Backup Plan Initiated as Astranis Alaska Internet Satellite Experiences Malfunction

Satellite internet service provider Astranis announced on Friday that its first commercial satellite, designed to provide coverage to Alaska, is experiencing malfunctions. However, the company has a backup satellite planned for launch in the spring.

This setback poses an early challenge to Astranis’ unique approach of delivering internet service to underserved communities in remote areas. In May, Astranis declared that the Arcturus satellite was functioning perfectly and could start serving Alaskans by mid-June.

Astranis CEO John Gedmark revealed that the Arcturus satellite experienced an issue with its solar arrays. This problem was first detected a few weeks ago, and on Monday, the company identified the root cause as a solar array drive assembly provided by a vendor, not Astranis.

Gedmark explained that solar array drives are responsible for rotating the solar arrays to ensure they constantly face the sun, enabling the transmission of power back into the spacecraft. The failure of these drives results in a decrease in power supply, limiting the broadband communications of the satellite.

Despite the lack of power, Astranis assures that it has full control over Arcturus. The company plans to resolve this issue in future satellites.

Although Astranis did not disclose the name of the vendor supplying the solar array drives, Gedmark confirmed that the parts built by Astranis were functioning properly before the solar array issue arose. The company successfully demonstrated connectivity to remote locations in Alaska prior to the malfunction.

Astranis, headquartered in San Francisco, has already taken an innovative approach to providing internet access through satellites. The company has announced its plans to address the coverage gap in Alaska by launching the previously undisclosed “UtilitySat.” This satellite, part of a batch of four set to launch later this year, is described by Gedmark as “the Swiss Army Knife of satellites.”

UtilitySat differs from Astranis’ commercial satellites in that it operates on multiple-frequency bands but offers lower capacity, providing approximately three gigabits per second of coverage compared to the commercial satellites’ nearly nine gigabits per second.

Gedmark stated, “We’ve incorporated into our model the deployment of several on-orbit spares and backup satellites that can be utilized to bridge capacity gaps or for secondary missions.” Astranis anticipates UtilitySat to begin servicing Alaska by the spring of the following year, with a full replacement expected in early 2025.

In the meantime, Astranis will explore options for potentially recovering Arcturus or using it as a demonstration platform. Gedmark suggested that the company may utilize it to test connectivity and anti-jamming capabilities in collaboration with its partners at Space Force.