Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) (NASDAQ: LORL), the world’s leading provider of commercial satellites, today announced that the ViaSat-1 broadband satellite, built for ViaSat Inc., is performing post-launch maneuvers according to plan. The satellite was successfully launched yesterday from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan aboard a Proton Breeze M launch vehicle provided by International Launch Services (ILS). The satellite deployed its solar arrays early this morning according to schedule, and tomorrow it will begin firing its main thruster to maneuver into geostationary orbit.
“The successful launch of ViaSat-1 is the culmination of well over one and a half million labor hours of hard work,” said John Celli, president of Space Systems/Loral. “With four decades of experience building broadband and Ka-band satellites, Space Systems/Loral has been pleased to play a role in another important next step in the evolution of satellite broadband.”
ViaSat-1 is an all Ka-band, high-throughput broadband satellite that is designed to provide more than 140 gigabits per second throughput, mostly for use in the West Coast of the U.S. and in the Eastern half of the U.S. The satellite will be positioned at 115.1 degrees West longitude. It has 72 spot beams, with 63 in the U.S. and nine over Canada. The Canadian beams are owned by satellite operator Telesat and will be used for the Xplornet broadband service to consumers in rural Canada.
“ViaSat-1 is designed to transform the economics and quality of service that satellite broadband can provide,” said Mark Dankberg, chief executive officer of ViaSat. “We would like to thank Space Systems/Loral and ILS for the hard work and expertise that has helped us to reach this milestone.”
ViaSat-1 is based on SS/L’s highly reliable 1300 space-proven platform, which has the scale to support the large amount of spot beams, equipment and thermal dissipation required by high throughput satellites. The spacecraft is designed to deliver service for 15 years or more. With this launch, there are 66 SS/L-built 1300 satellites currently on orbit.
About ViaSat
ViaSat delivers fast, secure communications, Internet, and remote network access to fixed sites or on-the-move. The company provides networking products and managed network services for enterprise IP applications; is a key supplier of network-centric military communications and encryption technologies and products to the U.S. and allied governments; is the primary technology partner for gateway and customer-premises equipment for consumer and mobile satellite broadband services; and owns the WildBlue Ka-band satellite broadband service. Based in Carlsbad, Calif., ViaSat has established a number of worldwide locations for customer service, network operations, and technology development.
About Space Systems/Loral
Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications (NASDAQ: LORL – News), has a long history of delivering reliable satellites and spacecraft systems for commercial and government customers around the world. As the world’s leading provider of commercial satellites, the company works closely with satellite operators to provide spacecraft for a broad range of services including television and radio distribution, digital audio radio, broadband Internet, and mobile communications. Billions of people around the world depend on SS/L satellites every day. For more information, visit www.ssloral.com.
About Loral Space & Communications
Loral Space & Communications is a satellite communications company. Through its Space Systems/Loral subsidiary, the company is a world-class leader in the design and manufacture of satellites and satellite systems for commercial and government applications including direct-to-home television, broadband communications, wireless telephony, weather monitoring, and air traffic management. Loral also owns 64 percent of Telesat, one of the world’s largest providers of satellite services. Telesat operates a fleet of telecommunications satellites used to broadcast video entertainment programming, distribute direct-to-home video and broadband data services, and other value-added communications services. For more information, visit Loral’s Web site at www.loral.com.
