ViaSat 2 – Spaceflight Now

Ariane 5 succeeds in launch of two high-value communications satellites

June 2, 2017 Stephen Clark

A pair of ViaSat and Eutelsat communications satellites — one to broadcast unparalleled high-speed Internet from space, and another to connect the Asia-Pacific — streaked into space Thursday from French Guiana atop an Ariane 5 rocket, setting records for the heaviest and most valuable commercial payload ever put into orbit.

Launch timeline for Ariane 5’s flight with ViaSat 2 and Eutelsat 172B

June 1, 2017 Stephen Clark

An Ariane 5 rocket will fire into the sky from French Guiana Thursday evening and deliver a record heavyweight payload to orbit less than an hour later.

Live coverage: Ariane 5 rocket launches on record-breaking mission

June 1, 2017 Stephen Clark

An Ariane 5 rocket lifted off Thursday at 2345 GMT (7:45 p.m. EDT), flying from a French Guiana launch pad to geostationary transfer orbit with the ViaSat 2 and Eutelsat 172B communications satellites.

Two high-power broadband satellites set for record-breaking launch on Ariane 5 rocket

June 1, 2017 Stephen Clark

A pair of innovative satellites for ViaSat and Eutelsat, valued at approximately $800 million, are scheduled to lift off Thursday on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana, hauling the heaviest and costliest commercial payload ever launched.

Operations resume at European-run launch base in French Guiana

April 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

Ground crews returned to work Monday at the Guiana Space Center, a European-run spaceport on the northeastern shore of South America, after protests and a general strike across French Guiana interrupted launch operations for five weeks.

ViaSat trades in Falcon Heavy launch for Ariane 5

February 15, 2016 Stephen Clark

Delays in the debut of SpaceX’s huge Falcon Heavy rocket have prompted ViaSat to move the launch of a high-speed Internet communications satellite from the new privately-developed booster to an Ariane 5 flight in early 2017, officials said last week.