6 things to know about ViaSat-3
04-13-2023
2-minute read
Learn more about the ViaSat-3, a satellite constellation expected to create a seamless, global network, providing continuous coverage for nearly all of the populated world.
1. Each ViaSat-3 satellite has a wingspan of 144 feet, about as long as 10 mid-sized cars parked end to end.
2. ViaSat-3 Americas’ location in geostationary orbit (GEO) has it located about 22,236 miles above the equator.
If you were able to see ViaSat-3 from Earth, it would look as if it wasn’t even moving. That’s because ViaSat-3 will be moving at the same period of rotation as Earth.
3. Each ViaSat-3 satellite is expected to generate greater than 20kW per satellite, making it one of the most high-powered satellites every built — enough to turn on 2,900 9-watt LED bulbs.
4. ViaSat-3’s enormous reflector is planned to be one of the largest to be deployed in space and exceptionally large for a commercial broadband satellite.
The reflector is tethered to the satellites’ bus with a boom that is actually a direct, but larger, derivative of the James Webb Space Telescope’s mission-critical sunshade mid-booms. With such a large diameter, it can reuse more of the satellites’ bandwidth to simultaneously downlink to more locations—helping to connect the world on land, sea, air, and space.
5. Even with their increased capacity, ViaSat-3 satellites will be the lightest we’ve ever launched.
At 6 metric tons, each satellite weighs about the same as an African elephant. This lightness is thanks to the strategic use of materials, like carbon fiber, reinforced polymers, and graphite –the same kinds of materials used to make airplanes, drones, and bicycles lighter and faster.
6. Each ViaSat-3 satellite is designed to have the capability to download 125,000 books every second (that’s 7.5 million a minute).
Think of it this way: If the average book is a megabyte (1MB) of data and there are 8 bits of data in a byte that would mean a 1 terabit satellite could download a stack of books nearly two miles high in a second.