LONDON — Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT) has been selected by South Korean launch provider INNOSPACE (KS: 462350) to provide telemetry services for the company’s upcoming HANBIT-Nano mission.
Scheduled for launch later in December 2025, the mission will lift off from the Alcântara Launch Center in Northern Brazil. The agreement marks the first commercial flight for Viasat’s InRange solution, a service designed to relay telemetry data via satellite rather than traditional ground stations.
L-Band Relay Architecture
The HANBIT-Nano vehicle will carry eight registered payloads—comprising five small satellites, three non-separating experimental devices, and a branding model—into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
To monitor the ascent, INNOSPACE will utilize Viasat’s InRange, a component of the company’s HaloNet orbital service portfolio. Unlike terrestrial telemetry networks, which rely on Line-of-Sight (LOS) availability and often suffer from data blackouts over oceans or remote terrain, InRange leverages Viasat’s L-band geostationary (GEO) satellites orbiting at 36,500 km.
HaloNet is designed to provide simultaneous connectivity to thousands of space vehicles (SV) across the full range of orbital inclinations, including polar and retrograde orbits, at any latitude. The service can be applied to missions at altitudes in LEO up to 1100 km, as well as missions in medium Earth orbit.
This architecture creates a continuous data link from the launchpad through payload deployment. For this mission, the system is also configured to support compressed video streaming from the launch vehicle, a new capability for the service.
Operational Context
As the small satellite launch market expands, providers are seeking methods to reduce reliance on geographically dispersed ground infrastructure. INNOSPACE, which utilizes hybrid rocket technology involving 3D-printing and varied fuel mixes, aims to operate from multiple global spaceports, including sites in Brazil, Norway, and Australia. The use of a satellite-based relay allows for a consistent telemetry architecture regardless of the launch site’s physical location.
Gary Lay, Vice President of International Government at Viasat, stated that the partnership supports the growing demand for reliable launch infrastructure. “Through our satellite relay network, we can help launch providers receive data throughout the entire launch,” Lay said.
Program History
The commercial contract follows a series of validation activities for Viasat’s space-relay technology. Earlier in 2025, the telemetry relay capabilities were demonstrated onboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket under NASA’s Communications Service Project. The system has also been selected by UK-based Skyrora for upcoming sub-orbital demonstration flights of the Skylark L vehicle.
