After being delayed an additional day due to a power issue at the launch site, a commercial Soyuz-2.1a with 38 satellites onboard, including two from Kepler Communications, launched at a 2:07 am ET today. In a news release, Kepler touted a new record for Canadian satellites.
Kepler’s press release stated that they are now the “Canadian leader in terms of the number of satellites in space.” Kepler now has 15 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), while Telesat has 14 satellites in orbit, 1 in LEO and 13 in geostationary orbit (GEO). While Kepler’s statement is true, the fact remains that Telesat’s 13 satellites are of the large GEO variety with a total cost in the billions. Kepler’s small satellites weigh a fraction (12-22 kg) of one Telesat’s latest GEO satellites (7,080 kg) and also cost a fraction to manufacture and launch.
That being said, Kepler is making progress in building and deploying their constellation. As a private company we don’t know their financial state, but in this new era where small satellites are king, they are doing what no other new Canadian space company has done yet, plan, build and launch a large constellation of satellites.
In the press release, Jeffery Osborne, VP of Strategy and Business Development said “we are delighted to pioneer a new generation of satellite service as Canada’s largest satellite fleet operator. Today showcases a glimpse of our aggressive growth and rapid innovation. Our customers near and far will be the beneficiaries of our continually improved, Canadian-built innovation.”
Wen Cheng Chong, CTO of Kepler Communications added, “These spacecraft carry an upgraded narrowband payload that is fully designed, built and integrated in-house in a matter of a few weeks since the launch of our last batch in January. The new payload allows Kepler to bring into use our spectrum filing and rapidly run on-orbit experiments for different narrowband frequencies to determine the best combination of frequencies to provide a globally harmonized IoT service. Additionally, these spacecraft also help to increase our network capacity and decrease data latency for our Global Data Service. The rapid iteration cycle clearly showcases the team’s endeavor for the 10x that challenges the norm in the satellite industry.”
Kepler released a video (below) from their partners, customers, investors and friends on becoming Canada’s largest satellite fleet operator.