Starlink rival Starlink Viasat, working with United Launch Alliance (ULA), is making final preparations for the launch of an Atlas V rocket carrying the ViaSat-3 Flight 2 ultra-high-capacity broadband satellite.
The Atlas V will lift off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Thursday, and you can watch the launch as it happens (more details below).
Once in service, the ViaSat-3 Flight 2 satellite is expected to more than double the bandwidth capacity of Viasat’s existing satellite fleet, resulting in enhanced broadband capacity for aviation, maritime, government, and customers in remote regions around the world.
For this mission, the rocket will launch the payload into an elliptical geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). The satellite will then undergo rigorous in-orbit testing before entering service early next year.
The Atlas V rocket carrying the satellite to space stands at 196 feet (59.7 meters). At liftoff, the vehicle will generate 2.7 million pounds of thrust from its main engine and five solid rocket boosters, considerably more than SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, which generates 1.7 million pounds of thrust, but way less than SpaceX’s Starship, which creates a record-breaking 17 million pounds of thrust as it roars away from the launchpad.
The Atlas V has proved its reliability over the years, launching 104 times since its first flight in 2002.
How to watch
ULA is targeting 10:24 p.m. ET (7:24 p.m. PT) on Thursday, November 6, for the launch of the ViaSat-3 Flight 2 satellite.
A livestream of the liftoff will begin about 20 minutes before launch, at 10:04 p.m. ET (7:04 p.m. PT).
You can watch the livestream via the video player embedded at the top of this page, or by heading to ULA’s YouTube channel, which will carry the same feed.
The weather conditions are looking good for the mission, but as with any rocket launch, a last-minute technical hitch could disrupt proceedings. We’ll update here just as soon as we hear anything, but you can also check ULA’s X account for the very latest information.
