On April 29, 2023, SpaceX launched two communication satellites, O3b mPower 3 and 4, from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch was successful, and the Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) at 6:12 p.m. EDT (2212 GMT) on Friday. The O3b mPower satellite constellation was built by Boeing and is owned and operated by Luxembourg-based satellite telecommunications network provider SES. The constellation is a successor to the O3b fleet, built by Thales Alenia Space almost a decade ago. It will consist of 11 next-generation high-throughput satellites that will operate in medium Earth orbit (MEO), approximately 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) above the Earth. The constellation will provide low-latency communications services to customers worldwide. The O3b mPower satellites will use an onboard electric propulsion system to gradually boost their orbits over the next six months until they individually reach the constellation’s anticipated operational equatorial orbit. After about nine minutes of the O3b mission, the Falcon 9’s first stage booster landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The O3b acronym stands for “Other 3 Billion,” referring to the billions of people who do not have access to dependable internet connectivity.
