TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 Viasat\u2019s second ViaSat-3 satellite has arrived in Florida for a launch in the second half of October, giving the company another chance to operate a terabit-per-second (Tbps) broadband powerhouse from geostationary orbit.<\/p>\n
Boeing said Sept. 30 that the six-ton satellite was delivered from its factory in California and will soon be integrated with a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.<\/p>\n
ULA was at one point due to fly ViaSat-3 F2 in 2023, before an antenna deployment issue on ViaSat-3 F1, launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy earlier that year, cost that satellite more than 90% of its planned 1 Tbps capacity.<\/p>\n
The companies have not detailed the corrective actions that have been taken to avoid repeating the issue with the ViaSat-3 F1 antenna supplied by Northrop Grumman.<\/p>\n
ViaSat-3 F2 is due to provide services next year over the Americas, where ViaSat-3 F1 is currently stationed. Analysts say it is likely ViaSat-3 F1 will then be moved to cover ViaSat-3 F2\u2019s original mission over Europe, the Middle East and Africa.<\/p>\n
Boeing is also building the Asia-focused ViaSat-3 F3, which will use a deployable mesh antenna from L3Harris and is slated to enter service in early to mid-2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ViaSat-3 satellites were designed with global operability in mind, allowing each of the three to be deployed anywhere in the world,\u201d a Viasat spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis flexibility enables us to position them based on customer demand and where they can deliver the greatest value.\u201d<\/p>\n
At about the size of half a football field when fully deployed, ViaSat-3 F2 would provide more bandwidth capacity than all 23 satellites in Viasat\u2019s current fleet combined.<\/p>\n
This capacity is badly needed for aviation and maritime customers in particular, as Viasat battles with SpaceX\u2019s rapidly expanding Starlink broadband constellation in low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n
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