Arianespace will launch and orbit the Hughes Network Systems Ka-band, high-throughput Jupiter satellite, under a new contract.
Jupiter, weighing approximately 6,100kg at launch, will be placed into geostationary transfer orbit by the Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana in the first half of 2012.
Built by Space Systems / Loral, the high-throughput Jupiter satellite will provide HughesNet broadband satellite services in North America.
The next-generation satellite features a bent-pipe, multispot beam and Ka-band architecture to offer over 100Gbps of throughput.
Hughes chairman and CEO Pradman Kaul said that Jupiter would build on success of its earlier satellite system, Spaceway 3, and deliver a higher-speed service to further strengthen its position in the North American market.
