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Not that there isn’t quite enough manmade technical equipment and associated pieces of defunct junk already orbiting the planet, but the good folk over at TerreStar Networks have seen fit to add to it – and then some.
An Ariane 5 rocket. Image: NASA.gov.
Moreover, a roaring Ariane 5 rocket has this week successfully carried the world’s biggest commercial telecommunications satellite into orbit after it blasted off from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.
Weighing in at a colossal 6,910 kilos (more than 15,000 lbs), the new TerreStar Networks satellite platform will serve the North American telecommunications market in providing support for both voice and messaging – while also delivering services to parts of the region that were previously without.
The satellite, which was constructed by New York-based Loral Space & Communications, will operate at an orbital distance of around 22,000 miles above the planet and provide data services to approximately 330 million people.
The Ariane 5 rocket launched at 14:52 local time (17:52 GMT) following a brief delay due to poor weather conditions.
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