The first Astranis-built satellite entered geostationary orbit over Alaska and completed a major end-to-end payload test following the Falcon Heavy launch in late April, the California-based manufacturer announced on May 24. Astranis CEO and co-founder John Hedmark said in an interview that the 400-kilogram Arcturus satellite reached orbital vacuum at 163 degrees west about a week after launch as an additional payload for the 6,400-kilogram ViaSat-3 spacecraft.

Gedmark said that after Arcturus successfully connected to a gateway in Utah and transmitted its first signals to remote user terminals in Alaska, basic functions including the telecommunications satellite’s software-defined radio were working properly.

“This is the biggest milestone we’ve reached in our entire seven-year history as a company,” he said.

Early test results show load performance at around 9 gigabits per second (Gbps), despite the 7.5 Gbps target. However, the satellite’s Pacific Dataport Inc. Astranis must complete calibration and other minor operational checks before it enters service. (PDI) is a telecommunications company in Alaska that Hedmark expects to complete by mid-June.

Astranis operates Arcturus and has a contract to lease PDI capacity for seven years of the satellite’s design life. According to Hedmark, similar bandwidth agreements have been made with customers for the other nine satellites scheduled to be deployed over the next two years. These satellites have an improved design that allows them to provide more bandwidth and have an additional year of design life.

So far, the company has announced customers for only five of these nine satellites: Mexican telecommunications company Apco Networks, US mobile satellite specialist Anuvu, and Peruvian cellular transport provider Andesat. Hedmark said Astranis expects to generate more than $1 billion in revenue from the nine satellites over their eight-year lifetimes. Earlier this month, British satellite operator Inmarsat said it had ordered three satellites, each weighing around 900 kilograms, from 3D printing specialist Swissto12.

The Swiss manufacturer’s Hummingsat platform, while heavier than Astranis satellites, is about five times lighter than the average conventional geostationary satellite and offers a cheaper alternative for operators with business plans that do not require a lot of power. Swissto12 plans to launch its first commercial satellite in 2025 as part of the Intelsat mission.

Viasat expects the first of three Viasat-3 satellites, each capable of more than 1,000 Gbps, to be ready to operate over the Americas at 88.9 degrees west latitude by midsummer. The US-based broadband operator recently said its plans to acquire Inmarsat by the end of May are on track to overcome all regulatory hurdles.