Everything about the Spaceway totally explained
The
SPACEWAY system was originally envisioned as a global
Ka band communications system by
Hughes Electronics (External Link
) (External Link). When the project to build the system was taken over by
Hughes Network Systems headquartered in Germantown Maryland, USA
(External Link), a subsidiary of Hughes Electronics, it was transformed into a phased deployment initially only launching a North American satellite system. This is in comparison to other more ambitious systems such as
Teledesic (External Link) and
Astrolink (External Link) which retained their full global nature and which subsequently failed to complete their systems. Hughes Network Systems working with Hughes Electronics subsidiary
Hughes Space and Communications (and subsequently sold to Boeing and called Boeing Satellite Systems and later the
Boeing Satellite Development Center)
(External Link) completed and built the North American SPACEWAY system
(External Link) meant to provide
broadband capabilities of up to 512 kbit/s, 2 Mbit/s, and 16 Mbit/s uplink data communication rates
(External Link) with fixed K
a-band satellite terminal antennas sized as small as 74 cm
(External Link). The broadband SPACEWAY system was standardized by
Telecommunications Industry Association (External Link) and
European Telecommunications Standards Institute as the
Regenerative Satellite Mesh - A Air Interface (External Link).
After
News Corp purchased a controlling interest in Hughes Electronics (which was renamed to
DirecTV Group), the company sold off its controlling interest in Hughes Network Systems but retained SPACEWAY-1 and SPACEWAY-2 for use in the DirecTV satellite television subsidiary of Hughes Electronics
(External Link). Boeing retrofitted the first two satellites for
bent-pipe K
a-band communications for use in high definition television and disabled the regenerative on-board processing of the original system that was to be used for broadband satellite communications.
(External Link)
SPACEWAY-1 is providing
high definition television to DirecTV customers with its
Ka band communications payload. DirecTV isn't expected to make use of the
broadband capabilities on SPACEWAY-1 even though it was originally built by Boeing for this purpose.
(External Link)
The identically built
(External Link) satellite called
SPACEWAY-2 has been launched and is also providing
high definition television to DIRECTV customers.
The third satellite in the series called
SPACEWAY-3 was launched on August 14, 2007 from Ariane Launch Complex 3 in the tropics of Kourou, French Guiana. This satellite is expected to be used by
Hughes Network Systems as part of its business and consumer broadband satellite service currently called
HughesNet.
(External Link)
Despite statements to the contrary in the system's initial filings with the
Federal Communications Commission, none of the three satellites have
Inter-Satellite Links connecting the satellites directly with each other in space.
(External Link)
Hughes Network Systems has an option to purchase and have
Boeing build
SPACEWAY-4.
(External Link)Further Information
Get more info on 'Spaceway'.
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