Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT) has confirmed that its Inmarsat-6 F2 (I6 F2) satellite, which was launched on February 18, 2023, has suffered a power subsystem anomaly during its orbit raising phase.
At this stage, Viasat and Airbus, the satellite's manufacturer, are working to determine the root cause of the anomaly and assess whether the satellite will be able to perform its mission. Airbus has advised that this anomaly is an unprecedented event; none of its geostationary telecommunication satellites have ever suffered a failure in orbit.
It is important to note that the I6 F2 anomaly does not impact ongoing customer services, and Viasat does not anticipate that it will materially affect the financial outlook for revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth discussed in our letter to shareholders dated August 9, 2023.
The manufacturing and launch costs of the I6 F2 satellite were insured and near-term cash positions are expected to improve. The twin Inmarat-6 F1 satellite (I6 F1), which was launched in December 2021, is operational and continues to perform as expected.
"I6 F2's initial mission was essentially to provide spare L-band and four Gbps of additional Ka-band capacity, consistent with deploying and operating a resilient, redundant network," said Mark Dankberg, Chairman and CEO, Viasat.
Our satellite fleet assets are key factors in the company's resilience and in enabling sustained growth. The I6 satellites are intended to augment our fleet of geostationary L-band satellites, supplementing capacity and redundant coverage.
In addition to our existing L-band fleet, Viasat has a further three L-band satellites (the recently announced Inmarsat-8 satellites) under construction to strengthen the company's global safety services. I6 F2 also included four Gbps of additional Ka-band capacity, which was added to the satellite to provide further flexibility to the legacy Inmarsat Global Xpress (GX) Ka-band fleet.
Now, in addition to the 11 existing Ka-band satellites in service for the combined company, and its access to additional partner's satellites, Viasat has seven more Ka-band satellites under construction, which the company anticipates will sustain and enhance its leading and growing global mobility services.
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Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT) has confirmed that its Inmarsat 6 F2 satellite suffered a power subsystem anomaly during its orbit raising phase. At this stage, Viasat and Airbus (the satellite’s manufacturer) are working to determine the root cause of the anomaly and assess whether the satellite will be able to perform its mission. The anomaly does not impact ongoing customer services and Viasat does not anticipate that it will materially affect the financial outlook for revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth discussed in the company’s letter to shareholders. The manufacturing and launch costs of the I6 F2 satellite were insured and near term cash positions are expected to improve. The twin Inmarat 6 F1 satellite (I6 F1) is operational and continues to perform as expected.
This event is significant because it marks an unprecedented event for Airbus, as none of its geostationary telecommunication satellites have ever suffered a failure in orbit. The I6 F2 satellite was intended to provide spare L band and four Gbps of additional Ka band capacity, consistent with deploying and operating a resilient, redundant network. Viasat also has three L band satellites (the recently announced Inmarsat 8 satellites) under construction to strengthen the company’s global safety services.
During the past 25 years, the space and defense industry has seen a significant rise in the number of commercial satellite launches due to the increased demand for satellite services and products. This anomaly is an outlier and highlights the importance of redundancy in satellite operations.
Investigative
Question:
- 1. What is the root cause of the anomaly?
- 2. Are there any potential long-term impacts of the anomaly?
- 3.
What measures is Viasat taking to ensure that this anomaly does not happen again? 4. What is the timeline for the launch of the Inmarsat 8 satellites?
5. How will the anomaly affect Viasat’s financial outlook?
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