Iridium Communications Inc. is a publicly traded American company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, United States. Iridium operates the Iridium satellite constellation, a system of 75 satellites: 66 are active satellites and the remaining nine function as in-orbit spares. Iridium Satellites are used for worldwide voice and data communication from handheld satellite phones, satellite messenger communication devices and integrated transceivers, as well as for two-way satellite messaging service from supported conventional mobile phones. The nearly polar orbit and communication between satellites via inter-satellite links provide global service availability.
DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation.
Hughes Network Systems, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar. It is headquartered in Germantown, Maryland and provides satellite internet service. HughesNet has over a million subscribers in the Americas in late 2023, down from 1.4 million in early 2022.
Galaxy 23 is the name given to the C-band service of the Galaxy 23/EchoStar IX communications satellite jointly owned by Intelsat and EchoStar located at 121° W longitude, serving the North American market. It was built by Space Systems/Loral, as part of its FS-1300 line. Galaxy 23 was formerly known as Intelsat Americas 13. The "Galaxy 23" portion of the service provides transponders in the C band. The "EchoStar IX" portion broadcasts Ku band, and Ka band transponders.
EchoStar Corporation is an American company providing satellite communication, Wireless telecommunications, and Internet services. Its Hughes Network Systems and EchoStar Satellite Services business are operated from its headquarters in Arapahoe County, Colorado. The company also provides television services under the Dish and Sling brands as well as mobile services under the Boost Mobile brand.
EchoStar V was a communications satellite built by Space Systems/Loral based in Palo Alto, CA and operated by EchoStar. Launched in 1999 it was operated in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 148 degrees west. EchoStar V was used for direct-to-home television broadcasting services.
EchoStar VI or EchoStar 6 is a former American communications satellite which was operated by EchoStar. In 2013, the satellite was rebranded BermudaSat 1 after the satellite was sold to a Bermudan subsidiary of SES, a satellite operator based in Luxembourg.
EchoStar VII is an American geostationary communications satellite which was operated by DISH Network, originally EchoStar. It was positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 119° West, from where it is used to provide high-definition television direct broadcasting services to the United States.
EchoStar VIII was an American geostationary communications satellite which is operated by EchoStar. It is positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 110° West, from where it is used to provide high-definition television direct broadcasting services to the Contiguous United States.
EchoStar XI, also known as EchoStar 11, is an American geostationary communications satellite which is operated by EchoStar on behalf of Dish Network. It is positioned in Geostationary orbit at a longitude of 110° West, from where it is used to provide direct broadcasting services to the United States.
TerreStar-1 is an American communications satellite which was operated by TerreStar Corporation. It was constructed by Space Systems/Loral, based on the LS-1300S bus, and carries E/F band transponders which will be used to provide mobile communications to North America. The signals are transmitted by an 18-metre (59 ft) reflector on the satellite. It had a launch mass of 6,910 kilograms (15,230 lb), making it the second most massive single satellite launched into a geosynchronous transfer orbit, and the second largest commercial communications satellite ever built. Its record as the most massive communication satellite was surpassed by Telstar 19V launched on Falcon 9 on July 21, 2018, with a mass of 7,076 kilograms (15,600 lb).
EchoStar X, also known as EchoStar 10, is an American geostationary communications satellite which is operated by EchoStar on behalf of Dish Network. It is positioned in Geostationary orbit at a longitude of 110° West, from where it is used to provide direct broadcasting services to the United States.
Nimiq-5 is a Canadian communications satellite, operated by Telesat Canada as part of its Nimiq fleet of satellites. It is positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 72.7° West of the Greenwich Meridian. As of July 2015, EchoStar Corporation leases the satellite's entire capacity to provide high-definition television direct-to-home broadcasting for Dish Network Corporation. When accessed using a multi-satellite receiver such as the VIP722k and a multi-satellite dish/LNB combo, such as the Dish-300, Dish-500, or Dish-Turbo 1000.4, the satellite is referred to by the on-screen diagnostics as Echostar 72 W.
EchoStar XIV is an American geostationary communications satellite which is operated by EchoStar. It is positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 119° West, from where it is used to provide high-definition television direct broadcasting services to the continental United States for Dish Network.
EchoStar XV is an American geostationary communications satellite which is operated by EchoStar. It is positioned in geostationary orbit, and will be located at a longitude of 61.5° West, from where it is intended to provide direct broadcasting of high-definition television services to the continental United States and Puerto Rico for Dish Network.
EchoStar XVII or EchoStar 17, also known as Jupiter 1, is an American geostationary high throughput communications satellite which is operated by Hughes Network Systems, a subsidiary of EchoStar. It is positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 107.1° West, from where it is used for satellite internet access over HughesNet.
A high-throughput satellite (HTS) is a communications satellite which provides more throughput than a classic fixed service satellite (FSS). An HTS provides at least twice, though usually 20 times or more, throughput for the same amount of allocated orbital spectrum, thus significantly reducing cost-per-bit. ViaSat-1 and EchoStar XVII provide more than 100 Gbit/s of capacity, which is more than 100 times the capacity offered by a conventional FSS satellite. When it was launched in October 2011, ViaSat-1 had more capacity (140 Gbit/s) than all other commercial communications satellites over North America combined.
The JSAT constellation is a communication and broadcasting satellite constellation formerly operated by JSAT Corporation and currently by SKY Perfect JSAT Group. It has become the most important commercial constellation in Japan, and fifth in the world. It has practically amalgamated all private satellite operators in Japan, with only B-SAT left as a local competitor.
The year 2023 saw rapid growth and significant technical achievements in spaceflight. For the third year in a row, new world records were set for both orbital launch attempts (223) and successful orbital launches (211). The growth in orbital launch cadence can in large part be attributed to SpaceX, as they increased their number of launches from 61 in 2022 to 98 in 2023. The deployment of the Starlink satellite megaconstellation was a major contributing factor to this increase over previous years. This year also featured numerous maiden launches of new launch vehicles. In particular, SSLV, Qaem 100, Tianlong-2, Chollima-1,and Zhuque-2 performed their first successful orbital launch, while SpaceX's Starship – the world's largest rocket – launched two times during its development stage: IFT-1 and IFT-2.
EchoStar XXI is a European communications satellite which is operated by Echostar Corporation. It was constructed by Space Systems/Loral, based on the SSL 1300 satellite bus, and carries S band transponders which will be used to provide 2 GHz mobile connectivity throughout Europe.
