L-band reflector on the SkyTerra 1 satellite has been successfully deployed

 

14 December 2011

 

The 22-meter L-band reflector on the SkyTerra 1 satellite has been successfully deployed. All deployment indicators are nominal, and Boeing will continue a series of on-orbit check-out procedures over the next several months prior to handing SkyTerra 1 and the first Space Based Network over to its LightSquared customer.

"We assembled a core team of experts, and today's success is one that we share with Harris Corporation, the supplier of the antenna, and with our customer, LightSquared. Although the occasional delay in a full deployment sometimes occurs on a satellite, it is not a situation we face very often. Today's success is due to the talented men and women at Boeing and their unparalleled expertise in operating satellites and in creatively and successfully resolving the issue." Craig Cooning, Vice President and General Manager, Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems

"We congratulate the Boeing, Harris and LightSquared teams who have worked diligently over the past week to successfully deploy the SkyTerra 1 L-band reflector. We look forward to Boeing's completion of in-orbit testing of the SkyTerra 1 satellite and handing over this Space Based Network to us in early 2011. LightSquared is proceeding on schedule with its roll-out of the nation's first integrated wireless broadband and satellite network." Martin Harriman, Executive Vice President of Ecosystem Development and Satellite Business, LightSquared