A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket will launch the massive and highly effective ViaSat-3 F2 satellite tv for pc to orbit at the moment (Nov. 5), and you may watch the motion stay.
If all goes in line with plan at the moment, the Atlas V will deploy ViaSat-3 F2 into geostationary switch orbit about 3.5 hours after liftoff. The satellite tv for pc will then spend a number of months making its approach to geostationary orbit (GEO), a round path that lies 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth.
At this altitude, orbital velocity matches our planet’s rotational velocity. Satellites in GEO due to this fact “hover” over the identical patch of Earth continuously, making it a popular destination for spy and communications craft.
ViaSat-3 F2 is expected to start beaming broadband service to customers in early 2026. As its name suggests, it will be the second ViaSat-3 satellite to do so, after ViaSat-3 F1, which launched atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in April 2023. A third such craft is expected to launch next year, rounding out the ViaSat-3 constellation.
Each ViaSat-3 satellite is “designed to be capable of rapidly shifting capacity throughout its coverage area to deliver bandwidth where and when it’s needed most,” Viasat, a California-based telecom company, wrote in a description of the mini constellation.
“That is essential to fulfill the rising demand of economic, shopper and protection prospects, the place the situation of high-demand hotspots can change over the course of the day,” the corporate added.
In line with that description, ViaSat-3 F1 supplies connectivity primarily to airline passengers. ViaSat-3 F2 will “add greater than 1 Tbps capability to our community over the Americas,” and ViaSat-3 F3 will do the identical for the Asia-Pacific area.
The Atlas V has flown greater than 100 missions since its 2002 debut, however its days are numbered.
ULA plans to retire the workhorse rocket in 2030 or thereabouts and has already fielded a alternative — the Vulcan Centaur, which has three launches below its belt to this point.
