Viasat Inc, a global communications company, 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.
ViaSat-3 lifted off yesterday at 8:26 pm EDT, and approximately four hours and thirty two minutes after liftoff, the satellite separated from the launch vehicle. First signals from the satellite were acquired 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. Viasat expects it will take less than three weeks for ViaSat-3 to reach its final orbital destination, located at 88.9° west longitude.
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Mark Dankberg, Viasat’s chairman and CEO commented, 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 our partners, for their commitment and dedication to getting this done.”
The ViaSat-3 class of Ka-band satellites are capable of delivering over 1 Terabit per second (Tbps) of throughput capacity each, with dynamic flexibility to move and concentrate that capacity where it’s most needed – whether it’s on land, in the ocean or in the air. The first two satellites are planned to focus on the Americas and on EMEA, respectively, and the ViaSat-3 EMEA satellite is now in environmental testing in Boeing’s El Segundo, California factory. The third ViaSat-3 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.
SOURCE: PR Newswire