ORBCOMM Announces the Successful Launch of
Its First Six OG2 Satellites
ORBCOMM Inc. announced that it has
successfully launched six next generation OG2
satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida at
11:15 am EDT. The OG2 satellites were
successfully separated from the Falcon 9 launch
vehicle into the proper insertion orbit
“The successful launch of the first OG2 mission is a
testament to the entire OG2 team at ORBCOMM, SpaceX, Sierra
Nevada Corporation, Boeing, and Moog, and I’d like to thank them
for their hard work and dedication,” said Marc Eisenberg,
ORBCOMM’s Chief Executive Officer. “OG2 will enable our
customers to send and receive more data, with greater speed,
more efficiently than ever before.”
After an initial health check, the satellites will undergo
extensive In-Orbit Testing (IOT) to verify that all subsystems
are properly functioning. The satellites are expected to be
providing full commercial M2M messaging and AIS services within
the next 60 days.
ORBCOMM’s OG2 satellites are more advanced than its current
OG1 satellites and will provide existing customers with
significant enhancements, such as faster message delivery,
larger message sizes and better coverage at higher latitudes,
while significantly increasing network capacity. In addition,
the OG2 satellites are equipped with an Automatic Identification
System (AIS) payload to receive and report transmissions from
AIS-equipped vessels for ship tracking and other maritime
navigational and safety efforts, increasing asset visibility and
the probability of detection for ORBCOMM’s AIS customers.
ORBCOMM anticipates launching the remaining eleven OG2
satellites and enhanced OG2 services as early as the end of the
fourth quarter of 2014 to complete its next generation
constellation.