Launched the world's largest communications satellite

On Wednesday, the Ariane 5 rocket was successfully launched from the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana with the world's largest commercial communications satellite TerreStar-1, built to order from TerreStar Networks .

Prior to the launch of this seven-ton giant, previous communications satellites had a weight of no more than 6.5 tons. This is the largest such device. The diameter of its antenna, which is deployed in orbit, is 18 m.

TerreStar-1 is designed to provide communication of new type smartphones that support both GSM and satellite communications (voice and data). If the GSM network is unavailable, this phone will make a call via satellite.
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Such devices have not even appeared on the market yet, but the idea is quite interesting, because you can talk with this device both from an airplane and from a yacht in the open sea, and from any wilderness within the North American continent (TerreStar-1 covers its territory). It can be assumed that various special services, government services, rescuers, tourists and residents of remote areas (Indians on reservations, for example, or Chukchi, if Chukotka falls into the coverage area) will immediately transfer to the new vehicles.

via BBC