The recently completed tests included a simulated launch, which was designed to expose the spacecraft to the environmental conditions it will be subjected to during the actual launch. During the testing, a powerful shaker was deployed to simulate the vibrations induced by the rocket’s engine thrust and its “cut-off” at stage separation. In addition, a concrete reinforced chamber blasted the spacecraft with acoustic waves to simulate those which will impact the rocket and its payload during lift-off.

    “With each passing test, another step in the process is completed and we move forward to launching the satellites that will power the first global Ka-band broadband network over satellite,” Franco Carnevale, Inmarsat’s vice president for satellite and launch vehicles, said in a statement.