Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc) revealed on Monday that it has successfully launched its first Ka band satellite, improving Internet coverage of major European shipping lanes.
Built by U.S.-based SSL, the THOR 7 blasted off from French Guiana on board an Ariane 5 launcher on Sunday.
Once operational, the sate llite will provide VSAT services for maritime users in the Baltic Sea, Mediterranean, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, and Red Sea. It will also add more capacity to the company’s direct-to-home (DTH) TV network covering central and eastern Europe.
In addition, TSBc has pre-sold some of THOR 7’s capacity to Space Norway, giving Norway’s Troll research station in Antarctic extra capacity for distributing meteorological data.
"I am delighted to see that THOR 7 has safely reached geostationary transfer orbit and thank both Arianespace and our manufacturing partner SSL for this successful launch," said Morten Tengs, CEO of TSBc, in a statement.
The satellite will undergo in-orbit testing and is expected to be ready to deliver DTH services in six weeks. Ka band VSAT services are expected to launch commercially in the fourth quarter.
"The THOR 7 satellite will provide growth capacity for DTH services across central and eastern Europe and deliver optimal satellite coverage across Europe’s business shipping lanes," Tengs said.
