[Satellite TODAY 09-19-11] Satellite manufacturer Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) has delivered ViaSat’s high throughput broadband satellite, ViaSat-1, to the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan, where International Launch Services (ILS) will launch the spacecraft aboard an ILS Proton Breeze M rocket, SS/L announced Sept. 15.

   The all Ka-band ViaSat-1 satellite represents the operator’s next-generation broadband offering. ViaSat, which hopes to use the satellite’s spot beams to dramatically increase the amount of available capacity to serve its customers, has patiently endured a series of delays that has pushed the launch back to mid-October.

   “ViaSat-1 has been a complex and challenging project. The ViaSat-1 system, which includes the gateways and user terminals in addition to the satellite, is going to change the way people think about satellite broadband. Now, with the satellite at launch base, we are very close to seeing our vision become a reality,” ViaSat CEO Mark Dankberg said in a statement.

   ViaSat-1 will be positioned at the 115.1 degrees West orbital slot, where it will provide more than 100 gigabits per second throughput. The satellite has 72 spot beams, with 63 in the United States and nine over Canada. The Canadian beams are owned by satellite operator Telesat and will be used for the Xplornet broadband service to consumers in rural Canada.