CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 17, 2024--
SES announced today that its latest pair of O3b mPOWER satellites was successfully launched into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States, at 5:26 pm local time. Both satellites will join the first six O3b mPOWER spacecraft already in operation at medium Earth orbit (MEO), adding incremental capacity to the initial O3b mPOWER constellation.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241217948405/en/
The seventh and eighth O3b mPOWER satellites feature redesigned payload power modules and will bolster SES’s second-generation MEO system to continue delivering high throughput and predictable low latency services at scale.
SES has been deploying O3b mPOWER services worldwide since April 2024 delivering high-performance network services to customer sites across Asia-Pacific, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas in multiple market segments. The system’s exceptional flexibility means it can provide services ranging from tens of Mbps to multiple gigabits per second of capacity to any site. Key O3b mPOWER customers include Microsoft, Princess Cruises, Marlink, Jio Platforms, Orange, Claro Brasil, Vodafone Cook Islands, CNT Ecuador, NATO Support and Procurement Agency, and the Governments of Luxembourg and the United States.
“O3b mPOWER is our most powerful, technically advanced, flexible satellite constellation in space. As we increase the number of satellites in our constellation, we also exponentially increase the capacity and efficiency of our network. Ever since the start of service of O3b mPOWER earlier this year, we have seen how it has become an integral part of the connectivity experience of our customers. We have also learned a lot and have put all of those insights to work as we progress in our innovation journey to scale up our services and meet even the most sophisticated requirements of our customers,” said Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES.
The O3b mPOWER system comprises an initial constellation of 13 high-throughput and low-latency satellites as well as extensive ground infrastructure. The remaining five O3b mPOWER satellites are currently being manufactured and are scheduled for launch over the next 18 months.
For additional information on O3b mPOWER, visit the newsroom.
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About SES
SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on Earth by distributing the highest quality video content and providing seamless data connectivity services around the world. As a provider of global content and connectivity solutions, SES owns and operates a geosynchronous orbit fleet and medium Earth orbit (GEO-MEO) constellation of satellites, offering a combination of global coverage and high-performance services. By using its intelligent, cloud-enabled network, SES delivers high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, and is a trusted partner to telecommunications companies, mobile network operators, governments, connectivity and cloud service providers, broadcasters, video platform operators and content owners around the world. The company is headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG). Further information is available at: www.ses.com
SES’s Seventh and Eighth O3b mPOWER Satellites Successfully Launched, Bolstering MEO Constellation (Photo: Business Wire)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday asked lawmakers to approve reforms to the oil industry that would open the doors to greater foreign investment during her first state of the union speech less than two weeks after its longtime leader was toppled by the United States.
Rodríguez, who has been under pressure by the Trump administration to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation, said sales of Venezuelan oil would go to bolster crisis-stricken health services, economic development and other infrastructure projects.
She outlined a distinct vision for the future, straying from her predecessors, who have long railed against American intervention in Venezeula. “Let us not be afraid of diplomacy” with the U.S., said Rodriguez, the former vice president who must now navigate competing pressures from the Trump administration and a government loyal to former President Nicolás Maduro.
The speech, which was broadcast on a delay in Venezuela, came one day after Rodríguez said her government would continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro in what she described as “a new political moment” since his ouster.
On Thursday, Trump met at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. But in endorsing Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, Trump has sidelined Machado.
Rodríguez, who had a call with Trump earlier this week, said Wednesday evening on state television that her government would use “every dollar” earned from oil sales to overhaul the nation’s public health care system. Hospitals and other health care facilities across the country have long been crumbling, and patients are asked to provide practically all supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws.
The acting president must walk a tightrope, balancing pressures from both Washington and top Venezuelan officials who hold sway over Venezuela's security forces and strongly oppose the U.S. Her recent public speeches reflect those tensions — vacillating from conciliatory calls for cooperation with the U.S., to defiant rants echoing the anti-imperialist rhetoric of her toppled predecessor.
American authorities have long railed against a government they describe as a “dictatorship,” while Venezuela’s government has built a powerful populist ethos sharply opposed to U.S. meddling in its affairs.
For the foreseeable future, Rodríguez's government has been effectively relieved of having to hold elections. That's because when Venezuela’s high court granted Rodríguez presidential powers on an acting basis, it cited a provision of the constitution that allows the vice president to take over for a renewable period of 90 days.
Trump enlisted Rodríguez to help secure U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil sales despite sanctioning her for human rights violations during his first term. To ensure she does his bidding, Trump threatened Rodríguez earlier this month with a “situation probably worse than Maduro.”
Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn jail, has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges.
Before Rodríguez’s speech on Thursday, a group of government supporters was allowed into the presidential palace, where they chanted for Maduro, who the government insists remains the country’s president. “Maduro, resist, the people are rising,” they shouted.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez makes a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, center, smiles flanked by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, right, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez after making a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
