EchoStar XXIV (Jupiter-3, EchoStar-24, HNS-95W) at 105° West
Position: | 105° West |
Manufacturer: | Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) |
Operator: | EchoStar |
Launch operator: | SpaceX |
Launch vehicle: | Falcon Heavy |
Launch date: | 07/29/2023 |
Expected lifetime: | 15+ Years |
In August 2017 Hughes Network Systems, Inc. a subsidiary of EchoStar Corp, ordered their Jupiter-3 Ultra High-Density Satellite (UHDS) with Space Systems/Loral (SS/L).
Jupiter 3/EchoStar XXIV is a large, multi-spot beam Ka-band satellite based on the highly reliable SSL-1300 space-proven platform, which provides the flexibility to support a broad range of applications and technology advances. It features an entirely new architecture based on a broad range of technology advances including the miniaturization of electronics, solid state amplifiers (SSPA) and more efficient antenna designs allowing 500Gbps throughput. SS/L has patented 18 technology advances that were incorporated into the spacecraft design, enabling it to provide highly concentrated capacity in critical areas.
HughesNet U.S. broadband satellite business grew its consumer customer base by about 38,000 subscribers, and had approximately 1,580,000 subscribers at the end of September 2020, including 364,000 subscribers in Latin America. This continues a streak of subscriber growth for Hughes.
Originally EchoStar XXIV/Jupiter-3 was planned to be launched in 2021 but was delayed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 29th, the satellite was launched on a Falcon Heavy rocket operated by SpaceX. It was the heaviest satellite ever orbited.