[Satellite TODAY 10-20-11] The four-year-long effort to send ViaSat’s high-throughput, all Ka-band satellite ViaSat-1 into orbit ended successfully and on schedule as International Launch Services (ILS) launched the spacecraft Oct. 19 with no apparent problems, the launcher confirmed.

   The satellite launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Proton M rocket during clear and chilly temperatures in the low 40s. The launch was originally scheduled for Spring 2011, but was pushed back to the end of summer. The mission was delayed a second time when a solar array onboard the Telstar 14R satellite failed to fully deploy following its launch in May.

   With a capacity estimated at 140 Gbps – more than all other Internet satellites over North America combined – ViaSat-1 aims to provide high-capacity Ka-band spot beam satellite with planned coverage over North America and Hawaii, along with high-speed broadband services for WildBlue in the United States and Xplornet in Canada.