Highest mass commercial satellite

The most massive commercial satellite is the Jupiter-3 (also known as Echostar XXIV), which has a fuelled mass of 9,200 kg (20,280 lb). Jupiter-3 was built by Maxar Technologies for Hughes Network Systems (both USA), and launched atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, on 29 July 2023.

The starting point for the Jupiter-3 was the Maxar 1300 platform, which is a versatile satellite design that has been used for everything from communications satellites to deep space probes. The main body of the satellite is around the size of a school bus, with solar panels that have a span 38.7 m (127 ft). It has a set of powerful steerable radio antennas operating in the Ka, Q and V bands, which can be direct "spot beams" to up to 300 locations on Earth. The total data throughput of the satellite is around 500 gigabytes per second, with roughhly 600 ms of latency due to its distance from the surface.

The Falcon Heavy's upper stage deployed the satellite to a geostationary transfer orbit, from which point it began the climb to its post at an altitude of around 35,900 km (22,300 mi). This is what's called a geostationary orbit, which is a specific altitude at which the speed of the spacecraft's orbit matches the speed of the rotation of the Earth. This means that the satellite remains stationary relative to a specific point on the Earth's surface. Jupiter-3 has been deployed to a point above the equator at 95 degrees west, allowing its anntennas to cover almost the entirety of the Americas.

The satellite is also likely the most massive communications satellite ever launched and the most massive satellite ever deployed to geostationary orbit, though it is possible that a classified military might be larger.