SpaceX is all set to launch its largest rocket, the Falcon Heavy, later this year after The Boeing Company delivered its most powerful satellite to date to Florida earlier today. The satellite is for satellite communications provider ViaSat, whose ViaSat 3 constellation of three satellites is designed to be one of the most powerful constellations launched in human history. Boeing delivered the first ViaSat 3 satellite to Florida as part of pre-launch and operation preparations. SpaceX's Falcon Heavy is expected to launch the satellite as part of a multiple spacecraft payload early next month, as part of its second launch this year after spending years in limbo and without a mission.
ViaSat Aims To Transmit Data At 1 Terabit Per Second Through ViaSat 3 Satellite
Today's delivery of the ViaSat 3 satellite marked the culmination of nearly six years of work on the spacecraft, which had kicked off in late 2017. This was when Boeing and ViaSat completed the critical design review of the satellite and validated its design to start production. At that time, the pair had expected the satellite to start service in 2020, but saw the schedule slip since then.
The satellite will launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and ViaSat and SpaceX reached a deal for the Falcon Heavy as the vehicle of choice in October 2018. At the time of the contract award, ViaSat had become more flexible about the planned launch date, stating that it could launch anytime between 2020 and 2022.
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy can lift 26.7 tons to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), and the choice of vehicle was influenced by the rocket's payload capabilities. ViaSat aims to directly inject the satellite into its desired orbit instead of an initial orbit from which the satellite propels itself to the final destination. SpaceX's president and chief operating officer, Ms. Gwynne Shotwell, led the negotiations and touted her rocket's capability of directly injecting its payloads to GTO.
ViaSat shipped the first satellite payload from its Tempe, Arizona facilities to Boeing's El Segundo, California, in January last year. The satellites are intended to function for at least fifteen years, and it took ViaSat almost a year to test the spacecraft's numerous systems and subsystems. These tests included subjecting the satellite to extremely low temperatures and simulating the harsh environment of space regarding radiation.
ViaSat 3's solar panels are manufactured by a Boeing subsidiary, and it has eight panels per wing. ViaSat also claims that the satellite is the highest capacity telecommunications satellite ever built. Boeing also outlined earlier today that the ViaSat 3 is the most powerful satellite it has ever built, with the spacecraft's solar panels capable of producing a whopping 30 kilowatts of electricity.
The satellite is designed on Boeing's 702 system that has also powered satellites for the Pentagon and other spacecraft launched by ViaSat. ViaSat's previous launch was the ViaSat 2, and the ViaSat 3 will be its first launch with SpaceX. Despite being set up in 1986, ViaSat started launching satellites decades later, as it primarily operated by purchasing capacity on previously launched spacecraft.
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