Superbird-B3, known as Superbird-8 before launch, and DSN-1 (Kirameki-1) for its military payload, 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

Mitsubishi Electric , established on 15 January 1921, is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi. The products from MELCO include elevators an ...

on the

DS2000 The DS2000 is a geostationary communications satellite bus designed and manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric of Japan. Designed to carry payloads between and , with power requirements of up to 15 kW. It is compatible with Ariane 5, Proto ...

satellite bus A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held. Bus-derived satellites are opposed to specially produced satellites. Bus-d ...

. It is intended to replace

Superbird-B2 Superbird-B2, also known by its pre-launch designation Superbird-4, is a Japanese communications satellite which is operated by SKY Perfect JSAT Group. It was originally built and launched for the Space Communications Corporation (SCC), which m ...

on the 162° East, offering

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 ...

and

Ka-band The Ka band (pronounced as either "kay-ay band" or "ka band") is a portion of the microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum defined as frequencies in the range 26.5–40 gigahertz (GHz), i.e. wavelengths from slightly over one centime ...

communication services to the Japanese market. It will also serve as one of the two planned

X-band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is rather indefinitely set at approxim ...

military satellites of the DSN network, in this role, it will be known as DSN-1 (Kirameki-1). Originally intended to be launched by an Ariane 5 ECA in the second half of

fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...

2015, a mishap during transport to the launch site in March 2016 meant that it would be delayed up to two years.

History

JSAT along

NEC is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It prov ...

, NTT Com and

Maeda Corporation is a Japanese corporation which was established in 1919. Its main areas of business are building construction and civil engineering. Maeda has domestic offices in eleven Japanese cities, and overseas offices in Thailand, Hong Kong, and India. H ...

formed a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

called

DSN Corporation DSN Corporation ja, 株式会社ディー・エス・エヌ is a corporation owned by SKY Perfect JSAT Group, NEC and NTT Com. It was founded on December 19, 2012 for the sole purpose of acting as an investment vehicle in the private finance ...

. On 15 January 2013, DSN Corporation announced that it had closed a contract with the

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

to execute the "Program to Upgrade and Operate X-Band Satellite Communications Functions, etc". The contract is a

private finance initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 199 ...

, where private funds, management and technical capabilities are used to upgrade and operate the

Japanese military The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, th ...

satellite network. Based on this program, DSN Corporation will manufacture and launch two satellites plus perform the necessary upgrades to ground control stations. It will also operate, manage and maintain the facilities and equipment through fiscal years 2015 to 2030. The total program cost was estimated at ¥122,074,026,613. The plan called for the launch of the first satellite in December 2015, with a start of operations in March 2016 and a termination of operations in April 2030. The second satellite was expected to launch in January 2017, starting operations in March 2017. The program and the operations of the second satellite were expected by March 2031. JSAT role is the procurement and general management of the satellites. The first satellite, DSN-1, is actually an additional payload on one of JSAT's own satellites, Superbird-8. The second satellite,

DSN-2 DSN-2, also known as Kirameki-2, is a geostationary orbit, geostationary communications satellite to be operated by DSN Corporation, a subsidiary of SKY Perfect JSAT Group. Its payload is a pure X band, X-band and will be used for military commu ...

is a dedicated spacecraft. On 25 April 2014, JSAT announced that it had placed an order with

(MELCO) and its satellite platform

for its Superbird-8 satellite. It would replace

and be positioned on the 162° East orbital slot. On an earning revision, JSAT disclosed that they had confirmed container deformation after Superbird-8 arrived to its launch site. In July 2016, it was published that a 25 May 2016 mishap during air transport had delayed the satellite launch by an estimated two years. A dislodged tarpaulin had blocked the bleed valve on the satellite container and the spacecraft had suffer from over pressurization damage.

References

{{Orbital launches in 2018 Spacecraft launched in 2018 Ariane commercial payloads Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Satellites using the DS2000 bus Communications satellites of Japan 2018 in Japan

History

See also

References