Could be bad news for Wifi improvements on UA and other airlines through Viasat. Their new satellite, with total cost of approximately $700 million, may be a total loss after it failed to deploy antenna array after launch in April.
Viasat disclosed the antenna problems publicly this week and their shares have dropped 30%.
https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/0...-a-total-loss/
Officially unveiled in 2016, the ViaSat-3 program is thought to represent an investment of more than $2 billion by Viasat, including the cost of three satellites, their communications payloads, launch services, ground infrastructure, and insurance. Viasat’s previous satellites covered only North America, and the ViaSat-3 program is designed to extend the company’s coverage globally.
Viasat’s satellites beam Internet signals for homes, businesses, and government users in regions where terrestrial fiber connectivity is unavailable. Based in Carlsbad, California, Viasat has agreements to provide in-flight Wi-Fi to passengers on Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and other commercial airlines.
The next two ViaSat-3 satellites were supposed to cover Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region. If necessary, Viasat said it could move one of its older spacecraft in orbit or reallocate one of the next two ViaSat-3 satellites still on the ground to provide broadband coverage over North and South America, at least partially replacing the capacity that was to be provided by ViaSat-3 Americas.