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| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Nasdaq: TSAT Russell 2000 Component | |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Predecessors | Telesat Canada, Loral Skynet, AT&T Skynet |
| Founded | May 2, 1969 |
| Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
Key people | Daniel S. Goldberg (CEO) |
| Products | satellite communications and integration services |
| Parent | Loral Space (majority share) |
| Website | telesat |
Telesat, formerly Telesat Canada, is a Canadian satellite communications company founded on May 2, 1969. The company is headquartered in Ottawa.
Telesat began in 1969 as Telesat Canada, a Canadian Crown corporation created by an Act of Parliament. [1] Telesat Canada launched Anik A1 in 1972 as the world's first domestic communications satellite in geostationary orbit operated by a commercial company; [2] this satellite was retired from use in 1981.[ citation needed ] Until February 1979, Telesat had a legal monopoly on Earth stations in Canada: any entity wishing to send or receive satellite signals had to sign a long-term lease with Telesat Canada for an Earth station.[ citation needed ] Contracts for such leases were still enforced after the monopoly was ended.[ citation needed ]
Telesat Canada was privatized and sold by the federal government to Bell Canada in 1998. [3]
On December 18, 2006, Loral Space & Communications announced that it, along with Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), would acquire Telesat for US$2.8 billion. [4] On October 5, 2007, they received the final regulatory approval necessary to complete the acquisition of Telesat from BCE Inc. (the new holding company for Bell) for CAD$3.25 billion. The acquisition closed on October 31, 2007, with Loral owning 63% of Telesat. [5]
At the same time, Telesat merged with Loral Skynet (formerly AT&T Skynet), a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications. Loral Skynet was a full-service global satellite operator headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey. This resulted in the transfer of all of the assets of Loral Skynet to Telesat.
Telesat announced on December 30, 2009, that Nimiq 6 was built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L). Bell Satellite TV, a Canadian satellite TV provider agreed to fully lease the satellite for its lifetime to serve their subscribers across Canada. Nimiq 6 has a payload of 32 high-powered Ku-band transponders. It uses the SS/L1300 platform and has a 15-year mission life. It was launched in 2012 by International Launch Services (ILS). [6]
On November 17, 2010: Telesat Holdings Inc. hired JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse Group AG to start a formal sales process and offer so-called staple financing to interest buyers for $6 billion to $7 billion. [7]
MHI Launch Services (formerly H-IIA Launch Services) [8] ) launched Telstar 12 VANTAGE for Telesat in November 2015 on a H2A204 variant of the H-IIA rocket, [9] and it commenced service in December 2015. [10]
In 2016 Telesat announced it would launch a low-Earth-orbit (LEO) constellation of 120 satellites, in polar orbit and in inclined orbits, about 1,000 km (620 mi) in altitude. The satellites would use the Ka-band, across 6 orbital planes, having at least 12 satellites in each plane. The siting of the orbital planes is to comply with the Canadian government's Enhanced Satellite Constellation Project, as well as providing global coverage. [11] [12] The constellation is officially named Telesat Lightspeed. [13]
In 2017, Telesat expanded the LEO constellation plan to about 300 satellites, coupled with 50 ground stations across the globe. There would be about 80 polar orbit satellites, with the remainder in inclined orbits, for global coverage, including polar regions. The internet satellite constellation is targeted to have a 30-50 ms latency. The satellites are expected to be around 800 kg (1,800 lb) and last 10 years on orbit. The constellation is expected to have a 16-24 Tb/s capacity with 8 Tbit/s (1 TB/s) available for customers. [14]
In 2018, the Phase 1 pathfinder test satellite for the LEO constellation was launched. Various customers and satellite transceiver equipment manufacturers started testing with the satellite. [15] [16] [17]
In 2019, Telesat contracted with Blue Origin on their New Glenn rocket and Relativity Space with their Terran 1 rocket, for satellite launches to their LEO constellation. [14]
In 2020, Telesat filed plans for expanding the satellite count to its LEO constellation to over 1,600 satellites. [12] [18] In November 2020, Telesat announced that it will become publicly traded on the American stock index NASDAQ in mid-2021. [19]
In July 2023, LEO 3 satellite was launched. [20]
In September 2023, Telesat announced a new contract with SpaceX for 14 launches with up to 18 satellites on each launch for the Lightspeed constellation, starting in mid-2026. [21]
The company is the fourth-largest fixed satellite services provider in the world. [22] [23] It owns a fleet of satellites, with others under construction, and operates additional satellites for other entities.
Telesat carries Canada's two major DBS providers signals: Bell Satellite TV and Shaw Direct, as well as more than 200 of Canada's television channels.
Telesat's Anik F2 carries a Ka-band spot beam payload for satellite Internet access for Wildblue users in the United States and Xplornet users in Canada. [24] [25] The KA band system uses spot beams to manage bandwidth concerns, linking to multiple satellite ground stations connected to the Internet.
| City | Country | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Ottawa, Ontario | Canada | Worldwide [26] |
| Allan Park, Ontario | Canada | Canada |
| Calgary, Alberta | Canada | Canada |
| Montreal, Quebec | Canada | Canada |
| Toronto, Ontario | Canada | Canada |
| Winnipeg, Manitoba | Canada | Canada |
| Vancouver, British Columbia | Canada | Canada |
| North Bethesda, Maryland | United States | United States (Sale Representative) |
| Arlington, Virginia | United States | United States Government Services |
| Bedminster, New Jersey | United States | United States |
| London, England | United Kingdom | Europe, Middle East and Africa |
| Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | Latin America |
| Singapore | Singapore | Asia |
| Mount Jackson, Virginia | United States | North America |
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet, and military applications. Many communications satellites are in geostationary orbit 22,236 miles (35,785 km) above the equator, so that the satellite appears stationary at the same point in the sky; therefore the satellite dish antennas of ground stations can be aimed permanently at that spot and do not have to move to track the satellite. Others form satellite constellations in low Earth orbit, where antennas on the ground have to follow the position of the satellites and switch between satellites frequently.
A satellite constellation is a group of artificial satellites working together as a system. Unlike a single satellite, a constellation can provide permanent global or near-global coverage, such that at any time everywhere on Earth at least one satellite is visible. Satellites are typically placed in sets of complementary orbital planes and connect to globally distributed ground stations. They may also use inter-satellite communication.
Skynet is a family of military communications satellites, now operated by Babcock International on behalf of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (MoD). They provide strategic and tactical communication services to the branches of the British Armed Forces, the British intelligence agencies, some UK government departments and agencies, and to allied governments. Since 2015 when Skynet coverage was extended eastward, and in conjunction with an Anik G1 satellite module over America, Skynet offers near global coverage.
Loral Space & Communications Inc. is a Delaware-domiciled satellite communications company headed by Michael B. Targoff. The company was formed in 1996 from the remnants of Loral Corporation when Loral divested its defense electronics and system integration businesses to Lockheed Martin for $9.1 billion. In 2006, Bernard L. Schwartz retired after leading the company for 34 years.
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, or SSTL, is a company involved in the manufacture and operation of small satellites. A spin-off company of the University of Surrey, it is presently wholly owned by Airbus Defence and Space.
The Anik satellites are a series of geostationary communications satellites launched for Telesat Canada for television, voice and data in Canada and other parts of the world, from 1972 through 2013. Some of the later satellites in the series remain operational in orbit, while others have been retired to a graveyard orbit. The naming of the satellite was determined by a national contest, and was won by Julie-Frances Czapla of Saint-Léonard, Québec. In Inuktitut, Anik means "brother".
The Nimiq satellites are a Canadian fleet of geostationary telecommunications satellites owned by Telesat and used by satellite television providers including Bell Satellite TV and EchoStar. 'Nimiq' is an Inuit word used for an object or a force which binds things together. A contest in 1998 was held to choose the name of these satellites. The contest drew over 36,000 entries. Sheila Rogers, a physiotherapist from Nepean, Ontario, submitted the winning name.
Viasat, Inc. is an American communications company based in Carlsbad, California, with additional operations across the United States and worldwide. Viasat is a provider of high-speed satellite broadband services and secure networking systems covering military and commercial markets.
Astrium was an aerospace manufacturer subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) that provided civil and military space systems and services from 2006 to 2013. In 2012, Astrium had a turnover of €5.8 billion and 18,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Astrium was a member of Institute of Space, its Applications and Technologies.
Galaxy 28 is a communications satellite owned by Intelsat located at 89° West longitude, serving the North America and South America market. It was built by Space Systems/Loral, as part of its SSL 1300 line = . aka Galaxy 28 was formerly known as Telstar 8 and Intelsat Americas 8. This satellite provides services in the C-band, Ku-band, and Ka-band.
The Eurostar E3000 is a generic satellite model most commonly used for commercial and military communications satellites manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. It is a member of Airbus Defence and Space's Eurostar family. It utilises a chemical, bi-propellant propulsion system for orbit raising and on-station manoeuvres with an optional plasma propulsion system (PPS). The PPS harnesses the Newtonian effect as a result of the ionisation of xenon gas employed by the use of Hall effect plasma thrusters. This system is most commonly used for north–south station-keeping. The E3000 was the first commercial satellite family to use lithium–ion batteries rather than the older nickel-based technologies for power supply during eclipses.
AMC-11 , previously GE-11, is an American geostationary communications satellite which is operated by SES. It is currently positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 131° West, from where it is used to relay cable television across North America for onward distribution. It broadcasts to Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico and the United States.
Telstar 12, previously known as Orion 2, is a Canadian communications satellite in the Telstar series which is operated by Telesat. It was originally built for Orion Network Systems, which merged with Loral Skynet shortly before the satellite was launched. It was subsequently transferred to Telesat when it merged with Loral Skynet in 2007.
MDA Ltd. is a Canadian space technology company headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, that provides geointelligence, robotics and space operations, and satellite systems.
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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.
Telstar is the name of various communications satellites. The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962. It successfully relayed through space the first television pictures, telephone calls, and telegraph images, and provided the first live transatlantic television feed. Telstar 2 was launched May 7, 1963. Telstar 1 and 2—though no longer functional—still orbit the Earth.
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Telstar 14 or Estrela do Sul 1 is a commercial communications satellite in the Telstar series built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) for Telesat to provide Ku-band communications to South America and the Southern United States. Estrela do Sul 1 was launched by Sea Launch using a Zenit-3SL carrier rocket on 11 Jan 2004 for geosynchronous orbit at 63 degrees west.
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