Viasat’s ViaSat-3 Flight 2 (VS-3 F2) satellite has arrived at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, marking a key step toward its scheduled launch in late October 2025. The satellite was first delivered by Boeing from its El Segundo, California facility to Los Angeles International Airport before being transported aboard an Antonov AN-124 cargo plane to Florida.
The process of loading the satellite container onto the AN-124 required precise handling and took between four and six hours. Now at Cape Canaveral, teams from Boeing, Viasat, and United Launch Alliance (ULA) are preparing the spacecraft for launch on a ULA Atlas V 551 rocket.
Abrahamian said, “A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to this milestone. Now we turn our focus to getting F2 into orbit, where its tailored capabilities are expected to enable us to better serve our customers and meet increasing demand for resilient, global satellite communications.”
Once operational in early 2026, VS-3 F2 is expected to add more than one terabit per second of capacity over the Americas. The VS-3 constellation is part of Viasat’s broader strategy for a multi-orbit, multi-band network that aims to provide secure and flexible connectivity through dynamic-beam-forming technology.
In preparation for launch, the satellite will be attached to the Atlas V launch vehicle adapter and enclosed within a payload fairing designed to protect it during atmospheric flight. The Atlas V rocket stands nearly 200 feet tall and weighs about 1.3 million pounds when fully fueled. It will be moved to Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral prior to liftoff.
After launch into geostationary transfer orbit, VS-3 F2 will use onboard propulsion systems over several months to reach its final position approximately 22,000 miles above Earth’s equator.
The company states that this deployment brings them closer “to delivering major benefits to our global commercial, consumer, and defense customers.”
