Three Satellites Finish a Global Broadband Network That Starts Work in 2027

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched three more O3b mPOWER satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sept. 13, and the satellite operator SES says the flight completes the broadband network it has been building in medium Earth orbit. The three are the 11th, 12th and 13th in the series, and they join 10 spacecraft already in operation.

Nothing changes for users right away. SES says the three satellites should be operational by mid-2027. They are meant to add capacity for business, government and telecom customers working in remote or underserved places, and to give the O3b mPOWER system what the company calls additional resiliency and flexibility.

In its announcement, SES said the O3b mPOWER fleet offers anywhere from tens of megabits per second to multiple gigabits per second of capacity to a single site.

Adel Al-Saleh, SES's chief executive, called the launch "a defining milestone for SES as we complete the O3b mPOWER constellation." He said it reinforces the company's ability to deliver "resilient, secure and scalable connectivity" for customers around the world.

O3b mPOWER is SES's second-generation system in medium Earth orbit. SES describes the finished fleet as a step toward a next-generation network in the same orbit, aimed at secure communications and relaying data in space.