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Viasat to selects Blue Origin to launch its InRange satcom demonstrator for NASA

Viasat Taps Blue Origin to Launch InRange Satcom Demonstrator for NASA

Viasat has announced its selection of Blue Origin to deliver its InRange satellite communications demonstrator into orbit, marking a strategic step forward in next-generation space-based telemetry. This collaboration places Viasat's InRange payload aboard an upcoming New Shepard suborbital mission, targeting enhanced data connectivity between launch vehicles and ground systems. At the heart of this mission lies a broader goal: transforming how near-Earth telemetry is delivered in real time.

Developed as part of NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, the InRange demonstrator addresses a precise gap in current launch communications—real-time data transmission during launch and early orbit operations, particularly over remote or oceanic areas. The shift from traditional radar-based tracking to satellite relay offers continuous coverage, greater accuracy, and reduced latency. NASA's participation exemplifies how public-private partnerships are reshaping space innovation. By leveraging commercial capabilities like Blue Origin’s reusable launch system, the agency accelerates development timelines and injects flexibility into mission planning.

Driving Satellite Innovation: Inside Viasat’s Mission to Advance Space Communication

Brief History and Core Business Focus

Founded in 1986, Viasat has grown from a small defense communications firm into a global satellite broadband and network services provider. Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, the company has consistently invested in high-capacity satellite systems and secure networking technologies. Over the decades, Viasat has expanded its portfolio across commercial, government, and space-based communication sectors.

The company's strategic direction centers on delivering high-speed, reliable connectivity in areas underserved by traditional infrastructure. Its services span from in-flight Wi-Fi and remote enterprise access to mission-critical government communications and satellite internet for residential users.

Current Capabilities in Satellite Services

Viasat operates a growing constellation of high-throughput satellites and offers comprehensive satellite communication services. For commercial clients, the company provides aviation connectivity across global air routes, maritime satellite broadband, and rural internet coverage. In the government sector, Viasat delivers real-time situational awareness, secure data transmission, and resilient connectivity for defense agencies and intelligence operations worldwide.

Its satellite fleet, including the ViaSat-1 and ViaSat-2 spacecraft, supports multi-gigabit per second speeds. The upcoming ViaSat-3 constellation is designed to offer over 1 Terabit per second of total network capacity, a benchmark that positions Viasat at the forefront of communications satellite infrastructure.

Reducing Ground-to-Space Communication Latency

Latency challenges in ground-to-space communication directly impact command, telemetry, and data routing efficiency. Viasat prioritizes latency reduction as a critical performance metric across its network architecture. By integrating advanced signal modulation techniques, closer proximity ground relays, and telemetry optimization algorithms, the company enhances responsiveness between terrestrial and orbital systems.

Improving this latency boosts mission agility for satellite operators, increases throughput for bandwidth-intensive applications, and sharpens real-time control functions—all key advantages in an era of rapidly scaling space deployments.

InRange: A Building Block Toward Future Space Infrastructure

The InRange satcom demonstrator reflects Viasat’s long-term vision for persistent, low-latency satellite telemetry and control. Designed to rely on relay networks in geostationary orbit, InRange minimizes dependence on ground stations by maintaining continuous contact with low Earth orbit (LEO) vehicles. This architecture enables orbital communications with significantly fewer delays.

InRange will serve as a pathfinder for scalable communications infrastructure—providing a vital backbone as on-orbit servicing, space-based manufacturing, and autonomous spacecraft operations evolve. Through this project, Viasat is positioning itself as a key enabler of the next generation of orbital communications technologies.

Blue Origin: The Launch Partner of Choice

Redefining Commercial Spaceflight

Blue Origin, founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, has firmly positioned itself at the forefront of commercial spaceflight innovation. With the motto "Gradatim Ferociter"—Latin for "Step by Step, Ferociously"—the company has prioritized deliberate engineering, reusable technologies, and long-term roadmaps to space infrastructure.

Headquartered in Kent, Washington, Blue Origin operates a variety of facilities across the United States, including its launch site in West Texas and its engine manufacturing center in Huntsville, Alabama. It has developed both suborbital and orbital systems to meet a range of commercial and government missions.

Diversified Launch Capabilities: Suborbital and Orbital

Blue Origin’s distinction lies in its dual experience with suborbital and orbital launch vehicles. New Shepard, the company’s suborbital vehicle, was designed primarily for research payloads and crewed missions above the Kármán line. As of early 2024, it has completed over 20 suborbital missions, offering consistent performance and rapid mission turnaround through vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) capability.

Meanwhile, New Glenn, a heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle, expands Blue Origin’s role in orbital payload deployment. Named after astronaut John Glenn, the rocket features a 7-meter fairing and is powered by seven BE-4 engines in its first stage. Designed for high-cadence, heavy-payload missions to low Earth orbit (LEO), geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), and beyond, New Glenn introduces reusability into large-scale orbital infrastructure.

Which Vehicle Supports the InRange Demonstrator?

While Viasat’s InRange satcom mission does not explicitly confirm the vehicle name in initial statements, technical indicators and past mission profiles favor New Shepard as the likely platform. The demonstrator aligns with the vehicle’s history of flying suborbital technology payloads through NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. These flights enable real-time data acquisition in high-altitude conditions without entering orbit—ideal for satcom validation.

Track Record in Demonstration Flights

Blue Origin has repeatedly proven its value for technology validation. Through collaborations with NASA, academic institutions, and aerospace startups, the company has launched numerous suborbital science and engineering experiments. It supports non-crewed tech demonstrators under strict pre-flight integration processes, allowing mission stakeholders to gather actionable performance data before orbital-scale commitments.

By selecting Blue Origin, Viasat taps into a launch partner that balances engineering rigor with flexible mission customization, enabling precision testing for future space communication protocols.

Inside the InRange Project: Transforming Launch Telemetry with Advanced Satcom

Description of the InRange System and Its Technological Objectives

The InRange Satcom Demonstrator operates as a relay-based communication system leveraging satellite infrastructure to modernize telemetry during space launches. Developed by Viasat under a NASA contract, the system abandons traditional ground-based tracking in favor of dynamic, continuous coverage through geostationary satellites. This shift removes line-of-sight constraints inherent in legacy systems.

At its core, InRange integrates a compact terminal aboard launch vehicles, transmitting telemetry data through Viasat’s global satellite network. The demonstrator aims to prove compatibility with emerging launch architectures and to validate network-first telemetry models using Viasat’s advanced connectivity assets.

Goals: Real-Time, Low-Latency Telemetry During Rocket Launches

Telemetry that arrives seconds late can undermine mission-critical decisions. InRange addresses this risk by supporting sub-second latency communications, even during the most dynamic phases of launch. Mission operation centers will experience data transmission close to real-time, enabling immediate response protocols, clearer flight characterization, and more precise anomaly mitigation.

Testing with InRange focuses specifically on minimizing link degradation during intense atmospheric phases—Max Q, stage separation, and upper-stage ignition—where reliable telemetry often falters. This demonstrator will collect and route live performance metrics to Earth without interruption, even at altitudes and velocities where other systems drop out.

Applications for NASA and Other Commercial Launch Providers

For NASA, InRange helps reduce dependency on the outdated Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) and ground station networks. Future missions can scale without local infrastructure buildup. The technology appeals equally to commercial operators needing rapid, secure, and borderless telemetry.

How InRange Supports NASA’s Mission of Accelerating Space Innovation

NASA’s STMD (Space Technology Mission Directorate) selected Viasat to demonstrate InRange under its Tipping Point program—designed to transition high-risk, high-reward concepts into operational space systems. By flying on Blue Origin’s New Glenn vehicle, InRange helps validate a commercial solution that aligns with NASA’s stated goal: decrease cost while increasing access and reliability across mission types.

Instead of relying solely on public resources, NASA is building symbiotic relationships with commercial providers. InRange exemplifies this—a technology born in the private sector, now scaled with NASA’s operational credibility. As a result, future Artemis missions, orbital servicing operations, and Earth observation launches could gain access to faster, more resilient data links thanks to this demonstrator phase.

NASA and Viasat: Catalyzing Space Innovation Through Strategic Partnership

Cooperative Frameworks: Viasat’s Engagement with NASA

Viasat has engaged with NASA through multiple cooperative agreements, contributing technical expertise and system-level insights to develop next-generation communication architectures. These collaborations operate under NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program, where Viasat participates in initiatives to test and refine advanced telemetry, tracking, and command capabilities. The InRange satcom demonstrator stems from one such relationship, where NASA funds projects that align with its Decadal Planning Team objectives for deep space readiness.

Rather than serving as a traditional vendor, Viasat functions as a core research ally—deploying flight demonstrators like InRange to validate high-fidelity, low-latency communication links beyond Earth orbit. These efforts feed directly into NASA’s roadmap for scalable space-to-ground communication infrastructure.

Driving Value for NASA: Enhancing In-Space Communication

With the deployment of InRange, NASA gains access to real-time, always-on telemetry from spacecraft in low and medium Earth orbits. This stands in sharp contrast to legacy systems that rely on line-of-sight relay through ground stations or the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), which imposes bandwidth and timing constraints. Viasat’s low Earth orbit terminals bypass those limitations by creating persistent RF links via commercial networks.

For human-rated missions, this level of connectivity increases situational awareness during launch and docking operations; critical phases where communication blackouts cannot be tolerated. Science missions also benefit. Continuous data flow reduces error rates, enhances time-correlated measurements, and accelerates post-processing for instruments deployed in near-Earth space.

Public-Private Frameworks: Advancing Aerospace Together

The InRange initiative exemplifies how public-private collaborations reshape the aerospace innovation cycle. NASA seeds the effort with mission-driven priorities and programmatic funding. Viasat then transfers design, integration, and operational risk to the commercial domain—delivering faster development, better scalability, and stronger interoperability with future space networks.

This model ensures that federal investment translates into working technology—not just reports or prototypes. As NASA works within constrained federal budgets, such partnerships allocate capital efficiently, reduce redundancy across agencies, and bring in fresh engineering talent from the private sector.

Alignment with Deep Space Vision: Lunar and Mars Missions

NASA’s Artemis missions aim to re-establish human presence on the Moon by leveraging Gateway, a lunar-orbiting platform that demands continuous communication links to support robotic and human operations. Viasat’s InRange capability supports this by laying the groundwork for direct-to-satellite connectivity that can be extended from Earth orbit to cis-lunar space.

Looking further, Mars surface missions will require resilient, delay-tolerant solutions capable of spanning interplanetary distances. The integration and validation work completed under the InRange demonstrator directly informs architecture planning for Mars networks—particularly the deployment of relay satellites and surface gateways. Viasat’s technical roadmap mirrors NASA’s timeline, enabling future missions to inherit proven, space-qualified infrastructure developed under commercial timelines.

Reframing Satellite Deployment: Launch Services and the Commercial Space Race

Why Launch Vehicle Selection Matters in Satellite Deployment

Selecting the right launch provider directly affects mission timelines, cost structure, deployment success rates, and even long-term data relay capabilities. Not all rockets are created equal—propulsion systems, payload accommodations, integration times, and launch cadence vary dramatically between providers. These variables collectively shape satellite performance and deployment strategy.

For a demonstration program like Viasat’s InRange—designed to showcase near-Earth satellite communications for NASA—precision in scheduling and orbital delivery becomes a tactical advantage. A delay, or mismatch in launch parameters, can stall not only technology validation but also impact funding cycles and partnership momentum.

How Commercial Launch Services Differ from Traditional Government Launches

Government-backed launches, while historically dominant, operate on pre-defined mission architectures, extensive paperwork, and long lead times. Commercial providers have shifted this paradigm. They offer modular integration processes, dynamic scheduling, and less bureaucratic inertia.

In the commercial domain, customers can procure a launch as a service. The mission payload doesn't have to align with a national program cycle, enabling more responsive deployment and iteration. For programs like InRange that depend on fast feedback and agile verification, this difference translates to accelerated innovation cycles.

Benefits of Using Blue Origin Over Other Providers

In contrast with some competitors who fill missions with multiple rideshare payloads, Blue Origin often prioritizes mission-driven timelines, a key factor for experimental platforms requiring specific orbital conditions or telemetry constraints.

Implications for the Future of Commercial Launch Collaborations

The selection of Blue Origin over legacy aerospace firms signals more than a one-time contractual alignment—it points to a structural shift in how advanced communications systems will be validated and deployed. Viasat’s move is emblematic of a broader trend: technology developers are aligning with launch providers who not only offer access to orbit, but also act as strategic enablers.

As timelines tighten and mission-specific requirements grow in complexity, the era of bespoke, agile commercial launches is entering maturity. Partnerships that can compress development cycles without compromising safety or reliability will gain precedence. Blue Origin’s growing traction in this arena reflects that value proposition with increasing clarity.

Aerospace Industry Collaborations: Driving Innovation

The strategic alignment between Viasat, Blue Origin, and NASA underscores a sharp shift in how the aerospace sector generates progress. No longer working in isolation, commercial entities and government agencies now pool their expertise, resources, and infrastructure to unlock faster, more impactful results. The InRange satcom demonstrator exemplifies this shift—fusing private sector agility with public sector vision.

Tri-Partnerships Reshaping the Innovation Pipeline

Viasat brings cutting-edge satellite communications technology. Blue Origin contributes reliable launch capabilities. NASA supplies mission requirements, regulatory coordination, and a framework for science-driven objectives. This collaboration acts as a blueprint for streamlined project execution in aerospace, where timelines and budgets are continuously optimized through shared responsibility and mutual risk taking.

Rather than appointing traditional contractors through fixed government channels, this three-way partnership accelerates time to orbit for experimental systems like InRange. It enables rapid iteration by embedding commercial speed into institutional programs. The outcomes? Operational flexibility, streamlined testing pipelines, and cross-sector knowledge exchange at scale.

A Model for Cross-Sector Engineering

Partnerships like these illustrate how public agencies benefit when they integrate with private innovation cycles. Simultaneously, commercial entities gain mission-critical validation and access to launch infrastructure, telemetry networks, and experienced flight heritage. Instead of isolated competition, cooperative models emerge—where objectives align from R&D through to demonstration missions and eventual deployment.

Broader Momentum: Public-Private Space Collaborations

Each of these partnerships stretches traditional boundaries in aerospace. They show how joint ventures compress development timelines and harness hybrid teams from both arenas—public and private—to unlock faster cycles of prototyping, flight testing, and operational feedback.

Building the Backbone: Future Space Communication Infrastructure

Demonstrator Missions Shaping the Communications Backbone

InRange and similar satellite communications demonstrators serve as testbeds for the next phase of orbital connectivity. These missions collect telemetry, validate technologies in active space conditions, and simulate full-scale operations—without the cost or complexity of mature constellation deployment. Designed to operate in varying orbital dynamics, InRange provides critical insights into latency thresholds, ground-station handoffs, and high-data-throughput performance in emerging environments.

Every successful data transmission from the InRange platform advances NASA’s Lunar Exploration Ground Systems architecture. The information extracted feeds directly into refining future ground networks, autonomous communication logic, and payload integration blueprints.

Seamless Architecture Across LEO and GEO Constellations

Tomorrow’s orbital infrastructure requires tight integration across altitudes. Viasat’s strategy leverages interoperability between low Earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary orbit (GEO) assets—a solution engineered for resiliency and uninterrupted coverage. InRange prototypes the hybrid handoff capability by interfacing with multiple ground nodes and simulating satellite-to-satellite links used in future mesh-style networks.

This layered architecture promises a unified communication grid above Earth, one that supports mission-critical data movements across orbits in seconds—not minutes.

Paving the Way for Global Access and Autonomous Support

Engineers and mission operators share a common design target: true global visibility and autonomous response mechanisms. The fusion of LEO responsiveness with GEO permanence sets the stage for:

These capabilities enable autonomous dockings, robotic maintenance, and near-instant anomaly resolution without waiting for ground-based directives to align. With InRange testing how and when these operations can be scaled, the foundations are in place for fully networked space operations.

Modernizing TT&C for New Mission Classes

Telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) systems built for static, long-lead missions no longer meet the demands of agile spacecraft swarms, commercial collaborations, and time-sensitive data chains. InRange contributes directly to overhauling this legacy:

In live orbits, with coordinated test campaigns sponsored by NASA, InRange collects the operational data that informs version 2.0 of TT&C. As mission parameters diversify, this infrastructure adapts—in pace, not in hindsight.

Positioning for the Future: What the Viasat–Blue Origin Collaboration Signals

Viasat selecting Blue Origin to launch its InRange satcom demonstrator for NASA marks a calculated move at the intersection of private-sector innovation and national space objectives. This single mission draws together precision launch capability, advanced communications infrastructure, and real-time data transmission—all under NASA’s long-term drive to accelerate technological readiness in space environments.

The InRange project directly reinforces Viasat’s trajectory toward building high-throughput, low-latency communications systems tailored for dynamic mission needs. By leveraging Blue Origin’s reusable New Glenn launch vehicle, Viasat extends both reach and reliability under orbital test conditions—with implications for future satellite constellations and mission-critical low Earth orbit communications systems.

This partnership also adds weight to a broader trend: commercial space companies executing core functions in government-led operations. The line between public and private has thinned; NASA’s commercial strategy invites innovation pipelines that outpace traditional timelines. Viasat and Blue Origin, by stepping into this shared space, demonstrate how adaptable systems and launch capabilities can reshape how missions are scoped, tested, and delivered.

What comes next? Follow the InRange mission as it advances through development milestones, slotted for launch aboard New Glenn. Learn how demonstrator results will validate forward-looking communication models for space-based assets. Watch how these experimental frameworks inform not just NASA operations but reshape how governments view commercial partners as mission enablers. This launch is not a culmination—it’s phase one of a systemic shift in satellite infrastructure theory and application.