ViaSat-1

Spacecraft n°:

US spacecraft n°:

Launch data: Designation  37843 / 11059A Launch date  19 Oct 2011 - 18:48 UT Launch site  Baikonur, LC-200/39 Launch vehicle  Proton-M/Briz-M Mission  Commercial: Communication Geostationary orbit: Perigee / Apogee  35775 x 35796 km Eccentricity  2,49E-04 Inclination  0.0 deg Period  1436.1 min

Description:

• ViaSat-1 is the world’s highest capacity satellite built by Space Systems/Loral for ViaSat, a U.S. communications company.
• ViaSat-1, weighing over 6.7 metric tons, is the highest throughput satellite ever built, with a total capacity in excess of 140 Gbps, more than all satellites covering North America. The all Ka-band satellite will be positioned at 115.1 degrees West longitude with an expected service lifetime of 15 years or more. ViaSat-1 was built on Space Systems/Loral's space-proven 1300 platform with 72 spot beams; 63 in the U.S. and nine over Canada. The Canadian beams are owned by satellite operator Telesat and will be used for the Xplornet broadband service to consumers in rural Canada.
• With 140 Gbps total throughput capacity, the new satellite can serve the accelerating growth in bandwidth demand for multimedia Internet access over the next decade. The download and upload speeds available on ViaSat-1 will be much faster than anything previously offered in the satellite industry, and will transform the quality of satellite broadband.
• To be located in geostationary orbit at 115° West, the satellite will use 72 high-capacity Ka-band spot beams to cover North America and Hawaii, enabling a variety of new, satellite Internet access services beginning with WildBlue in the U.S. and Xplornet in Canada.
• Provide much faster Internet service to more than 1 million customers outside the reach of cable or DSL services at similar prices to existing satellite broadband; also using capacity to power in-flight Internet service by JetBlue, as well as defense and other uses.
• ViaSat-1 involves a collaborative effort with ViaSat and the top satellite broadband leaders in the market, including Loral, Telesat, and Eutelsat. Loral invested in the Canadian coverage portion of the satellite in anticipation of Telesat using this capacity for the provision of broadband services throughout Canada. The satellite is planned for the Telesat 115 west longitude orbital slot as part of the agreement. Telesat will also provide telemetry, tracking & control operations for the satellite.
• ViaSat-1 is the North American counterpart to Eutelsat’s KA-SAT, a high capacity Ka-band broadband satellite launched for Europe in December 2010.

Mission details:

• The ILS Proton Breeze M launched from Pad 39 at the Cosmodrome at 12:48 a.m. today local time (2:48 p.m. EST, 18:48 GMT on October 19). After a 9 hour, 12-minute mission, the Breeze M successfully released the ViaSat-1 satellite into geostationary transfer orbit.
• ViaSat-1 is a Ka-band broadband data satellite launched by a Proton from Baykonur. It will provide capacity over North America. The heavy (6740 kg launch) Loral-1300 satellite is owned by ViaSat, a California-based company; the payload includes 9 Canadian spot beams owned by Telesat in addition to the 63 US beams owned by ViaSat. ViaSat-1 is expected to be the world's highest capacity broadband satellite.
• As of Oct 25, ViaSat-1 was in a 12291 x 35781 km x 9.5 deg orbit on its way to a geostationary location at 115W.