We are continuing to make solid progress on our OG2 launch operations. Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) completed In-Orbit Testing on all 11 OG2 satellites to verify that the satellite hardware is operating as designed. Many thanks to SNC and ORBCOMM’s operations team for completing this testing ahead of schedule.
After over 100 thrusts, the satellites are almost equally spaced within the orbit plane. Additional thrusts will occur over the next several weeks to place the satellites into their proper drifting orbits.
The next test phase is to perform network testing over the next couple of weeks, which initially includes sending test messages through the satellites. Following the completion of network testing, we will begin to intermittently send customer traffic through the satellites.
We are still on track to provide nearly full commercial service for M2M messaging and AIS services to our customers by the end of the first quarter.
ORBCOMM’s Current OG2 Satellite Locations
The blue footprints show the 11 OG2 satellites launched in December 2015 being spaced within the orbit plane. The gold footprints indicate the five OG2 satellites launched in July 2014. Image © ORBCOMM All Rights Reserved, 2016.
Mark Kuiack is Director of Digital Marketing for ORBCOMM. He is responsible for the strategic direction of ORBCOMM's web and social media presence, and has over 15 years of experience in marketing and writing about various technology applications.
What happened to the 6th satellite from the group launched July 2014.
I know the first was lost but should be 17 more?
Hi David,
Thanks for your inquiry. We have launched 17 satellites total (6 in July 2014 +11 in December 2015) as part of our OG2 constellation. In June 2015 ORBCOMM lost communication with one of the in-orbit OG2 satellites. The company stated that the loss of this one satellite is not expected to have a material adverse effect on network communications services. For more info, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbcomm#OG2