| Mission type | Communication |
|---|---|
| Operator | NBN |
| COSPAR ID | 2015-054A |
| SATCATno. | 40940 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | SSL 1300 |
| Manufacturer | SSL |
| Launch mass | 6,440 kilograms (14,200 lb)[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 30 September 2015 |
| Rocket | Ariane 5 |
| Launch site | KourouELA-3 |
| Contractor | Arianespace |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Geostationary |
| Longitude | 140° E |
| Period | 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4 seconds |
| Transponders | |
| Band | Ka band |
| Frequency | Earth to the satellite being transmitted at 27 GHz to 31 GHz, satellite to the Earth being transmitted at 17.7 GHz to 22 GHz |
| Capacity | Currently 135 Gbit/s combined (1A and 1B), final capacity 185 Gbit/s |
| Coverage area | Australia mainland and some overseas territories |
TheSky Muster satellites are twogeostationary (GEO)communications satellites operated byNBN Co Limited and built bySSL.[2][3] They were launched in 2015 and 2016 to provide fast broadband in areas where NBN didn't want to either lay fiber or install enough wireless antennas and offshore. The satellites are positioned 35,786 kilometres (22,236 mi) above theequator, north of Australia. They provide download speeds to users of up to 100 Mbit/s,[4] and upload speeds of 10 Mbit/s in a best-case scenario.
Each Sky Muster has 101spot beams,[5][6] which are focused satellite signals which are specially concentrated in power and cover a specific geographic area. The electromagneticKa band spot beams are used to carry information from the end users' equipment on the ground to the satellites. Each satellite offers 80 gigabits per second of bandwidth.[7][8] The two satellites will provide high-speed broadband service to 400,000 Australian homes and businesses in rural and remote Australia.[9] The two satellites were designed to provide service for at least 15 years.[10]
Sky Muster I (NBN-Co 1A) was launched on 1 October 2015[11] from theGuiana Space Centre in French Guiana, South America, alongside Argentina'sARSAT-2, on anAriane 5ECA rocket.
Sky Muster I operates in geostationary orbit of140° East.[11] Sky Muster I became operational in April 2016.[12]
Sky Muster II (NBN-Co 1B) was launched on 5 October 2016, and operates in geostationary orbit of145° East.[13][14]
Initial services were offered on the service to end users commencing in January, 2016.[15]
As of June 2020, there are over 100,000 active customers connected to a Sky Muster service,[16] with the largest single Retail Service Provider of Sky Muster services being SkyMesh with over 40,000 active Sky Muster connections.[17]
The two NBN satellites, Sky Muster (NBN-Co 1A) and Sky Muster II (NBN-Co 1B), were conceived in 2012 under theGillard Labor government, as part of the originalNational Broadband Network scheme and NBN Co contractedSpace Systems/Loral (SSL) to build and launch the two satellites as part of a total investment costingA$2 billion.[18] The launch was conducted in accordance with theSpace Activities Act 1998, which requires Ministerial approval for the launch of a space object from Australia or the launch of a space object by an Australian entity from an overseas location.[9]
Bailey Brooks, a six-year oldSchool of the Air student who lives on acattle station 400 kilometres (250 mi) from Alice Springs, won a competition to draw a picture of how the satellite benefits rural Australians. Her drawing of the rocket was printed on thepayload fairing,[19] and her class named NBN-Co 1A "Sky Muster" as it would bring Australians together like acattle muster.[20]
