Maxar-built SXM-8 is positioned in full-flight configuration at Maxar’s manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, California.
The latest Maxar-built geostationary satellite for SiriusXM, the leading audio entertainment company in the United States, has arrived at the SpaceX launch base in Cape Canaveral, Florida. SXM-8, a high-powered digital audio radio satellite, will now be integrated with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for launch.
SXM-8 arrives at SpaceX’s facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The satellite, which weighs almost 7,000 kg during launch, is built on Maxar’s 1300-class platform. SXM-8 is designed to provide service for 15 years or longer. Once on orbit, SXM-8 will unfurl its large antenna reflector, visualized in yellow in the rendering below. This reflector will allow SiriusXM programming to reach mobile radios, such as those in moving vehicles.
“Maxar and SiriusXM have a decades-long relationship, and we’re thrilled to deliver the ninth satellite we’ve built for them since 2000,” said Paul Estey, Maxar’s Executive Vice President, Space Programs Delivery. “SXM-8, built on Maxar’s proven 1300-class bus, is more than twice as big and powerful as the first-generation SiriusXM constellation built by Maxar.”
