Viasat
Ruag Space CEO leaves company • Viasat, Data Link Solutions net $1 billion defense IDIQ contracts
The longtime chief executive of Ruag Space, Peter Guggenbach, is leaving to “take on a new challenge outside the company,” Ruag announced May 19.
Viasat gets FCC approval for MEO constellation
California-based satellite operator Viasat received a greenlight from the Federal Communications Commission April 23 to provide connectivity service in the U.S. with a medium-Earth-orbit constellation licensed in the Netherlands.
Op-ed | The FCC’s space safety order: we all need to mitigate collision risk
What a tragic irony if continued access to space is lost as a consequence of lower launch and spacecraft costs. The U.S. is the global space leader and has more to lose than any other nation from diminished access. That’s why the FCC on April 23 is about to adopt new space safety rules for non-geosynchronous orbit (NGSO) satellites that minimize that possibility. The Commission should be applauded for their thorough work and conclusions.
Firefly, Innovative Space Logistics sign launch agreement • Viasat nabs $90M IDIQ contract
Dutch launch broker Innovative Space Logistics and Firefly Aerospace signed a launch services agreement for launch opportunities on multiple Firefly Alpha missions starting this year.
Dankberg teases ViaSat-4 specs, still mulling MEO constellation
Viasat says that co-building its ViaSat-3 satellites with Boeing has given the company experience it can leverage to multiply the capacity achievable with a next-generation ViaSat-4 system.
Military turns to private sector for rapid space innovation
The Defense Department is trying to speed up access to innovative commercial technologies through a variety of contracting mechanisms like other transaction authority as well as pilot and pathfinder programs aimed at testing new technologies and system architectures.
SES, Viasat say FCC’s rural broadband latency requirements unfair to satellites
Satellite operators want to participate in a newly proposed $20.4 billion rural broadband program, but say the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s scoring criteria for signal lag puts them at a disadvantage.
Viasat taps Blue Canyon Technologies to build Link 16 satellite
Viasat selected Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT) to design and manufacture a cubesat for a U.S. Air Force test of a military communications terminal in low Earth orbit.
Viasat starts ViaSat-4 development, mulls hybrid GEO-LEO-terrestrial connections
A ViaSat-4 series is in early development, extensively leveraging research and development on the 1-terabit-per-second or more ViaSat-3 satellites, Dankberg said during an earnings call.
Viasat expanding into crowded ground-as-a-service business
Viasat is building out a network of nine ground stations around the world to downlink data from Earth observation satellites, marking an expansion from the operator’s satellite broadband and hardware business.
Viasat wins $49 million lawsuit against supplier to Cisco
A company Cisco is poised to buy for $2.6 billion is required to pay damages to Viasat for failing to pay royalties on a decade-old technology it used from the satellite operator.
Supplier issue behind delays with first ViaSat-3 launch
Problems with an unnamed component supplier are the reason the first launch of a ViaSat-3 high-throughput satellite won't happen until 2021.
Viasat selected to develop military Link 16 communications satellite in low Earth orbit
Viasat will build a small satellite equipped with a Link 16 radio that will serve as a network relay.
Discarded Atlas 5 upper stage breaks up in orbit • Viasat, China Satcom partner on IFC • Hughes signs Jupiter-3 customer
The reason for the Atlas 5 upper stage break up, believed to have occurred between March 23 and March 25, is not yet known.
First Ariane 6 to carry 30 OneWeb satellites • Viasat seeking to raise $500 million • Hispasat trials Wi-Fi hotspots in Colombia
Arianespace’s first Ariane 6 mission will carry 30 OneWeb satellites to low Earth orbit. The launch, slated for the second half of 2020, will use the “62” version of the rocket, which has two side boosters.
FIRST UP Satcom | Facebook, Viasat join forces on rural internet • Exotrail wins 1.55M euros • Es’hailSat to host BridgeSat lasercomm station
Facebook and Viasat are collaborating first in Mexico, but are open to expanding globally, Viasat said.
