SiriusXM’s New SXM-7 Satellite, Built by Maxar and Launched Aboard A SpaceX Falcon 9, Performing Properly After Launch
NEW YORK and HAWTHORNE, Calif. and WESTMINSTER, Colo., Dec. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Maxar Technologies (NYSE:MAXR) (TSX:MAXR), a trusted partner and innovator in Earth Intelligence and Space Infrastructure, SiriusXM, the leading audio entertainment company in the United States, and SpaceX, today announced that the SXM-7 satellite was successfully launched and is performing properly.
SXM-7, a high-powered digital audio radio satellite, was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida earlier today. Shortly afterward, SXM-7 deployed its solar arrays and began receiving and sending signals. Next, SXM-7 will begin firing its thrusters to commence its journey to its final geostationary orbit.
SXM-7 will provide continuous, reliable delivery of SiriusXM’s audio entertainment and information services to consumers in the United States, and will expand SiriusXM’s coverage area in Canada and the Caribbean, for years to come. SXM-7 will deliver the highest power density of any commercial satellite on-orbit, sending more than 8,000 watts of content to the continental U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, increasing the power and reach of the signal for SiriusXM.
“Maxar and SiriusXM have worked together for more than two decades to build world-class digital audio radio satellites that bring entertainment to almost every new car in America,” said Megan Fitzgerald, Maxar’s Senior Vice President of Space Programs Delivery. “We are proud to have built the latest addition to the SiriusXM constellation and look forward to the launch of their next Maxar-built satellite, SXM-8, next year.”
“SXM-7 plays an important role in bolstering the continuity and reliable delivery of SiriusXM’s audio entertainment, as well as our traffic, weather, data and information services for years to come,” said Bridget Neville, SiriusXM’s Senior Vice President of Satellite and Repeater Systems Engineering and Operations. “With the addition of SXM-7, our satellite-delivered service coverage area in North America is larger and more powerful than ever before. We congratulate our engineering team, Maxar and SpaceX on a successful launch.”
“We had a beautiful Falcon 9 launch today, safely delivering SXM-7 to orbit,” said Lee Rosen, SpaceX’s Vice President of Customer Operations and Integration. “This was the seventh flight for this rocket’s first stage booster, and we are grateful SiriusXM chose our flight-proven hardware to help broaden its coverage area.”
SXM-7 weighs almost 7,000 kg and is built on Maxar’s 1300-class platform, the world’s most prevalent geosynchronous spacecraft platform. The satellite is designed to provide service for greater than 15 years. Maxar has previously built a total of seven satellites for SiriusXM, including its first-generation Sirius satellites that launched in 2000 and its second-generation Sirius satellites that launched in 2009 and 2013.
SXM-7 joins XM-3, XM-4, XM-5, FM-5, and FM-6 in SiriusXM’s active satellite fleet. SXM-7 and SXM-8 together will replace XM-3 and XM-4, extending SiriusXM’s satellite delivered services through at least 2036.
About Maxar
Maxar is a trusted partner and innovator in Earth Intelligence and Space Infrastructure. We deliver disruptive value to government and commercial customers to help them monitor, understand and navigate our changing planet; deliver global broadband communications; and explore and advance the use of space. Our unique approach combines decades of deep mission understanding and a proven commercial and defense foundation to deploy solutions and deliver insights with unrivaled speed, scale and cost effectiveness. Maxar’s 4,000 team members in 20 global locations are inspired to harness the potential of space to help our customers create a better world. Maxar trades on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange as MAXR. For more information, visit www.maxar.com.
About SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is the leading audio entertainment company in the U.S., and the premier programmer and platform for subscription and digital advertising-supported audio products. Pandora, a subsidiary of SiriusXM, is the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. SiriusXM and Pandora’s properties reach more than 150 million listeners, the largest addressable audience in the U.S., across all categories of digital audio – music, sports, talk, and podcasts. SiriusXM’s acquisitions of Stitcher and Simplecast, alongside industry-leading ad tech company AdsWizz, make it a leader in podcast hosting, production, distribution, analytics and monetization. SiriusXM, through Sirius XM Canada Holdings, Inc., also offers satellite radio and audio entertainment in Canada. In addition to its audio entertainment businesses, SiriusXM offers connected vehicle services to automakers. For more about SiriusXM, please go to: www.siriusxm.com.
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The following factors, among others, could cause actual results and the timing of events to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements: the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is adversely impacting our business; our substantial competition that is likely to increase over time; our efforts to attract and retain subscribers and listeners, or convert listeners into subscribers, which may not be successful, and may adversely affect our business; our Pandora ad-supported business has suffered a loss of monthly active users, which may adversely affect our Pandora business; privacy and data security laws and regulations may hinder our ability to market our services, sell advertising and impose legal liabilities; we engage in extensive marketing efforts and the continued effectiveness of those efforts are an important part of our business; consumer protection laws and our failure to comply with them could damage our business; 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Additional factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 30, 2020, which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and available at the SEC’s Internet site (http://www.sec.gov). The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this communication.
Source: SiriusXM
