Carlsbad’s Viasat will not replace its $700M satellite that malfunctioned. So, what now? – San Diego Union-Tribune
Carlsbad’s Viasat will not replace its $700M satellite that malfunctioned. So, what now? – San Diego Union-Tribune
Author: Natallie Rocha
Published on: 2023-10-12 21:04:58
Source: Technology – San Diego Union-Tribune
Disclaimer:All rights are owned by the respective creators. No copyright infringement is intended.
Carlsbad-based Viasat said Thursday it will submit a $420 million insurance claim for its $700 million ViaSat-3 Americas satellite that malfunctioned after being launched into orbit earlier this year.
The ViaSat-3 Flight 1 Americas satellite, which blasted into space on April 30, is the first launch in a constellation of satellites, including two that are being worked on called Flight 2 and Flight 3.
The Flight 1 satellite had climbed to its orbital slot some 22,000 miles above Earth and was expected to undergo testing before beginning to beam Internet bandwidth to customers this summer.
Only a few months later in July, Viasat disclosed that the antenna — which was supposed to act like an amplifier to help give the satellite 1,000 gigabits per second capacity — experienced an unexpected event during deployment. As a result, plans for future launches were delayed.
The local technology firm determined this week that the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite won’t be able to work at full force — it is expected that it’s only capable of delivering less than 10 percent of its planned throughput. With that said, the company will not replace the satellite with a new one.
Viasat is still investigating the root cause of the issue and said it “will share updates related to the launch schedule in due time.”
Carlsbad’s Viasat still can’t say what’s wrong with its $700M Internet satelliteThe antenna issue did not impact current Viasat customers and the company said it will be able to meet the needs of future customers and third-party bandwidth commitments with the launch of the next two ViaSat-3 generation satellites.
“With the flexibility and agility of our integrated satellite fleet, the limited ViaSat-3 F1 capacity, the addition of the next two ViaSat-3 generation satellites, ground network mitigations, and third-party bandwidth commitments, the company remains confident that we will meet the current and future needs of our mobility customers and is well-positioned to achieve our financial growth objectives,” a Viasat spokesperson said in a statement emailed to the Union-Tribune.
Viasat has been making big investments into expanding its Internet satellite power as it competes with the likes of Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink fleet, Amazon, OneWeb and others. Part of that big investment included a $6.1 billion deal to buy London-based, Inmarsat, and gain access to its fleet of satellites.
Betting on bigger: Can Carlsbad’s Viasat mega-satellite beat SpaceX’s network of mini satellites?At the end of August, one of the Inmarasat satellites experienced a power issue while ascending into orbit. Viasat determined that this satellite will need to be replaced and plans on submitting a $348 million insurance claim this year.
“The recent acquisition of Inmarsat extended our satellite network materially and gives Viasat increased flexibility (and, if necessary, redundancy) in the way we serve our customers,” a Viasat spokesperson said. “That was an acknowledged benefit of the transaction, which was announced when the investment in the ViaSat-3 program was already well-advanced.”
With these developments, Viasat projects that it will be able to reach positive cash flow sooner, in the first half of 2025, rather than later as it previously reported.
The company’s stock price ticked up on the heels of the news and closed at $16.80, up $1.17 on the Nasdaq exchange.
Originally Published:
Disclaimer: All rights are owned by the respective creators. No copyright infringement is intended.
