The satellite is the first of three satellites in the ViaSat-3 constellation, and is positioned to cover the Americas.
Viasat has disclosed that an unexpected event occurred during reflector deployment that may materially impact the performance of the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite. Viasat and its reflector provider are conducting a rigorous review of the development and deployment of the affected reflector to determine its impact and potential remedial measures.
Mark Dankberg, Chairman and CEO of Viasat, said: “We’re disappointed by the recent developments. We’re working closely with the reflector’s manufacturer to try to resolve the issue. We sincerely appreciate their focused efforts and commitment.”
Contingency plans are currently being refined to minimise the economic effect to the company. Potential options include redeploying satellites from Viasat’s extensive fleet to optimise global coverage, and/or reallocating a subsequent ViaSat-3 class satellite to provide additional Americas bandwidth. The initial service priority for ViaSat-3 Americas has been to facilitate growth in the company’s North American fixed broadband business.
There is no disruption to customers from this event, and no impact to coverage or capacity of the respective Viasat and Inmarsat constellations currently in service. Following the Inmarsat acquisition, Viasat has 12 Ka-band satellites in space, excluding ViaSat-3, with eight additional Ka-band satellites under construction.
The company will share additional information on the status of the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite and any necessary contingency plans during its earnings call which is planned for August 9, 2023.
