Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, April 27 (Xinhua)-- on March 21 this year, Boeing delivered to Florida the first star of the ViaSat 3 constellation, ViaSat-3 Americas, the most powerful communications satellite in human history.

According to NASA's calendar of events, SpaceX will launch the satellite from a heavy Falcon rocket at 07:29 Beijing time on the 28th, along with two small satellites, Arcturus and G-Space 1. Of course, if the launch is not allowed for weather or technical reasons, it will be postponed again (originally scheduled for April 18), and the Space Launch Delta 45th weather forecast shows that there is a 40% chance of not meeting the launch standard.

This satellite is an ultra-high-throughput communication satellite developed by Boeing for ViaSat. It is the highest-throughput Ka-band communication satellite in the history of mankind, and it is also the first star of Boeing 702 MP+ platform. For the first time in the series of 702MP platforms, it uses an all-electric propulsion system, which can transmit data at the speed of 1Tbps per second. (CTOnews.com Note: China Star 26 launched at the beginning of the year just surpassed 100Gbps).

▲ source: the Boeing satellite is expected to be launched from the SpaceX heavy Falcon launch vehicle at launch site 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the only launch pad that can withstand the heavy Falcon. This is the rocket's second launch mission this year and the sixth flight of the heavy Falcon rocket. The launch adopts the mode of consumptive launch (core B1068, booster B1052 and B1053 all thrown) and sends the maximum thrust directly to the GEO geostationary orbit. When the satellite is fixed, it will provide communication services for North and South America in the Western Hemisphere.

The ViaSat 3 constellation system, made up of three satellites, aims to become one of the most powerful constellations in human history, while the following two satellites will cover the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region and the Asia-Pacific region, respectively, and are planned for launch by the Universe 5 and Ariana 6 rockets, scheduled for September 2023 and March 2024.

Viasat-3 has a mass of about 6 tons and is equipped with a pair of huge optical wings (a total of 16 solar panels). The giant umbrella antenna makes its communication rate as high as 100+Mpbs and the communication capacity as high as 1Tbps.

ViaSat claims that the satellite is the largest telecommunications satellite ever built. Boeing has previously said that ViaSat 3 is the most powerful satellite it has ever built, with solar panels alone capable of generating 30 kilowatts of electricity (about 1 kilowatt of the generating capacity of the International Space Station).

ViaSat-3 Americas plans to use the geostationary orbit at 88.9 degrees west longitude and is designed to have an in-orbit life of at least 15 years. The satellite, based on the Boeing 702MP bus, was built at Boeing's factory in El Segundo, California, and was transported by a Ukrainian Antonov AN-124 freighter to Florida.

In addition to ViaSat-3 Americas, two small satellites will also be sent into geostationary orbit during this flight. Arcturus is a communications satellite dedicated to Alaska, also known as Aurora 4A. It weighs 400kg and plans to use a 163W orbit. It is the first Astranis commercial satellite.

The satellite has a design life of 10 years, uses a 7.5Gbps Ku band and has two solar panels. "although it weighs only 300kg, this powerful communications satellite can provide up to 7.5 Gbps of data throughput for Alaska and surrounding areas," according to the mission description.

G-Space 1 is a 16U cube satellite, to be operated by Washington-based Gravity Space, weighs 22 kilograms and is designed to support Internet of things communications services. The satellite contains multiple payloads, such as Nusantara Hmi 1A of PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, Indonesia.

After completing this mission, the SpaceX heavy Falcon rocket plans to carry out three more missions this year: the USSF-52 mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than June 23; Echostar 24 (Jupiter 3) will be launched no earlier than August this year; and the NASA Psyche asteroid probe is confirmed to be launched on October 5.

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