Sat, Dec 06, 2008
Ka-band Satellite To Fly Onboard Ariane 5 In 2011
This week, Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall and Mark Dankberg,
Chairman and CEO of ViaSat Inc., announced they have signed the
launch Service & Solutions contract for the ViaSat-1 broadband
communications satellite.
ViaSat-1, a high-capacity Ka-band spot beam satellite, is
scheduled for launch by an Ariane 5 during the first half of 2011
from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French
Guiana.
ViaSat-1 will be dedicated to providing broadband internet media
services to consumers and businesses over North America. With a
capacity estimated at 100 Gbps, ViaSat-1 is expected to be (at
launch) the highest capacity satellite in the world.
Built by Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, CA, the satellite is
expected to weigh over 13,000 lbs at launch.
This is the 86th launch contract won by Arianespace in the
United States.
"Winning this contract from ViaSat confirms our ability to
deliver top-quality launch services," said Arianespace Chairman and
CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall. "Arianespace is proud of our contribution to
ViaSat's pioneering role in the deployment of new broadband
services."
"The track record of Arianespace clearly shows how well they
understand the importance of each launch and how to execute the
very detailed and demanding schedules of these missions," said Mark
Dankberg, Chairman and CEO of ViaSat. "We are seeing a lot of
anticipation in the marketplace for ViaSat-1, which is designed to
deliver more capacity and a lower cost per bit than any satellite
before."
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