Most C-Band Replacement Satellites Likely Up and Running by End of '22
Ten of the 11 replacement satellites scheduled to be launched in 2022 by Intelsat and SES as part of the C-band clearing could be operational by year's end, the companies' officials told us. Both companies said the pandemic affected some suppliers and their subcontractors, but those suppliers found workarounds and delays haven't been material delays. Intelsat Space Systems Senior Vice President Jean-Luc Froeliger said there were concerns early during the pandemic about contractors being hit by COVID-19, but almost all the components, coming from suppliers around the globe, have been delivered to manufacturers Maxar and Northrop Grumman. He said ultimately the work was delayed maybe a month. The FCC's 2020 C-band clearing order set a Dec. 5, 2023, clearing deadline (see 2003040042).
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The Eutelsat, Telesat and Embratell C-band clearings don't involve any new satellites being launched.
Intelsat's seven satellites will go up via four launches -- three by SpaceX in the second half of next year, of two satellites each, and the seventh satellite on an Arianespace rocket in Q1 2023, said Froeliger. He said the six could be operational as early as the end of '22. He said those six are the middle of integration of the payload panels, to be followed by the vacuum and vibration testing, which will stretch into the delivery of the satellites midyear. Froeliger said once launched, raising the satellites to geostationary orbit could take maybe two weeks. Time to migrate customers from the legacy satellites to the replacements will vary, with some moving in a day and others taking weeks if antennas require repainting, Froeliger said. The International Bureau approved launch and operation of one of Intelsat's seven in October (see 2110220003).
The satellites themselves are relatively technologically simple, Froeliger said, but the challenge is launching so many in a short time frame. He said Intelsat invested in automation to speed its in-orbit testing process.
The four satellites SES plans to launch in Q3 '22 will be in two launches of two satellites each, said SES Chief Strategy and Development Officer Christophe De Hauwer. Doing the launches will be SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. The four, plus two spares to be launched if necessary, are being manufactured and are "largely on time, on schedule," he said. SES in August filed a series of bureau applications for planned replacement satellites (for example, see here).
The migration of SES customers to the new satellites should start in January 2023 and run through the first half ot the year, Du Hauwer said. He said some services can be moved quickly from legacy satellites to the replacements, but many customers will require dual illumination, with both satellites providing service simultaneously at different frequencies. SES' clearing also relies on a sequential plan for some customers, with the move of a customer after the dual illumination period is over allowing the company to move on to the next customer, he said. The second half of 2023 will bring the finalization of earth station filtering efforts, with the bulk of it being done that summer, he said.
SES' new C-band satellites have the same capabilities as the ones they're replacing. Du Hauwer said the company doesn't expect new commercial opportunities beyond offering the C-band services it now offers. Some of the Intelsat satellites will have limited Ku-and capacity -- "a couple transponders at most [for] potential business opportunities," said Intelsat's Froeliger.