SpaceX Falcon Heavy Successfully Launches ViaSat-3 F3 Communications Satellite After 18-Month Hiatus
Summary: On April 29, 2026, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy successfully launched the ViaSat-3 F3 communications satellite from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This marked the rocket's 12th flight and its first launch since the Europa Clipper mission in October 2024. The rocket's 27 Merlin engines generated approximately 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, sending the over-6-ton communications satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit. Approximately 2.5 minutes after liftoff, the two side boosters (B1072 and B1075) successfully landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Credit: Spaceflight Now / SpaceX
Sources (original pages)
- Falcon Heavy Returns with ViaSat-3 F3 (Tencent)
- SpaceX Falcon Heavy Delivers Final ViaSat-3 Satellite to Orbit (Tencent)
- Falcon Heavy Returns with ViaSat-3 F3 (Space Scout)
The two Falcon Heavy side boosters used in this mission showed a striking contrast in reuse history: B1072 was on its 22nd flight, while B1075 was only on its 2nd — illustrating SpaceX's differentiated approach to booster reuse across missions. ViaSat-3 F3 is the final satellite in Viasat's third-generation high-throughput communications constellation, with a design capacity exceeding 1 Tbps, providing broadband services for aviation, maritime, and remote areas.