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04-30-2023, 06:04 PM
#51
Coverage Award...
Joined APC: Nov 2016
Posts: 1,305
Viasat-3 "Americas" just launched successfully from Vandenberg. Is that the one that will enable internet on the Hawaiian routes? There's another one called "APAC" for the Asia-Pacific region but that one just canceled their contract with Arianespace and is up for bids from other launchers (probably a year or more away?)
Side note, it's pretty crazy that they are able to cover 99% of the world's population with just three satellites. They must be big, beefy suckers. The Falcon Heavy (world's second most powerful rocket) had to launch in fully expendable mode just to get it up.
Side note, it's pretty crazy that they are able to cover 99% of the world's population with just three satellites. They must be big, beefy suckers. The Falcon Heavy (world's second most powerful rocket) had to launch in fully expendable mode just to get it up.
04-30-2023, 06:39 PM
#52
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2015
Position: everywhere but nowhere
Posts: 417
Originally Posted by LumberJack
Viasat-3 "Americas" just launched successfully from Vandenberg. Is that the one that will enable internet on the Hawaiian routes? There's another one called "APAC" for the Asia-Pacific region but that one just canceled their contract with Arianespace and is up for bids from other launchers (probably a year or more away?)
Side note, it's pretty crazy that they are able to cover 99% of the world's population with just three satellites. They must be big, beefy suckers. The Falcon Heavy (world's second most powerful rocket) had to launch in fully expendable mode just to get it up.
Side note, it's pretty crazy that they are able to cover 99% of the world's population with just three satellites. They must be big, beefy suckers. The Falcon Heavy (world's second most powerful rocket) had to launch in fully expendable mode just to get it up.
04-30-2023, 07:22 PM
#53
Coverage Award...
Joined APC: Nov 2016
Posts: 1,305
Originally Posted by TNDeltaFlyboy
It launched from pad 39A at Kennedy. The SpaceX video on the payload said the Viasat-3s aren’t much bigger than a shoebox. There were 2 other, separate payloads on that one rocket as well.
The satellite is huge though, just looked it up and it's over 13,200 lbs. The other satellites are Arcturus (the shoe box at 48 lbs) and G-Space 1 (661 lbs).
Going direct to geostationary orbit is also part of the reason as the Heavy can launch 4x that amount to LEO.
04-30-2023, 07:42 PM
#54
Always Working
Joined APC: Jul 2021
Posts: 281
Originally Posted by LumberJack
Woops it was Kennedy, I was mixing up the announcement they took over one of ULA's launch complexes at Vandenberg.
The satellite is huge though, just looked it up and it's over 13,200 lbs. The other satellites are Arcturus (the shoe box at 48 lbs) and G-Space 1 (661 lbs).
Going direct to geostationary orbit is also part of the reason as the Heavy can launch 4x that amount to LEO.
The satellite is huge though, just looked it up and it's over 13,200 lbs. The other satellites are Arcturus (the shoe box at 48 lbs) and G-Space 1 (661 lbs).
Going direct to geostationary orbit is also part of the reason as the Heavy can launch 4x that amount to LEO.
04-30-2023, 08:39 PM
#55
Coverage Award...
Joined APC: Nov 2016
Posts: 1,305
Originally Posted by Tfork
I think the solar arrays are what's huge. The satellite is small. They said they reduced the size from 2 humans to about a shoe box. Just a guess though.
05-01-2023, 03:38 AM
#56
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2009
Position: 350A
Posts: 425
The satellite itself is about the size of a minivan. The solar panels span about 150 feet. It’s not a small thing by any stretch of the imagination. If the solar panels fail they have one of those things you plug into the wall to charge.
05-01-2023, 05:42 AM
#57
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Joined APC: Apr 2016
Position: Looking left
Posts: 3,251
Originally Posted by LumberJack
Viasat-3 "Americas" just launched successfully from Vandenberg. Is that the one that will enable internet on the Hawaiian routes? There's another one called "APAC" for the Asia-Pacific region but that one just canceled their contract with Arianespace and is up for bids from other launchers (probably a year or more away?)
Side note, it's pretty crazy that they are able to cover 99% of the world's population with just three satellites. They must be big, beefy suckers. The Falcon Heavy (world's second most powerful rocket) had to launch in fully expendable mode just to get it up.
Side note, it's pretty crazy that they are able to cover 99% of the world's population with just three satellites. They must be big, beefy suckers. The Falcon Heavy (world's second most powerful rocket) had to launch in fully expendable mode just to get it up.
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