Operator ViaSat Contractor Arianespace Rocket Ariane 5 Mission type Communications satellite Reference system Geocentric orbit | Payload mass ~6,700 kg Launch date 25 April 2017 Manufacturer Boeing Regime Geostationary orbit | |
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Similar ViaSat‑1, EchoStar XVII, KA‑SAT, Spaceway‑3, HYLAS‑1 | ||
ViaSat-2 will be a commercial communications satellite which will be the world's highest capacity communications satellite after its launch in early 2017 with an estimated capacity of 350 Gbit/s. It is the second Ka-band satellite launched by ViaSat after ViaSat-1. The satellite will provide satellite internet through Exede Internet to North America, parts of South America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean.
Contents
History
In May 2013, ViaSat gave the construction contract of the satellite to Boeing. On May 1, 2014 ViaSat sold capacity on the satellite to Xplornet Communications. In January 2015, ViaSat gave the launch contract to SpaceX in an uncontested auction. After SpaceX CRS-7 exploded after launch in June 2015, concerns arose that the investigation may affect the mission's launch window. On February 9, 2016 Arianespace announced it had won contracts to launch Viasat-2 and Viasat-3 in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
ViaSat-2 is scheduled to launch on April 25, 2017 by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana.
Functionality
The satellite, currently estimated to cost $625 million is planned to have about 2.5 times the capacity of the ViaSat-1's 140 Gbit/s link or 350 Gbit/s. It will use Ka-band frequencies in a spot beam design.
