Inmarsat-6

Meet Inmarsat-6, the sixth generation of satellites for the London-based global mobile satellite communications operator Inmarsat.

Inmarsat-6 F1 is the first among the two-satellite I-6 constellation. The I-6 F1 and I-6 F2 satellites will provide mobile communication services worldwide with F2 scheduled to be launched by SpaceX in 2022.

Inmarsat-6 F1 will support Global Xpress (GX) services introduced by Inmarsat in 2015. The GX high-throughput broadband services offered by the satellite will include advanced global safety services, low-cost mobile services, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

Inmarsat

Inmarsat is a British satellite telecommunications company that offers global mobile services.

It primarily provides telephone and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate with ground stations through fourteen geostationary telecommunications satellites.

Photo Credit: Airbus

H-IIA is Japan’s medium-lift rocket.

The H-IIA overall (both its variants) is a rare rocket; it started as a government-owned and operated launcher under the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in the mid- to late-1990s and transitioned in 2007 to a privately-held, commercially offered rocket by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

It has only suffered a single failure. In November 2003, a burn through on one of the solid rocket boosters destroyed its separation system causing it to remain attached after burn out. The added mass of the spent booster prevented the rocket from achieving orbit.

The H-IIA 204 is one of two operational variants of the H-IIA rocket. The “204” designation indicates 2 (number of main stages), 0 (number of side-mounted liquid-fueled boosters), 4 (number of strap-on solid rocket boosters).

While additional stages and liquid-fueled boosters were originally envisioned, they never came to be. Therefore, the H-IIA always has two stages and never has liquid-fueled strap-on boosters, so the first two numbers never change.

Notable launches include:

• numerous geostationary communications satellites,
• military and civilian reconnaissance satellites,
• Telstar 12 Vantage.

Image: JAXA

LA-Y1 is a launch pad at Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center, specifically located within the Yoshinobu Launch Complex. It serves as the primary launch site for Japan’s H-II and H-IIA rockets, which are used for deploying satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

The Yoshinobu Launch Complex, which includes both LA-Y1 and the adjacent LA-Y2 pad, is situated on the northern side of Tanegashima Space Center. Rockets are assembled vertically in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) before being transported to the launch pad on a mobile platform. The journey from the VAB to LA-Y1 takes approximately 30 minutes.

LA-Y1 has been operational since its first launch in February 1994 and has hosted numerous missions, including the deployment of Japan’s Akatsuki and Hayabusa2 missions, as well as the Emirates Mars Mission. The pad is equipped to handle the H-IIA's first-stage engine, the LE-7A, and is supported by facilities such as the Takesaki Range Control Center, which manages launch operations and tracking.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.