Ariane 5 brings satellite broadband closer to home
French space transit company has successfully launched its Ariane 5 rocket, with dual-payloads set to provide satellite broadband and TV services to areas in Europe and beyond.
French commercial space transportation company Arianespace has successfully launched its Ariane 5 rocket, with dual-payloads set to provide satellite broadband and television services to areas in Europe and beyond.
The launch occurred on Friday at the ELA-3 spaceport in Korou in French Guiana. It took 49 minutes to separate the satellites from the spacecraft and establish a signal after launch. Avanti Communications' Hylas 1 satellite was on board Ariane 5; it will theoretically be able to supply up to 350,000 residential customers with broadband connections of up to 10Mbps.
Satellite-based communications often use the Ku-band (12-18GHz) of spectrum, but Hylas 1 will operate in the Ka-band (26.5-40GHz), allowing for higher throughput.
Read more of "Ariane 5 brings satellite broadband closer to home" at ZDNet UK.