GovSat-1 Successfully Launched on SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

The GovSat-1 spacecraft was successfully launched into space today on board a flight-proven SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 4:25 PM EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.The multi-mission satellite will be located at the 21.5 degrees East orbital slot, to serve governmental and institutional customers over Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and provide extensive maritime coverage over the Mediterranean and Baltic seas, and the Atlantic and Indian oceans. The highly flexible and resilient GovSat-1 payload features advanced security capabilities and uses dedicated frequencies in X-band and military Ka-band. GovSat-1 is equipped with six high-powered fully steerable spot beams, a high-power X-band Global beam, and features sixty-eight transponder equivalent units in total.The satellite is entirely dedicated to government and institutional users, and will be operated by GovSat from the Secure Mission Operations Centre in Luxembourg. The secure and robust connectivity on GovSat-1 will enable critical communications in theatres of operations, interconnect key institutional or defence sites, and support applications such as Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and communications on the move, among others.The Luxembourg Government has pre-committed an important amount of capacity on the satellite in support of its NATO commitments. The remaining capacity will be made available to governmental and institutional users on commercial business terms. (photo: GovSat-1)