The BSAT-4b broadcasting satellite, which will be orbited by Arianespace as part of a turnkey contract between the Japanese operator B-SAT and the satellite manufacturer, Maxar, is being readied for a July 28 liftoff from the Spaceport in French Guiana on Ariane 5.
This 3,530 kg. relay platform is undergoing its preparations in the Spaceport’s S5 payload processing facility and its upcoming liftoff will mark the latest Ariane mission for B-SAT – Japan’s leading broadcasting satellite operator – as well as the continuation of Arianespace’s long-established launch services relationship with the Japanese satellite broadcasting sector.
B-SAT ordered the BSAT-4b satellite from Maxar in 2018 to ensure 4K/8K ultra-high definition direct-to-home video distribution across the Japanese region. It will serve as a back-up geostationary satellite for BSAT-4a, which also was built by Maxar and launched by Arianespace in September 2017.
Equipped with 24 Ku-band transponders, BSAT-4b was designed for a service lifetime of 15 years or longer and is based on Maxar’s popular 1300-class spacecraft bus for commercial communications satellites.
On this month’s Ariane 5 mission to geostationary transfer orbit, designated Flight VA253 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system, BSAT-4b will be integrated in the launch vehicle’s lower payload position, joining the other two passengers: the Galaxy 30 relay satellite (G-30); and the Mission Extension Vehicle-2 (MEV-2) – both of which are supplied by Northrop Grumman, and will serve the operational needs of Intelsat.
