Satellite internet service provider Astranis said Friday its first commercial satellite in orbit, which was intended to provide coverage to Alaska, has malfunctioned.
The company's Arcturus satellite suffered an issue with both its solar arrays, the company said.
On Monday the company identified the root cause, which was solar array drive assembly made by a vendor and not by Astranis.
"Solar array drives are motors that rotate the solar arrays to make sure they're always pointed at the sun, and they go transmit that power back into the spacecraft.
Gedmark confirmed on Friday that – until the solar array issue – the Astranis-built parts were working.
Persons:
Astranis, It's, Arcturus, John Gedmark, Gedmark
Organizations:
CNBC
Locations:
Alaska, Alaskans