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04-30-2023 | 06:04 PM
#51
Coverage Award...
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 1,708
Likes: 127
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: May 2015
Posts: 441
Likes: 0
From: everywhere but nowhere
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: Nov 2016
Posts: 1,708
Likes: 127
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: Jul 2021
Posts: 390
Likes: 0
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: Nov 2016
Posts: 1,708
Likes: 127
It also has some sort of massive halo looking extension array but I can't find more information about it. Either way I don't think calling a 13,000 lb satellite a shoebox is entirely accurate by Viasat. I'm sure one part of it is.
05-01-2023 | 03:38 AM
#56
Line Holder
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 454
Likes: 9
From: 320A
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
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 4,000
Likes: 202
From: Looking left
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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