ORBCOMM Announces Successful Launch of Six Satellites

ORBCOMM Inc. announced that six new ORBCOMM satellites, have been successfully launched from Kapustin Yar, Russia. The launch occurred at 2:36 AM EDT today and the satellites have been successfully separated from the launch vehicle in the proper orbit. Each satellite is undergoing initial in-orbit testing and is expected to enter into commercial service within the next three months.

The Coast Guard and five Quick Launch satellites will be positioned optimally to augment the existing ORBCOMM constellation, providing additional capacity and improved message delivery speeds for current and future ORBCOMM users. In addition, these satellites are equipped with Automatic Identification System (AIS) payloads which will enable them to receive and report AIS transmissions to be used for ship tracking and other navigational activities. ORBCOMM has been working closely with the US Coast Guard on the AIS project, and also intends to market AIS data to other U.S. and international government agencies, as well as to companies whose businesses require such information.

“This is an important step for us and our customers,” said Marc Eisenberg, ORBCOMM’s CEO. “With the successful launch of these six new satellites, we expect to both improve the quality of our service and enter the AIS data services business. The AIS capability onboard these satellites make ORBCOMM the only company capable of providing space based worldwide commercial AIS data services.”

“We are pleased with the efficiency and thoroughness of the launch operation,” said Tony Robinson, ORBCOMM’s Space Segment Vice President. “The Russian Space Forces, OHB-System, Polyot, and ROSCOSMOS provided superior support in helping us to launch these satellites.”