A new Viasat communications satellite launched in April has been crippled by a problem when unfurling its huge mesh antenna. The problem jeopardizes Viasat’s much-needed refresh to its space-based Internet network that would let it better compete with newer broadband offerings from companies like SpaceX and OneWeb.
Viasat confirmed the antenna problem Wednesday after it was first reported by Space Intel Report. The satellite in question is named ViaSat-3 Americas, and it launched on April 30 as the primary payload on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The satellite is one of the most powerful commercial spacecraft ever built, with two solar array wings as wide as a Boeing 767 jetliner capable of generating more than 30 kilowatts of electricity. The solar panels deployed soon after the spacecraft arrived in orbit, and the next step was to unfurl a large reflector to bounce Internet signals between the ground and transmitters and receivers on board the main body of the satellite.
That’s when ground controllers ran into trouble. An “unexpected event” occurred during the deployment of the reflector that may “materially impact” the performance of the satellite, Viasat said.
“We’re disappointed by the recent developments,” Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO of Viasat, said in a statement. “We’re working closely with the reflector’s manufacturer to try to resolve the issue."
The ViaSat-3 Americas spacecraft remains in contact with ground controllers as they attempt to troubleshoot the problem. An industry source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Ars there was very little chance that ground teams would be able to fix the satellite’s antenna and fully recover the mission.
If Viasat declares it a total loss, the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite is insured for $420 million. That would be the largest known insurance claim for the loss of a satellite. But a person familiar with the space insurance market said the $420 million claim would not cover the entire cost of the mission. The San Diego Union-Tribune has reported the ViaSat-3 Americas mission cost about $700 million, leaving Viasat on the hook for the difference.
The space insurance official told Ars such a claim would be “disruptive” to the industry and may even trigger some underwriters to leave the space market.
The mesh-like reflector antenna on the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite is made of reinforced polymers, graphite, and carbon fiber, with fine gold-plated wire woven into the structure to add flexibility and reduce weight. During launch, the antenna folded up against the spacecraft to fit inside the rocket’s payload shroud.
The spacecraft was built by Boeing, with a communications payload developed internally by Viasat. The reflector was supplied by Northrop Grumman’s Astro Aerospace, said Dave Ryan, Viasat’s president of space and commercial networks, in an interview before the launch in April.
Ryan said the deployment of the antenna was expected to take “literally days.” The reflector is attached to a boom 80 to 90 feet (about 25 meters) long, a larger derivative of the mid-booms that aided the deployment of the sunshade on the James Webb Space Telescope. Speaking before the launch, Viasat officials would not disclose the exact specifications of the circular parabolic antenna but said it was one of the largest structures of its kind ever flown in space.
The reflector is required to focus signals from the satellite onto a small location on the ground. It’s critical to enabling the satellite to reach thousands of users at once, with a total throughput of more than a terabit per second over its 15-year design life.
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