• ViaSat-3 Americas is the first of three satellites that will provide high-quality, cost-effective connectivity to global consumers. 
• Boeing incorporated Viasat’s ultra-high-capacity payload into its custom-designed 702MP+ platform, harnessing the greatest power ever on a communications satellite.

Boeing supplied the 702MP+, a custom-designed spacecraft for network operator Viasat, the company’s most powerful satellite platform to date.

“We’re very excited to finish the ViaSat-3 Americas with Boeing and move us one step closer to providing higher speeds, more bandwidth, and greater value to our clients on a global scale, whether they’re on land, sea, or air,” said Dave Ryan, Viasat’s president Space & Commercial Networks. “This satellite’s innovation provides us with new degrees of flexibility to dynamically distribute capacity to the most appealing and engaged geographic areas.”

Upon embarking from the Boeing factory in California, ViaSat-3 Americas was flown to the Florida Space Coast where Boeing and Viasat teams will support launch and mission operations as the spacecraft prepares to travel to geostationary orbit, approximately 22,000 miles from Earth. Once in orbit, ViaSat-3 Americas will be the first of three 702MP+ satellites to make up the ultra-high-capacity ViaSat-3 satellite constellation, designed to provide high-quality, affordable global connectivity and coverage.

“We designed, built and delivered the most powerful satellite platform we have ever provided to a customer. The result really is an engineering marvel,” said Michelle Parker, vice president of Space Mission Systems at Boeing Defense, Space & Security. “We expanded the boundaries of our design and the platform components to exceed Viasat’s demanding mission requirements, while ensuring alignment with Boeing’s proven qualification and reliability standards.”

“We planned, developed, and deployed the most powerful satellite platform we’ve ever supplied to a customer. “The end result is truly a feat of engineering,” said Michelle Parker, vice president of Space Mission Systems at Boeing Defense, Space & Security. “We pushed the boundaries of our design and platform components to meet Viasat’s stringent mission requirements while adhering to Boeing’s proven qualification and reliability standards.”

Boeing’s 702MP+ features all-electric propulsion for the first time aboard a 702MP, providing more sustained thrust and efficiency. It is based on the flight-proven 702 vehicle design, which hosts the US Department of Defense’s Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) constellation and more than 40 other high-performing satellites, including ViaSat-2.

Boeing strengthened the platform’s construction to accommodate Viasat’s huge payload. The platform also houses the largest commercial satellite solar arrays ever constructed by Boeing subsidiary Spectrolab, as well as batteries and supporting electronics that generate well over 30 kW of solar electricity.

The spacecraft will be substantially larger than most geostationary satellites and will include some of the largest reflectors ever put into space, necessitating highly sophisticated, extremely reliable gear and software to maintain optimal satellite control. Boeing collaborated with Viasat to incorporate the payload in addition to designing and manufacturing the platform.