On Monday, December 16, at 7:10 p.m. EST, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched JCSAT-18/Kacific1 from its launch site at Cape Canaveral, deploying the satellite approximately 33 minutes after liftoff.
The satellite, manufactured by Boeing, has a liftoff mass of 6.8 tonnes and is a condosat, shared between Japanese satellite operator SKY Perfect JSAT and new Singapore-based Kacific Broadband Satellites Group (Kacific). The geostationary satellite has been inserted into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).
JCSAT-18 is a High Throughput Satellite (HTS) that will provide Ku-band spot-beam coverage and improve mobile and broadband services for SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation customers in the Asia-Pacific region, including the far eastern part of Russia, and will also operate in the Ka-band using conventional beams.
Kacific-1 has 56 high-throughput spot beams in the Ka-band and will cover South East Asia and the Pacific Islands. Of this, it will cover Indonesia, The Philippines, Timor-Leste and South Asia with 28 spot beams, while the Pacific Islands and New Zealand will be covered with a further 28 beams. The satellite is expected to begin commercial operations in the first quarter of 2020.
“Kacific1 is the newest and most powerful commercial satellite operating in the Asia-Pacific region, placing Kacific in an excellent position to grow alongside these markets,” said Christian Patouraux, Kacific founder and CEO. “Its range of services, from mobile backhaul to broadband internet via VSAT terminals, will provide a catalyst for positive change in the nations it is about to serve. I’m thrilled to start seeing the social and economic impact of Kacific1.”
