SpaceX Falcon Heavy Returns After 18 Months, Launches ViaSat-3 F3 Satellite
On April 27, 2026, at 10:21 a.m. EDT (14:21 UTC), SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, delivering the ViaSat-3 Flight 3 communications satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit. This marks the Falcon Heavy’s first flight in more than a year and a half, and the 12th flight of the rocket type overall.
Mission Details
The mission carried the 6-metric-ton ViaSat-3 F3 communications satellite, which was scheduled to deploy from the rocket’s upper stage nearly five hours after liftoff. The satellite will take approximately two months to reach its final operational orbit using electric propulsion, positioned at 158.55 degrees East along the equator.
The launch window spanned 85 minutes, with the 45th Weather Squadron forecasting a 70 percent chance of favorable conditions. Launch weather officers noted they were monitoring for potential violations of cumulus cloud and surface electric field rules.
A Mix of Old and New Boosters
The three boosters used in this mission featured a combination of old and new hardware. The two side boosters, tail numbers 1072 and 1075, were flying for their second and 22nd missions, respectively. After separation, they targeted simultaneous landings at Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) and Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station — marking the first time SpaceX has used both landing zones simultaneously.
The center core booster (tail number B1098), however, was on its first and only flight. It will be expended into the Atlantic Ocean and will not be recovered.
The Final Piece of the ViaSat-3 Constellation
ViaSat-3 F3 is the third and final satellite in the ViaSat-3 constellation, targeting coverage over the Asia-Pacific region and adding more than one terabit per second (Tbps) of capacity to the overall Viasat network.
“It’s kind of the end of an era. We’ve been working this program for over 10 years now. So that’s a good chunk of life that’s gone by over the course of the program,” said Dave Abrahamian, Viasat’s vice president of Satellite Systems.
He added: “It’s a different world now than when we started the program. Back then, we had a handful of satellites in orbit. Since then, we’ve launched the two ViaSat-3s, we merged with Inmarsat, we’ve got the third one ready to go now. So totally different world, different feeling, and it’s pretty cool to have been part of it all.”
Technical Advantages
The core advantage of the ViaSat-3 satellites lies in their flexibility. Abrahamian explained: “ViaSat-3 because we’re using phased array technology and our antennas onboard, we can form a beam wherever we need it. We can allocate spectrum to it as we need it. We can put multiple beams in an area as needed. So we really don’t have the issue of trapped capacity.”
He noted that several airline customers in the Asia-Pacific region are eager to bring this capacity online to better serve their customers. ViaSat-3 F2, which launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket in November 2025, is still completing its on-orbit checkout and will begin operational service in the near future.
Historical Significance
The Falcon Heavy first flew in 2018, and this mission marks the rocket’s 12th flight. Two of those previous missions also carried ViaSat-3 satellites. This launch also marks the first time SpaceX has simultaneously used two ground-based landing zones for booster recovery at Cape Canaveral, demonstrating the company’s continued advancement in rocket reusability technology.
Source: Spaceflight Now | Space.com | Orlando Sentinel