California-based satellite operator Viasat says that its latest satellite, its much-delayed Viasat-3 F2 craft, is ready to ship to its launch site by the end of September, for launch by a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V-551 rocket.

This suggests the satellite will likely launch in late-October or early-November. Viasat added that progress on its third craft in the fleet, Viasat-3 F3 is also progressing well.

Viasat says that it expects the F2 satellite to enter service “early” in 2026, followed “in early-mid 2026” by service entry of F3. Both will launch from Florida.

With these two extra satellites joining Viasat-3 F1 which is already working in orbit will mean than Viasat can then provide a global service supplying “multi-dimensional and highly flexible network [with] global coverage and capacity and high utilisation”.

However, Viasat-3 F1 suffered an antenna deployment problem after its launch meaning reduced capacity. Northrop Grumman supplied the antenna. The F2 craft has a similar antenna which has been extensively tested on the ground, hence the delay. The F3 satellite’s antenna is supplied by a different manufacturer, L3Harris.

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Categories: Articles, Satellite

Tags: Florida, satellite, Viasat