Telesat announced today it will be launching another LightSpeed Constellation demonstration satellite, LEO 3, and that the satellite is already nearing completion.
The satellite has been under construction by Toronto based Space Flight Laboratory and will use their DEFIANT microsatellite platform and will measure 30x30x45 cm with a mass of 30kg.
According to Telesat “LEO 3 will provide continuity for customer and ecosystem vendor testing campaigns following the decommissioning of Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite.”
Telesat also stated that “once successfully launched and on-station, LEO 3 will operate under an existing ITU network filing for Telesat Lightspeed.”
SpaceQ contacted Telesat with further question on related to ITU filling including whether LEO would satisfy any ITU requirement related to the Lightspeed constellation. A spokesperson said that LEO 3 “will Bring into Use (BIU) a LEO V-band filing.” Additionally, the representative said “LEO 3 has the ability to transmit and receive in Ka-band and Q/V-band, with crossbanding capability as well. (i.e., uplink in either Ka-band or V-band, and downlink in either Ka- or Q-band).”
Telesat also stated in their press release that the Space Flight Laboratory the satellite was had a “relatively aggressive development schedule” and that the communications payload was integrated to the bus and that the satellite had “successfully completed vibration and electromagnetic compatibility testing of the spacecraft. Additional tests are ongoing.”
Telesat also confirmed with SpaceQ that a launch has been procured and that the timeline of the launch will be announced “very soon.”