SpaceX launches final ViaSat-3 satellite, completing global broadband constellation

Overview

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on April 29, 2026 at 10:13 a.m. Eastern time, successfully placing the third and final ViaSat-3 satellite into geostationary transfer orbit. It was the rocket's first flight in 18 months and its 12th since its 2018 debut. Both side boosters landed simultaneously at Landing Zone 2 and Landing Zone 40 at Cape Canaveral — the first time Falcon Heavy used LZ-40, a pad that opened with a Crew Dragon mission in February 2026 — while the center core was expended into the Atlantic as planned for this high-energy trajectory. Two days earlier, rain and clouds moving over Kennedy Space Center had forced the countdown to stop with 28 seconds left on the clock.

The ViaSat-3 F3 satellite will spend roughly two months raising its orbit to the geostationary belt at approximately 155–158 degrees East longitude above the Asia-Pacific region, followed by rigorous in-orbit testing before commercial service is expected to begin in late summer 2026. Completing the three-satellite global Ka-band network caps a decade-long effort first announced in February 2016, and one defined by setbacks: the first satellite, launched in May 2023, suffered a crippling antenna deployment failure that resulted in a $420 million insurance claim, while Starlink captured much of the consumer satellite broadband market during the years it took to recover, build, and launch the remaining two spacecraft.

Why it matters

Global aviation, shipping, and military networks gain a fully unified high-capacity geostationary alternative to Starlink — the only competing worldwide satellite broadband system outside low Earth orbit.

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Key Indicators

1+ Tbps

Asia-Pacific capacity to be added

Each ViaSat-3 satellite delivers more than one terabit per second of throughput once in service.

~2 months

Orbit-raising period ahead

F3 will spend approximately two months climbing from geostationary transfer orbit to its operational slot at roughly 155–158° East before in-orbit testing begins.

$420M

Insurance claim on first satellite

The F1 satellite's antenna failed to deploy properly in 2023, severely degrading its capacity.

6.6 tons

Satellite mass

Among the heaviest commercial communications satellites ever launched.

Late summer 2026

Target commercial service date

After orbit-raising and in-orbit testing, Viasat expects Asia-Pacific service to begin by late summer 2026, completing the global constellation.

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People Involved

Mark Dankberg

Overseeing in-orbit testing of completed constellation and strategic review of government and commercial business units

Dave Abrahamian

Led Viasat's space systems team through the ViaSat-3 F3 launch

Organizations Involved

Viasat, Inc.

Public satellite communications company

Three-satellite global Ka-band constellation complete; F3 in orbit-raising ahead of late summer 2026 commercial service

A Carlsbad, California-based satellite operator focused on aviation, maritime, government, and consumer broadband.

SpaceX

Private aerospace company

Successfully returned Falcon Heavy to flight on April 29, 2026, delivering ViaSat-3 F3 to geostationary transfer orbit

The dominant commercial launch provider, responsible for over half of all global orbital launches in recent years.

Boeing Satellite Systems

Satellite manufacturer

Prime contractor for the ViaSat-3 satellite buses

The El Segundo-based satellite division that built the structural platforms for all three ViaSat-3 spacecraft.

Timeline

Falcon Heavy successfully launches ViaSat-3 F3 on second attempt
Launch

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy lifts off from LC-39A on its 12th flight since 2018, placing the 6.6-ton ViaSat-3 F3 satellite into geostationary transfer orbit. Side boosters B1072 and B1075 land simultaneously at LZ-2 and LZ-40 — the first dual landing to use the newer LZ-40 pad — while the center core is expended as planned. Satellite deployment confirmed approximately five hours after launch.
April 29th, 2026 • 10:13 ET
Falcon Heavy launches ViaSat-3 F3
Launch

SpaceX returns its heavy-lift rocket to flight after an 18-month gap, sending the third and final ViaSat-3 satellite toward geostationary transfer orbit on a roughly five-hour deployment sequence.
April 27th, 2026 • 10:21 ET
Falcon Heavy launch scrubbed at T-28 seconds due to weather
Scrub

Rain and thick clouds moving over Kennedy Space Center triggered cumulus cloud and surface electric field rule violations, forcing SpaceX to halt the countdown with 28 seconds remaining. The mission was rescheduled to April 29 with an 85-minute window opening at 10:13 a.m. ET.
April 27th, 2026 • 10:21 ET
ViaSat-3 F2 launches on Atlas V
Launch

United Launch Alliance flies the EMEA-coverage satellite from Cape Canaveral after two earlier scrubs caused by an Atlas liquid oxygen vent valve issue.
November 14th, 2025
Insurers face $420 million claim
Financial

Underwriters describe the loss as a 'market-changing event' for satellite insurance, helping push premiums sharply higher across the industry.
August 24th, 2023
Viasat discloses F1 antenna failure
Incident

An anomaly during deployment of the satellite's large mesh reflector, built by Northrop Grumman, severely impairs the spacecraft's broadband capacity.
July 12th, 2023
Viasat closes $7.3 billion Inmarsat acquisition
Corporate

UK and EU regulators clear the merger after determining Starlink would constrain the combined company's market power, particularly in inflight connectivity.
May 30th, 2023
ViaSat-3 F1 launches on Falcon Heavy
Launch

The first ViaSat-3 satellite, covering the Americas, reaches near-geosynchronous orbit at roughly 34,600 kilometers altitude.
May 1st, 2023
Viasat unveils ViaSat-3 program
Announcement

Viasat announces a three-satellite global constellation targeting terabit-class throughput per spacecraft, with launches initially planned between 2020 and 2022.
February 9th, 2016

Scenarios

Predict which scenario wins. Contrarian picks score more — points lock in when the scenario resolves.

Predictions leaderboard

Viasat captures premium aviation and maritime market by 2027

F3 enters service on schedule in late summer 2026 and the unified network gives Viasat enough capacity to compete head-to-head with Starlink on long-haul flights and ocean routes, where geostationary coverage is reliable and bandwidth needs are predictable. Backed by long-term Inmarsat-era contracts with airlines and shippers, Viasat retains and expands its premium mobility business even as Starlink dominates consumer broadband.

Discussed by: Viasat management; analysts cited in StockStory and Via Satellite earnings coverage

Consensus —

Starlink keeps winning, ViaSat-3 finds a defense niche

Latency-sensitive customers continue migrating to Starlink, leaving Viasat to lean on its government, defense, and resilient-communications business — particularly for sovereign and US military customers wary of relying on a single commercial low-orbit network. The constellation pays off as critical national-security infrastructure rather than a mass commercial product.

Discussed by: S&P Global satellite connectivity analysts; IEEE ComSoc commentary

Consensus —

Viasat splits commercial and government businesses

Following completion of the constellation, the board approves a separation of the defense and advanced technologies arm from the commercial broadband business. Each unit pursues its own strategy and capital structure, with the commercial side potentially seeking a partner for low-orbit capacity while the government side trades on its classified contracts and cybersecurity portfolio.

Discussed by: Viasat management on Q4 FY26 earnings call; financial analysts

Consensus —

Multi-orbit partnership lands a credible LEO complement

Viasat secures a wholesale or joint-venture relationship with an emerging low-orbit operator — Eutelsat OneWeb, Telesat Lightspeed, or a yet-to-launch player — to bolt low-latency service onto its geostationary backbone. The combined offering becomes the only credible global alternative to Starlink for enterprise and government users.

Discussed by: Mark Dankberg in Via Satellite interviews; broadband industry press

Consensus —

Historical Context

Iridium constellation completion (1998)

May-November 1998

What Happened

Motorola spinoff Iridium completed a 66-satellite low-orbit network for global satellite phones at a cost of roughly $5 billion. Service launched in November 1998 with bulky handsets and high per-minute pricing.

Outcome

Short Term

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 1999, less than a year after service began, after enrolling only a fraction of projected subscribers.

Long Term

Assets were sold for $25 million in 2001 and the network was rescued for defense customers. A re-capitalized Iridium has since flown a successor constellation and remains the dominant satellite phone provider.

Why It's Relevant Today

A cautionary tale about completing an expensive global constellation just as the underlying market shifts. Viasat is finishing its geostationary system in an era when Starlink has already redefined what consumers expect from satellite broadband.

Inmarsat Global Xpress completion (2017)

August 2017

What Happened

Inmarsat completed its four-satellite Global Xpress network, the first commercial high-throughput Ka-band system to span the entire planet, after launching the first I-5 satellite in 2013. The constellation cost roughly $1.6 billion.

Outcome

Short Term

Global Xpress quickly became the connectivity backbone for thousands of ships, business aircraft, and military customers, and was central to Inmarsat's value proposition through the late 2010s.

Long Term

Inmarsat was acquired by Viasat in 2023 for $7.3 billion, in part because Global Xpress's Ka-band fleet complemented the in-development ViaSat-3 satellites.

Why It's Relevant Today

The most direct prior parallel: a global Ka-band geostationary broadband constellation completed by the company Viasat now owns. Sets the template for the customer base and use cases ViaSat-3 will serve.

O3b mPower partial launch and software issues (2022-2024)

December 2022-April 2024

What Happened

SES launched the first batches of its medium-Earth-orbit O3b mPower constellation starting in December 2022. Power-control software problems on early satellites forced the operator to limit capacity and add four more spacecraft to the design.

Outcome

Short Term

SES took a multi-hundred-million-dollar impairment and delayed full service entry by more than a year while it integrated additional satellites into the network.

Long Term

The constellation eventually entered commercial service but lost early-mover advantage in non-geostationary broadband to faster-deploying low-orbit competitors.

Why It's Relevant Today

Another recent example of a major broadband constellation losing time and money to spacecraft anomalies — exactly the dynamic Viasat experienced with the F1 antenna failure. Also illustrates how on-orbit setbacks compound when low-orbit rivals are gaining users every quarter.