ViaSat-3 Satellite Completes
Final Integrated Satellite Test
Nov. 28, 2022
Viasat Inc. announced
today the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite has completed
its Final Integrated Satellite Test (FIST) and has
now progressed to the Flight Final phase of
integration where it is undergoing final build-up to
its flight configuration.
FIST is designed to test all
the satellite's payload and bus systems to confirm
they function properly following the stresses of
mechanical environmental testing, which simulated
the launch of the spacecraft. The satellite had
already successfully completed mechanical
environmental testing and thermal vacuum testing
that simulated vacuum and extreme hot and cold
conditions of space where the satellite will operate
during its expected 15-year lifetime. FIST provided
confirmation that the satellite continued to perform
as designed following the mechanical and thermal
stresses of the prior test phases.
"With the completion of the
Final Integrated Satellite Test, we now have final
confirmation that the satellite design and build
process has produced a spacecraft that is ready for
launch. We can now progress to the final buildup for
flight and look forward to finishing the satellite
soon and preparing it for transport from Boeing's
facility in El Segundo, California to Cape
Canaveral, Florida," said Dave Ryan, president of
Space & Commercial Networks at Viasat.
"Completion of FIST is a
significant milestone as we move towards spacecraft
delivery and launch," said Ryan Reid, president of
Boeing (NYSE: BA) Satellite Systems International.
"We've validated the design and workmanship of the
spacecraft after integration of our powerful 702
platform with Viasat's ultra-high throughput
payload. These are some of the final steps as we
prepare the spacecraft for delivery to launch."
The ViaSat-3 class of Ka-band
satellites are expected to provide the best
bandwidth economics in the industry with substantial
flexibility to move and concentrate that capacity
virtually anywhere there is demand - whether it is
on land, in the ocean or in the air. The first two
satellites are planned to focus on the Americas and
EMEA, respectively, and the third satellite is
planned to focus on the Asia Pacific region, to
complete Viasat's global service coverage. The
ViaSat-3 EMEA satellite is currently undergoing
integration with spacecraft partner, Boeing, and the
third ViaSat-3 satellite is undergoing final payload
integration and testing at Viasat's Tempe, Arizona
facility.
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