Viasat Picks Rocket Lab to Build Satellite for Space Force Program
By Dean Seal
Viasat has selected Rocket Lab to build a satellite bus under the U.S. Space Force's Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global program.
The satellite communications company said Monday that Rocket Lab will deliver a geosynchronous Earth orbit, or GEO, configuration of its high-performance Lightning spacecraft platform to host Viasat's dual-band X/Ka-band payload.
Combining Rocket Lab's high reliability Lightning platform and Viasat's mini-GEO satellite architecture and high-performance payload will provide warfighters with secure communications, the companies said.
Viasat was tapped in May to deliver the first small, maneuverable GEO satellite for the Space Force program's constellation. The program is part of the force's strategy of providing the U.S. military with scalable satellite communications with enhanced anti-jam capabilities.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 17, 2026 09:02 ET (13:02 GMT)
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