Viasat Advances NASA Communications Services Project Demonstration with Successful Launch
Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global leader global leader in satellite communications technology, today announced it has advanced the company’s demonstration mission for NASA’s Communications Services Project (CSP) with the successful launch of the Maxwell spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station yesterday, October 20th, at 7:04 a.m. ET during the Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission with SpaceX.
Viasat offers solutions for rapidly growing low Earth orbit (LEO) operations which require the ability to effectively transport mission data back to Earth for analysis and distribution while balancing real-time demands and data latency, as well as maintain continuous contact with the spacecraft for command and control. This on-orbit demonstration mission is a key milestone in Viasat’s work developing innovative space-based communication services under two CSP contract awards totaling $81 million and supports NASA as it prepares to sunset its Tracking and Data Relay Satellite fleet.
Supporting its Defense and Advanced Technologies segment, Viasat’s government space team will now proceed with on-orbit testing and demonstrations that will take place over five months through March 2027. Viasat’s Ka- and L-band space relay services will offer LEO operators the real-time, low-data latency communications required for time-sensitive operations, removing delays to downlink data to the ground. These solutions are designed to support NASA mission needs, as well as the growing market for on-demand LEO connectivity services for government and commercial mission operations.
The Viasat payloads include a space-qualified Ka-band terminal that will be able to access the high-capacity ViaSat-3 satellite network, as well as an L-band terminal to connect with Viasat’s global L-band network. These geostationary orbit (GEO)-based relay solutions will deliver on-demand access to critical mission data and enable real-time telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) operations at any point in a LEO spacecraft’s orbit. The demonstrations will also include direct-to-ground communications through Viasat’s Real-Time Earth Ground-Station-as-a-Service for S-, X-, and Ka-bands.
“Yesterday’s launch represents the culmination of years of innovation, engineering and collaboration across Viasat, NASA and our industry partners,” said John Reeves, Vice President of Space and Mission Systems, Viasat Government. “As LEO constellation operations, Earth observation and scientific missions, and military space activities continue to expand, the need for resilient, high-performance space-based communications to keep data flowing has never been greater. Our demonstration will show how new commercial services can transform LEO operations with continuous access and command and control of the spacecraft, enabling dynamic re-tasking and real-time data collection for government and commercial missions.”
Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ: RKLB) built the Maxwell spacecraft at its Long Beach, California, facility, incorporating a suite of in-house components and subsystems including solar panels, reaction wheels, star trackers, and flight and ground software. The spacecraft provides power, communications, propulsion, and attitude control for the mission demonstration. In addition, Rocket Lab provided a new L-band radio to support the relay demonstration of various TT&C applications through Viasat’s L-band network.
This marks Viasat’s second NASA CSP program demonstration mission, following an initial demonstration of its launch telemetry relay solution during the Blue Origin New Glenn launch in November 2025.