It disintegrated 139 seconds into the flight aft ...

meant a delay of at least six months on the launch. On March 14, 2016, SSL delivered JCSAT-14 to the launch site, at

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the statio ...

, for launch processing and integration. JCSAT-14 was launched on May 6, 2016, at 05:21 UTC by a

rocket. The next day, SSL announced that the satellite had deployed the solar arrays, was in full control and was performing orbital maneuvers to reach its operational position. Since July 2016, the rechristened JCSAT-2B is commissioned and operational at the 154° East orbital slot.

Launch and rocket landing

JCSAT-14 was launched to

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

on May 6, 2016, at 05:21 UTC, as the 24th mission of a

Falcon 9 Full Thrust Falcon 9 Full Thrust (also known as Falcon 9 v1.2, with variants Block 1 to Block 5) is a partially reusable medium-lift launch vehicle, designed and manufactured by SpaceX. Designed in 2014–2015, Falcon 9 Full Thrust began launch operations ...

rocket. The rocket's first stage subsequently landed on the

autonomous spaceport drone ship An autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) is an ocean-going vessel derived from a deck barge, outfitted with station-keeping engines and a large landing platform and is autonomously controlled when on station for a landing. Construction of ...

''Of Course I Still Love You'' in the Atlantic Ocean. The first stage of the rocket encountered "extreme temperatures during its reentry into Earth atmosphere" and was subsequently identified as a candidate for reflight, and as a "reference vehicle" for further testing. It was subjected to a series of tests, including a 150-second full-duration engine firing completed on 28 July 2016. Additional tests were planned before SpaceX determines the stage's suitability for reuse on a subsequent launch. SpaceX has since completed at least 7 more full-duration firings of the core, and has indicated that this stage will be used solely for ground testing purposes.

References

External links

JSAT Fleet Status

{{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 2016 in Japan SpaceX commercial payloads

History

Launch and rocket landing

See also

References

External links