Canada-based Kepler Communications has launched a commercial Ku-band telecommunications satellite in low-Earth orbit (LEO) to provide economical satellite data services.

The company’s latest mission serves as a technology demonstration for its Ku-band payload.

Ideal for telecommunication services, Ku-band is currently being sought by several companies that are planning to deploy mega-constellations of satellites.

“We can move high volumes of this data, we can do it cheaply, and we improve our quality of service with every new satellite we launch.”

Kepler CEO Mina Mitry said: “While the goal of Kepler will be to establish an in-space connectivity network, we recognise the need for a sustainable and incremental deployment of services and technologies in order to achieve this goal.

“There is a tremendous amount of data out there that does not need real-time connectivity, but just needs to move – GIS data, aggregated IoT sensor data, CCTV backlogs, even media.

“We can move high volumes of this data, we can do it cheaply, and we improve our quality of service with every new satellite we launch.”

Kepler launched the initial nanosatellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in northwestern China.

Provided by China Great Wall Industries, the launch service was contracted through Innovative Space Logistics.

The Kepler spacecraft was built in partnership with Clyde Space, which provided the spacecraft bus, and onboard software supplier Bright Ascension.

The company built the ground support network in collaboration with Comtech EF Data, Kongsberg Satellite Services, Innovative Solutions in Space, and Nextologies, while the payload was developed in partnership with Enclustra and AHA.