SpaceWatch.Global An independent perspective on space
Ibadan, 4 May 2023. – Viasat Inc. has announced the successful launch of ViaSat-3 Americas aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The satellite lifted off on Sunday, April 30th, at 8:26 pm EDT, and approximately four hours and 32 minutes after liftoff, it separated from the launch vehicle. The mission control center received the first signals from the satellite approximately 15 minutes later through a ground station in South Korea. In the coming days, ViaSat-3 will deploy its solar arrays and drift to its final orbital location. The Company expects it will take less than three weeks for the satellite to reach its final orbital destination, located at 88.9° west longitude.
Mark Dankberg, Viasat’s chairman and CEO, commented, “Today’s successful launch of ViaSat-3 Americas opens a new chapter in Viasat’s growth. This first Americas satellite will multiply our available bandwidth and enable faster speeds and more coverage – especially for our mobility customers. It’s not just a new satellite, it’s a new way to build broadband satellites. Thanks so much to all our people and partners for their commitment and dedication to getting this done.”
The ViaSat-3 class of Ka-band satellites can deliver over 1 Terabit per second (Tbps) of throughput capacity each, with dynamic flexibility to move and concentrate that capacity where it’s most necessary. The first two satellites will tentatively focus on the Americas and EMEA, respectively, and the ViaSat-3 EMEA satellite is now in environmental testing in Boeing’s El Segundo, California factory. The third satellite has completed final payload integration and testing at Viasat’s Tempe, Arizona facility and will focus on the Asia Pacific region, completing Viasat’s global service coverage.
