SpaceX has been selected to launch ViaSat’s next generation, high-capacity broadband satellite (ViaSat-2) in late summer 2016 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
ViaSat-2, which is currently under construction by Boeing, will cover seven times the geographic area and offer twice the bandwidth economics advantage of ViaSat-1. Planned coverage includes North America, Central America, and the Caribbean basin. The satellite will also provide a bridge of coverage across the North Atlantic, connecting North America with high-capacity coverage in the UK and Europe for high-speed in-flight internet and other mobile services.
Falcon Heavy will be the world’s most powerful rocket, with the ability to lift more than twice the payload of the next closest launch vehicle at one-third the cost.
http://www.viasat.com
In May 2013, ViaSat awarded a contract to Boeing to build the world’s highest capacity satellite for launch in mid-2016. ViaSat-2, which is based on ViaSat’s next generation, Ka-band satellite technology and architecture, will double the bandwidth economics of ViaSat-1 while simultaneously increasing its coverage footprint by seven-fold. ViaSat said improvements to its SurfBeam networking technology will yield performance “commensurate with high-speed fiber-to-the-node networks (FTTN).”
- ViaSat-2 will be based on the Boeing 702HP satellite bus. ViaSat and Boeing also signed a strategic agreement to jointly market and sell satellites systems based on ViaSat-2 technology.
