Saturn Satellite Networks, Inc. (SSN) has announced its latest venture, Space Broadband Networks (SBN), with its first fleet (SBN-1) of six geostationary HTS satellites to be launched directly into Geostationary orbit and operational within the first half of 2025. SBN will be utilizing Saturn’s Intelligent Space Node (ISN) High Throughput Satellites with an unprecedented flexible and adaptable digital payload, providing the most affordable internet and data communication to end users, governments, and industries with high demand. ISN HTS satellites have a fully software-defined payload allowing our users to have real time beam positioning and full meshed communications. All user and gateway beams are dynamically assignable through software commands on the ground enabling the satellite to be programmed for specific coverages, operated anywhere on the GEO arc, and if required, moved to a new location, reprogrammed and resume operations.
The ISNs’ unique coverages are fully reconfigurable after satellite deployment and thereby enabling full adaptation and coverage tailoring to address constantly changing market demands and requirements or unforeseen political developments. The cost of data via the ISN satellites will be a fraction of today´s GEOs or LEOs opening new target and user groups for satellite delivered internet and data connectivity. The first fleet SBN-1 with its satellites and capacity will be positioned and marketed in cooperation with regional and global operators with first deployments over the Americas, Africa and the Indo-Pacific regions. SBN-1 fleet will be made available for lease to satellite operators, large users and governments.
EMP as the financial partner, with its many years of aircraft financing expertise, structured the funding of the SBN-1 satellite fleet similar to a typical and established aviation asset financing, based on the fully fungible ISN satellite assets. Alongside its own equity investment, EMP arranges the Mezzanine facility from investors for the SBN1 program. The remaining investment is financed through senior debt, secured by export credit agencies (ECA).
SSN as the prime contractor of the ISN satellites, manages the design and development of the SBN-1 satellite fleet, working with the world’s leading platform and payload suppliers, including multi-mission launch agreements. The SBN-1 fleet is composed of six ISN HTS GEO satellites providing up to 100Gbps per satellite. The ISN HTS GEO satellites are based upon one of the world most advanced on-board computers with hundreds of years of on-orbit heritage in deep space. Saturn is working with one of the leading aerospace companies in the world to produce the ISN HTS satellites in California with the intent that future builds will be done at Saturn’s own facilities in Melbourne Florida.
The SBN program constitutes a paradigm shift in how satellites are designed, built, and financed. Every facet of the SBN program is designed to maximize flexibility at lower cost, while mitigating risk to provide affordable capacity at lower rates than currently available. The level of customer commitments demonstrates the tremendous appeal of this service offering to end users and SBN´s satellite operator partners.
