Space Exploration Technologies also known as SpaceX will be back in business by mid-December with a scheduled Falcon 9 rocket launch designed to place ORBCOMM’s 11th OG2 satellite on low-orbit. The liftoff will take place in six to eight weeks at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
OG2 satellites, which are operated by the satellite communications company ORBCOMM, are a second generation of communications satellites that is far more advanced than the previous OG1 generation. The company said that the tiny crafts allow faster speeds in message delivery, they support larger batches of data, and provide better coverage on high altitudes.
Sierra Nevada Corporation, which has built the OG2, said that it obtained federal approval and it was about to ship the satellite to Cape Canaveral. The satellite should reach the air force station by the end of this month.
ORBCOMM confirmed the news today. The company, which is specialized in machine-to-machine communications and Internet of Things implementation, partnered with SpaceX in 2009. SpaceX agreed to ferry 18 second-gen satellites to space between 2010 and 2014. The mission was a success, but it was not yet over. This December’s launch will mark the end of the mission as ORBCOMM’s fleet of OG2 satellites will be completed.
ORBCOMM also said that OG2 would support Automatic Identification System (AIS) technology to allow customers easily track their assets such as cargo ships and other AIS-equipped vessels via the satellites. The technology is designed to also make maritime navigation safer for ORBCOMM customers.
Marc Eisenberg, the company’s chief executive, thanked SpaceX for their dedication to the launch and expressed his excitement over the incoming launch of the last OG2 satellite.
He added that the next generation of satellites would deliver higher performance, coverage and safety to users worldwide through the upgraded fleet of OG2s. Eisenberg also mentioned the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, which was passed twenty years ago, and the company’s long term goals, values, and expectations.
Eisenberg’s company is the world’s largest provider of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) solutions. M2M is an essential part of the Internet of Things infrastructure since it has applications in multiple domains including car automation, smart cities, defense and health infrastructures. Orbcomm is the single company that has a commercial fleet of satellites designed to support M2M.
SpaceX plans another Falcon 9 launch by the end of the year. The rocket will transport a SES satellite into space, the space company said Friday. In early 2016, SpaceX is expected to carry out another resupply mission to the International Space Station and ferry another Jason-3 weather satellite into space.
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