SpaceX completed successfully the launch of the Kacific1/JCSAT-18 satellite aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on 16 December from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The satellite was placed into its target geostationary transfer orbit 33 minutes following initial ignition. The booster stage of the rocket, which had been used twice previously already, was caught by SpaceX's ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Owned by Kacific Broadband Satellites Group, the Boeing-built communications satellite will stream broadband to 25 nations in South East Asia and the Pacific Islands via 56 high-throughput beams.
The Kacific1 commercial satellite operates in the Asia-Pacific region. Its services range from mobile backhaul to broadband internet via VSAT terminals, Kacific said. Kacific1 will cover Indonesia, The Philippines, Timor-Leste and South Asia with 28 spot beams, while the Pacific Islands and New Zealand will be covered with a further 28 beams.
Following a sequence of in-orbit manoeuvres and tests that are expected to take approximately six weeks, Kacific1 is scheduled to start commercial operations in the first quarter of 2020.
The JCSAT-18 satellite marks the second High Throughput Satellite to be owned by SKY Perfect JSAT, after its first launch in 2018. JCSAT-18 will provide Ku-band coverage and improve mobile and broadband services in the Asia-Pacific region, including the far eastern part of Russia.
