The first satellite in the ViaSat-3 geostationary satellite constellation was successfully launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on April 30. Viasat achieved signal acquisition of the satellite nearly five hours after the launch and the next steps include deploying solar arrays and drifting to its final orbital location in about three weeks, according to Viasat.
With coverage planned for the Americas, the first Ka-band ViaSat-3 will be joined by two others, one covering the Asia-Pacific region and another for Europe, Middle East,, and Africa.
“Collectively, the three-satellite ViaSat-3 constellation is anticipated to provide more capacity than any other telecommunication network currently in orbit,” said Claudio D’Amico, business area director for Viasat Business Aviation. “Each satellite is anticipated to deliver at least one terabit of data per second (1Tbps)—equal to 1,000 gigabits per second.”
To optimize service to business aviation customers, Viasat can shift satellite capacity to provide more connectivity where it is needed and less where traffic is lower. “By intelligently shifting capacity to match supply with the dynamic level of connectivity demand,” the company said, “especially in concentrated geographical areas—such as popular business aviation routes—Viasat has solved a key challenge for operators, resulting in fast and consistent connectivity during all phases of the flight, and across the entire fleet.”