Boeing ships first two redesigned O3b mPower satellites

TAMPA, Fla. — Boeing has shipped the first pair of O3b mPower satellites with fixes addressing power issues that have hobbled the initial six in SES’s next-generation medium Earth orbit (MEO) broadband network.

Boeing said Nov. 13 the satellites with redesigned power modules were sent via truck from its facilities in El Segundo, California, and are due to arrive at Cape Canaveral in Florida next week for their December SpaceX launch.

SES announced in August 2023 that electrical issues were sporadically tripping off power modules on in-orbit O3b mPower satellites after deploying the first four spacecraft in the Boeing-built constellation.

While the trip-offs can be quickly resolved in a process an SES executive likened to flipping a circuit breaker, the company said the issue significantly reduces their operational life and broadband capacity.

Even still, SES proceeded with launching the fifth and sixth O3b mPower satellites without hardware changes to enable initial commercial services to start in April.

The seventh and eighth satellites were set to launch last year before efforts to redesign power modules on future O3b mPower spacecraft delayed the rollout.

Each satellite is designed to scale to multiple gigabits per second of throughput, roughly 10 times more than the operator’s first generation of 20 O3b satellites in MEO, with an operational life of about 10 years.

To achieve the constellation’s original performance expectations, Boeing is building two more satellites beyond its initial 11-satellite O3b mPower contract.

In an earnings call Nov. 7, SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh said the pair of upgraded satellites slated to launch next month will add a “meaningful increase in much-needed incremental capacity where we have more demand from customers than we have available supply to support them today.”

He said the next three satellites are due for launch in mid-2025, followed by the final pair at the end of 2026.

“From 2027, we will have triple the available capacity and we’ll have a powerful constellation with seven fully capable satellites plus the initial six impaired satellites as spares,” he said.

Adel Al-Saleh recently spoke to SpaceNews about the Luxembourg-based MEO and geostationary fleet operator’s growth strategy, and how it is taking on mounting competition from SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellites in low Earth orbit. 

Sandeep Jalan, SES’ chief financial officer, said on the earnings call that the operator is still working on a $472 million insurance claim to recoup O3b mPower losses.

“It’s not a straight loss claim,” Jalan said, “it takes a little bit more time than a normal straight claim because the satellites are functioning, but they are not functioning at the originally intended design and the capacity. 

“They are far inferior, and that’s why we have to take impairment, and that whole insurance claim is geared towards that.”

Boeing has also disclosed $315 million of losses on a satellite contract to meet life cycle commitments for a customer a source close to the company confirmed is SES, adding to the manufacturer’s financial woes.

Despite issues with the first O3b mPower satellites, SES recently announced a $200 million contract to provide connectivity from the constellation to NATO members for three years, with two one-year extension options.

SES reported 1.48 billion euros ($1.57 billion) in revenue for the year to date, down 1.1% year-on-year when adjusted for foreign exchange rates.

Adjusted EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, fell 2% to 775 million euros.

However, SES said growth in its connectivity business is strengthening overall financial trends, despite ongoing competition from online streaming services in its media segment.

The company now expects full-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA at the top of its previously forecasted range: 1.94 billion to two billion euros for revenue and 950 million to one billion euros for adjusted EBITDA.