Overview
- Viasat’s ViaSat-3 F3 reached orbit on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, separating about five hours after liftoff as controllers confirmed first signal from the spacecraft.
- The satellite is using electric propulsion to climb to its geostationary slot over Asia-Pacific, with Viasat targeting late-summer service after health checks.
- F3 is designed for more than 1 terabit per second and uses beam-forming to steer bandwidth to busy air routes, sea lanes, remote communities, and government users across the region.
- The launch completes the three-satellite ViaSat-3 program, and F3 flies an L3Harris deployable reflector that stays under controlled deployment to avoid the failure mode seen on F1.
- F1’s 2023 reflector anomaly wiped out over 90% of its planned capacity and led to insurance claims and design changes, and Viasat now says it will move away from giant one-off GEO craft toward smaller, lower-cost satellites on faster timelines.