ViaSat's Moment Of Truth In The Satellite Industry

Getting a satellite into space is no easy feat and it is not a cheap one, either. ?At a cost of $400 million, ViaSat launched its first communication satellite in October of 2011. ?However, once the launch is complete, then the hard work of actually getting it into the right spot begins.

In order for a communications satellite to have the widest reach, it needs to be positioned over the equator and remain in a position that is in a fixed spot relative to a location on the earth. ?This means that it needs to be in a geosynchronous orbit. ?In order for this orbit to be achieved, it must be approximately 22,500 miles above the earth. ?At this point, it will spin with the earth as it rotates fifteen degrees every hour in order to complete the rotation in a day?s time. ?In addition, there is more space available above the earth?s surface at the equator allowing for more satellites to be positioned there and get the best coverage possible.

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But getting a communications satellite into this position is just half of the battle. ?This was true with what ViaSat found out. ?The company?s latest and greatest satellite known as ViaSat-1 was launched in October of 2011, but that doesn?t mean that it was available for use immediately. ?Instead, it still faced a series of tests in order to make sure that it was fully operational and would receive commands from the ground and execute them correctly. ?

In order to get ViaSat-1 into the right position and working correctly, it took many steps over the course of several months. ?First, it took several days after the launch of the satellite to get it into a geosynchronous orbit.

?At this point, the satellite was given a command to deploy its antenna reflectors which took place immediately after it arrived in the correct orbit. ?Once this step was completed, the satellite was fully tested throughout the next couple of months in order to make sure that all of its systems were working correctly. ?At this point, the control of the satellite was given over to ViaSat from the company that was responsible for the launch and testing of the satellite. ?One week later, ViaSat-1 reached its final destination in a geosynchronous orbit at one hundred and fifteen degrees west. ?It is at this location that it will be able to provide the best coverage of the United States and Canada. ?In fact, almost the entire country will be covered.

This is the first satellite that ViaSat has put into space aimed at servicing US residential customers. ?Already one of the most capable communications satellites, it alone can handle up to one million subscribers. ?However, plans are already underway to launch ViaSat-2. At that point, technology should allow for it to be more powerful than its sibling so it will be interesting to see what it will be capable of handling.

Source: http://technology.ezinemark.com/viasats-moment-of-truth-in-the-satellite-industry-7d33e9b6d613.html

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