The latest four Globalstar satellites were launched today at 10:33 AM EDT, aboard a Soyuz-Ikar launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. This brings to 40 the number of satellites now in orbit.
Globalstar, which is about to begin a phased roll-out of its service, remains on schedule to launch a further 12 satellites through the rest of this year to complete its planned constellation of 48 satellites and four in-orbit spares.
All four Globalstar satellites from today's launch were separated from the upper stage of the rocket at an altitude of 920 kilometers (571 miles) above the Earth.
Flight engineers at Globalstar's ground control center in San Jose, Calif., subsequently acquired the satellites using the six Globalstar telemetry command unit gateways located in Aussaguel, France; Yeoju, South Korea; Dubbo, Australia; Bosque Allegre, Argentina; Delareyville, South Africa; and Clifton, Texas.
Globalstar engineering teams will raise these satellites to their operational altitude of 1,414 kilometers (877 miles) over the next several weeks.
Two further Soyuz launches – in October and November – will take place from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakahstan. In addition to today's launch, the Soyuz rocket was used successfully earlier this year for three launches of four satellites each. The final four satellites to be launched this year will be aboard a Delta II rocket in December.
The Globalstar system is designed to provide affordable satellite-based digital voice services to a broad range of subscribers and users. Globalstar will meet the needs of cellular users and global travelers who roam outside of cellular coverage areas, as well as residents of under-served markets who will use Globalstar's fixed-site phones to satisfy their needs for basic telephony.
Soyuz Launch Vehicle Infomation at Space and Tech
