ViaSat reschedules launch of ViaSat-1

Posted by Courtney E. Howard

CARLSBAD, Calif., 17 Jan. 2011. ViaSat Inc. has rescheduled the launch of its high-capacity satellite ViaSat-1 with International Launch Services (ILS) until summer. The delay provides additional time for repair and testing after the satellite was damaged while being moved during the testing process. All costs related to the repair and re-testing of the satellite are being assumed by the manufacturer of ViaSat-1, Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications Inc.

ViaSat-1 is designed to be the first "media-enabled" satellite, with the capacity to serve the accelerating growth in bandwidth demand for multimedia Internet access over the next decade. The high-capacity Ka-bandspot beam satellite has planned coverage over North America. ViaSat-1, with U.S. capacity estimated at 130 gigabits per second (Gbps), is expected to be the highest-capacity satellite in the world.