Viasat Advances NASA Communications Services Project Demonstration with Successful Launch
Key Highlights
- ➤Viasat’s Maxwell spacecraft successfully launched October 20 on SpaceX’s Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission
- ➤NASA CSP contract awards total $81 million for Viasat’s space-based communications services
- ➤Five-month on-orbit testing and demonstrations will run through March 2027
- ➤Rocket Lab (RKLB) built Maxwell and supplied spacecraft systems plus a new L-band radio
- ➤Viasat’s second NASA CSP demonstration follows its November 2025 New Glenn launch telemetry mission
Expert Statements
John Reeves, Vice President of Space and Mission Systems, Viasat Government
“Yesterday’s launch represents the culmination of years of innovation, engineering and collaboration across Viasat, NASA and our industry partners.”
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.”
John Reeves, Vice President of Space and Mission Systems, Viasat Government
“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.”
CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Viasat Inc.(NASDAQ: VSAT), a 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 20(th), 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.
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