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TAMPA, Fla. — Boeing has shipped two more O3b mPower broadband satellites to SES with hardware fixes the operator might no longer need thanks to a surprising assist from solar storms.
The ninth and tenth satellites for the next-generation medium Earth orbit constellation (MEO) recently left manufacturing facilities in California, Boeing announced July 2, en route to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a SpaceX launch this summer.
Like the seventh and eighth satellites launched in December, the latest duo carries redesigned power modules to address electrical issues that hampered the first six O3b mPower spacecraft already in MEO.
SES has filed a $472 million insurance claim over the issue. To ensure the constellation meets original performance expectations, Boeing also committed to providing two extra O3b mPower spacecraft beyond its original 11-satellite contract.
However, SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh said in March that severe solar storms last year helped clear a buildup of protons that had been triggering sporadic power module failures on the satellites.
According to industry sources, the electric anomalies have not returned since the storms, although there is no guarantee the issue won’t recur.
Solar storms cloud insurance picture
The apparent resolution has complicated SES’ insurance claim, which applies only to the first four satellites launched before the operator became aware of the anomaly.
Satellites five and six were deployed afterward and are not covered, as SES opted to proceed with launches to avoid further delays to its next-generation constellation.
The claim is based on SES’ estimate that the four affected satellites would operate at only 70% of their intended capacity, along with a shorter-than-expected lifespan.
One industry source told SpaceNews that some underwriters are pushing back, seeking to settle for significantly less or even avoid paying out entirely.
SES chief financial officer Sandeep Jalan said during an April 30 earnings call that the company had received $58 million from the claim to date, with negotiations ongoing.
A clearer roadmap ahead
The Luxembourg-based operator had also planned to deploy its 11th O3b mPower spacecraft this summer, but that mission has been pushed to 2026 to join the final two satellites, all scheduled to launch together aboard a single SpaceX Falcon 9.
SES spokesperson Suzanne Ong said the operator is seeking to optimize its next launch configuration “to maintain our capacity increase targets and improve network efficiency,” adding that more details will be shared soon.
During the April 30 earnings call, Al-Saleh stated that a fully operational constellation in 2027 would represent a threefold increase over the network’s current capacity.
Each satellite is designed to scale to multiple gigabits per second of throughput, roughly 10 times more than the operator’s first generation of 20 O3b satellites in MEO.
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