SpaceX launches Telstar 19 Vantage for Telesat

SpaceX launched the first of two missions planned for this week on Sunday, July 22, lofting the Telstar 19 Vantage telecom satellite for Telesat using a Falcon 9 rocket.
SpaceNews.com

            WASHINGTON — SpaceX launched the first of two missions planned for this week on Sunday, July 22, lofting the Telstar 19 Vantage telecom satellite for Telesat using a Falcon 9 rocket.
The Block 5 Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida at 1:50 a.m. Eastern, and deployed Telstar 19 Vantage into a geostationary transfer orbit almost 33 minutes later.
The rocket’s first stage landed on the sea-faring droneship  “Of Course I Still Love You” approximately eight and a half minutes later.
Telstar-19 Vantage is the first of two SSL-built satellites SpaceX is launching for Canadian fleet operator Telesat this year. The satellite has a mix of traditional Ku-band wide beams and Ku- and Ka-band spot beams for connectivity services including internet for consumers, stores, offices and mobile platforms like boats and airplanes.
Telesat is positioning Telesat-19 Vantage at 63 degrees West, the same orbital slot as its seven-year-old Ku-band Telstar-14R satellite.
Two anchor customers, Hughes Network Systems of Germantown, Maryland, and Bell Canada of Québec, Canada signed 15-year capacity leases prior to launch, affirming Telesat’s business plan for Telstar-19 Vantage, which is a growth satellite, not a replacement. Hughes secured all of the satellite’s Ka-band capacity over Latin America, rebranding it as “Hughes 63 West,” and customers including Bell Canada are leasing the entire Canadian Ka-band payload.
Along with operating geostationary satellites, Telesat is preparing a constellation of 117 low-Earth-orbit spacecraft for high-speed broadband in 2022. The company has one prototype satellite in orbit from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. Partners OmniAccess, a maritime connectivity company, Australian fleet operator Optus Satellite and Global Eagle Entertainment, an aeronautical, maritime and remote connectivity provider, are all testing the service.
SpaceX’s next mission is a Falcon 9 with 10 Iridium Next satellites scheduled for launch July 25 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Telesat’s next satellite, the Telstar-18/Apstar-5C satellite shared with APT Satellite of Hong Kong, is scheduled for a Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral no earlier than August.
SpaceNews.com

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