Viasat readies giant EMEA satellite
July 14, 2022
By Chris Forrester
Viasat of California’s giant, powerful Viasat-3 satellite is making progress in preparation for its launch next year. Viasat has itself been working on the satellite’s vital payload and the craft has now been delivered to Boeing for integration into a Boeing 702 satellite.
This second ViaSat-3 class satellite is expected to provide broadband service over Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in 2023.
Viasat’s satellite payload, designed and built in-house, provides state-of-the-art electronics for receiving, transmitting and processing broadband internet data to and from the satellite at expected rates greater than 1 terabit a second (1,000 gigabits a second), which is three times faster than the previous ViaSat-2 version, still the fastest communications satellite currently operating.
“Delivery of the second ViaSat-3 payload module marks a major milestone where we transition to spacecraft integration and test on the second satellite in our constellation,” said Dave Ryan, president, Space & Commercial Networks at Viasat. “This milestone increases our momentum towards delivering the future of affordable, accessible satellite broadband services, virtually anywhere around the globe.”
The ViaSat-3 class of Ka-band satellites is expected to provide the best bandwidth economics in the industry with incredible flexibility to move and concentrate that capacity virtually anywhere there is demand – whether it is over land, the ocean or in the air. The first two satellites are planned to focus on the Americas and on EMEA, respectively. The third ViaSat-3 satellite is undergoing final integration and testing and will focus on the Asia Pacific region, completing Viasat’s global service coverage.