ViaSat-3 satellite completes final integrated satellite test

ViaSat announced the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite has completed its Final Integrated Satellite Test, FIST, and has now progressed to the Flight Final phase of integration where it is undergoing final build-up to its flight configuration. FIST is designed to test all the satellite’s payload and bus systems to confirm they function properly following the stresses of mechanical environmental testing, which simulated the launch of the spacecraft. The satellite had already successfully completed mechanical environmental testing and thermal vacuum testing that simulated vacuum and extreme hot and cold conditions of space where the satellite will operate during its expected 15-year lifetime. "With the completion of the Final Integrated Satellite Test, we now have final confirmation that the satellite design and build process has produced a spacecraft that is ready for launch. We can now progress to the final buildup for flight and look forward to finishing the satellite soon and preparing it for transport from Boeing’s facility in El Segundo, California to Cape Canaveral, Florida," said Dave Ryan, president of Space & Commercial Networks at Viasat.