SPACEWAY ™ - A quantum leap in the performance of satellite internet communications that will enable you to perform web communications at much faster speeds. This means lots of added bandwidth(the most precious commodity in cyberspace. Spaceway technology will be brought to the satellite internet market through HughesNet.

SPACEWAY will also make satellite internet through HughesNet more cost effective with more options for you (the HughesNet customer) Join the Spaceway revolution today.

This represents the largest step forward in the history of satellite communications. This new satellite broadband platform will form the basis for the next generation of our HughesNet ® service. The SPACEWAY 3 satellite was successfully launched on August 14, 2007 and commercial service in North America is expected to begin in early 2008.

The next-generation satellite system's unique capabilities will enable high-speed data networking, enable groundbreaking applications, and unlock a wealth of value-added HughesNet services. Operating in globally assigned Ka-band spectrum, SPACEWAY employs high-performance, onboard digital processing, packet switching, and spot-beam technology to offer direct site-to-site connectivity at rates of from 512 Kbps up to 16 Mbps. SPACEWAY combines the traditional advantages of satellite, namely ubiquitous reach and efficient broadcast/multicast, with high data rates and mesh connectivity—to give customers a fast, efficient, flexible and cost-effective communications solution.

Advanced Technology

Through use of advanced multi-spot-beam antenna and onboard data processing technologies, SPACEWAY satellites are at the vanguard of the most advanced next-generation high-capacity Ka-band satellites. Such capabilities are the foundation for a host of advanced features such as full-mesh, single-hop connectivity among customer terminals.

Although there is more "raw satellite bandwidth" available between 19 and 30 GHz than within the lower satellite frequency bands, Hughes' use of Ka-band frequencies does introduce the possibility of interference issues during rain storms and even snow on signals operating between 20 and 30 GHz.

But Spaceway's unique architecture will allow the terminals on the ground to be adjusted individually so that those in areas experiencing heavy rainfall can be given access to more power to cut through interference, while the terminals in clear weather can have their power levels dialed down.

"This can be done dynamically and over the entire network through fixed grades of service that can be adjusted. "And customers can sign up for whatever grade of service they wish that's affordable."

SPACEWAY represents the most sophisticated advanced packet transmission infrastructure complete with IP-based user interfaces, satellite terminals, comprehensive network management and service management functionality, all optimized to provide end-to-end broadband access and network connectivity services.

What Makes SPACEWAY Different

On-board Switching
The most unique capability of SPACEWAY is that it can switch traffic on board. All conventional satellites today are basically reflectors and require a ground-based network center to route and switch traffic—a “double-hop” journey. SPACEWAY's revolutionary on-board switching capability means that the satellite receives, processes, and routes traffic directly to and from customer locations without transmitting back and forth to a hub—a “single-hop” journey. On-board switching reduces delay, increases overall transmission efficiency, and enables point-to-point or mesh communications directly between two or more customer sites.

Signal Reconstitution
Another unique capability is signal reconstitution. With today's satellites, a signal is received from a ground terminal, amplified, translated to another frequency, and sent back down—errors and all. But SPACEWAY changes all that. Serving as an intelligent device, SPACEWAY remodulates the signal, correcting any errors introduced on the way up. With uplink and downlink paths that are independent of each other and other unique capabilities, errors are not retransmitted when the signal comes back down to its destination.

Spot Beams
SPACEWAY also makes use of spot beams, creating energy efficiency and allowing frequency reuse. Its phased array antenna transmits spot beams directly where the traffic needs to go. Because a spot beam focuses all its energy on a very specific, narrow area, it makes more efficient use of the available satellite power. With 24 hopping spot beams, SPACEWAY can focus and concentrate the energy to specific areas as needed—enabling bandwidth-on-demand services—with smaller antennas and greater satellite efficiency.

Frequency Reuse
Similar to a cellular system that reuses frequencies throughout a coverage area, SPACEWAY will reuse frequencies across the coverage area, yielding higher effective capacity at a lower cost. SPACEWAY also incorporates a host of advanced techniques to mitigate rain fade—increasing or decreasing power as required in rainy or dry areas.

One Large Bird
Stretching 134 by 24 feet when deployed and weighing in at more than 13,000 lbs., SPACEWAY 3 will be one of the heaviest satellites lifted into a geosynchronous orbit. Manufactured under contract by Boeing, it will be launched by Sea Launch Co. from a modified oil rig platform located on the equator in the Pacific Ocean.

The SPACEWAY Crew

“Because of the many technological advances we designed into SPACEWAY, Boeing is one of only a few companies that could actually build it,” said Bob Buschman, vice president of the Hughes SPACEWAY group. “When we started this program, several other manufacturers said that this satellite couldn't be built—that the technology did not yet exist. But Boeing took the challenge and built it.”

“The network operations control center and the satellite terminals were designed by a large team of Hughes' best and brightest engineers,” added Buschman. “We built several hundred terminals that were used in our 30-day over-the-air tests and in our labs. And when the satellite is in orbit and in service, we anticipate building more than 10,000 terminals a month for installation all over North America.”

The building process continues as we go to press with this article—installing the uplink and downlink antennas, mating the two halves of the payload and bus, adding solar wings and deployable radiator panels—and the numerous other tasks and components that pull it all together. Full assembly by Boeing is expected during this summer, with delivery to Hughes in the fall. Later in the year, final preparations will begin to move the SPACEWAY launch platform out to sea in readiness for the big launch early in 2007.

Email: continental@hughes.net

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