Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT) has opened a Real-Time Earth (RTE) ground station in Hokkaido, Japan, now enabling RTE customers the ability to downlink Ka-band payload data in the northwestern Pacific at the site hosted by RTE partner, Infostellar — this new ground site gives RTE customers unique access to a strategic location that reduces the time it takes to deliver mission critical data.
Viasat is able to offer Ka-band support for LEO missions with the ability to downlink Ka-band payload data with a 7.3 meter, full motion antenna at the Hokkaido site and is postured to support current and future government and commercial satellite programs. For Viasat, the Hokkaido ground station is a vital link in supporting high data rate remote sensing missions in polar and inclined orbits through the RTE network of Ka-band antenna systems.
The Viasat RTE Ka-band footprint now includes sites in Sweden, Ghana, South Africa, and Australia. RTE plans to expand the Ka-band capability with sites in Alaska and Argentina later this year. RTE offers global S/X-band services at all sites.
“We’ve already proven our ability to rapidly integrate with a civilian space agency to receive Ka-band payloads over our fully automated commercial service and have multiple contracts with commercial satellite operators who understand the value proposition of Ka-band,” said . “Ka-band more than triples the capacity available to downlink earth observation data, compared to traditional high data rate X-band, which translates into more effective and cost-efficient passes for satellite operators.” — Steve Tanous, Vice President, Real-Time Earth, Viasat
“Infostellar is very pleased that our partnership with Viasat RTE also now includes an RTE 7.3M S/X/Ka-band antenna at our hosting site in Taiki City located in the Hokkaido Prefecture. This new capability is already producing fruit for both Viasat and Infostellar clients. We look forward to the continued expansion of our partnership services as our companies continue to expand our reach in Japan and around the globe.” — Tom Pirrone, CEO, Infostellar U.S.
Viasat RTE provides Ground-Station-as-a-Service (GSaaS) capabilities in support of environmental, insurance, shipping, energy, and government operations. It is a fully managed, cost-effective ground network that is designed to enable operators with geosynchronous orbit (GEO), medium earth orbit (MEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) satellites using the S-, X- and Ka-bands, to meet current and future data requirements. Currently, Viasat’s RTE network operates on five continents, with sites in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Africa.
