ViaSat-3: status and timeline · The Techno Optimist

ViaSat-3

Triple Viasat's network capacity with three regional satellites whose beams can be steered to demand, keeping big geostationary satellites competitive with low-orbit networks.

DeployStage 4 of 5

All three in orbit; F3 (Asia-Pacific) and F2 (Americas) entered service Aug-Sep 2026; F1 runs reduced.

Updated 24d agoChecked 11 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

No announced next step

F1 launched on Falcon Heavy30 Apr 2023Complete.
F1 reflector anomaly disclosed12 Jul 2023Complete.
F2 launched on Atlas V13 Nov 2025Complete.
F3 launched on Falcon Heavy29 Apr 2026Complete.
F3 enters service over Asia-Pacific31 Aug 2026Complete.
F2 enters service over the Americas17 Sep 2026Complete.

Most important updates

Current obstacles

F1's crippled antennaF1 recovers under a tenth of its capacity; Viasat filed a $421M insurance claim and moved F2 to cover the Americas instead.
Filling the new capacityTripling fleet bandwidth only pays off if airlines, ships and governments buy it while low-orbit rivals cut prices.

Physics limits

Signal delay from distanceLight needs about 0.25 s to go up to geostationary orbit and back down. That delay is fixed by distance and hurts video calls and gaming.
Deployables are a single point of failureA large reflector must fold to fit in a rocket fairing and open once in space. If a mechanism snags, there is no repair, and the satellite loses most of its value.
Spectrum and beam sizeTotal capacity is capped by the radio spectrum licensed and how small beams can be made, which depends on antenna size.

How it works

3 parts

Orbit

Parked over one spot

At 36,000 km a satellite circles once a day, so it hangs over one region and fixed or moving antennas can point at it without tracking a fast-moving craft.

Antenna

A giant unfolding reflector

A huge folded reflector opens in orbit. Its size lets the satellite form many small, tight beams, and small beams reuse the same frequencies many times.

Beamforming

Capacity that moves

The payload can reshape and re-aim beams after launch, packing bandwidth onto busy air corridors or a sudden crisis instead of spreading it evenly.

Spec sheet

Spec	ViaSat-3
Design throughput per satellite	Over 1 Tbps^R (reported)
Satellites	3 (geostationary)^R (reported)
Reflector wingspan	144 ft (about 44 m)^R (reported)
F1 usable capacity after anomaly	Under 10% of design^R (reported)
Satellite bus	Boeing 702MP+^R (reported)
Frequency band	Ka-band^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

4 updates

About Viasat

The team behind ViaSat-3

Viasat

ViaSat-3 Ka-band broadband satellites

Viasat is a satellite communications company in Carlsbad, California, serving airlines, ships, governments and homes. It bought Inmarsat in 2023 and runs the ViaSat-3 fleet, three geostationary satellites designed for more than 1 terabit per second each.

All three ViaSat-3 satellites are now in service: F3 over Asia-Pacific (Aug 31, 2026) and F2 over the Americas (Sep 17, 2026).
F1, launched 2023, was crippled when its big antenna failed to deploy properly and runs at a small fraction of its design capacity.
Fiscal 2026 revenue was about $4.6B: $1.34B from defense technology, $1.19B from in-flight Wi-Fi, its largest service.

viasat.com (opens viasat.com)Company profile →

Founded: 198640 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Public
Valuation: public
Staff: ~7,000Jan 2026
Works in: SpaceflightSatellites
Coverage: 1 program · 4 updateslatest 24d agochecked 11 Oct
Suppliers: Boeing (opens boeing.com)SpaceXUnited Launch Alliance
People: Mark Dankberg (opens en.wikipedia.org)Chairman and CEO, co-founder

Spec

ViaSat-3

Design throughput per satellite

Over 1 Tbps^R (reported)

Satellites

3 (geostationary)^R (reported)

Reflector wingspan

144 ft (about 44 m)^R (reported)

F1 usable capacity after anomaly

Under 10% of design^R (reported)

Satellite bus

Boeing 702MP+^R (reported)

Frequency band

Ka-band^R (reported)

ViaSat-3

Milestones

Most important updates

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Parked over one spot

A giant unfolding reflector

Capacity that moves

Spec sheet

Update log

Thu 17 Sep

Mon 31 Aug

Wed 29 Apr

Wed 12 Jul 2023

About Viasat

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Parked over one spot

A giant unfolding reflector

Capacity that moves

Spec sheet

Update log

Thu 17 Sep

Mon 31 Aug

Wed 29 Apr

Wed 12 Jul 2023

About Viasat