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CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — United Launch Alliance stood down on an attempt to send up its Atlas V rocket that will carry a ViaSat communications satellite on Wednesday.
The company stated it will try again on Thursday with a 44-minute launch window beginning at 10:16 p.m. ET.
What You Need To Know
- The ViaSat-3 Flight 2 mission was scrubbed Wednesday and ULA will try again Thursday night to launch the Atlas V 551 rocket from Space Launch Complex-41
- The scrub did not allow for a rare double launch, as SpaceX sent up the Starlink 6-81 mission Wednesday evening
According to ULA, crews encountered an issue while “cycling the booster liquid oxygen tank vent valve during final checkouts” around 10 minutes before a planned 10:24 p.m. liftoff. The launch was put into an unplanned hold state until a scrub was officially announced around 10:50 p.m. ET.
The launch window for Wednesday night’s launch attempt opened at 10:24 p.m. ET and was set to close at 11:08 p.m. ET.
A launch window is when the 205-foot-tall (62.5-meter) rocket needs to take off during that time frame.
The ViaSat-3 Flight 2 mission will take off on the Atlas V 551 rocket, which stands at 205-feet-tall, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, stated ULA.
On Thursday, the 45th Weather Squadron is giving a favorable launch forecast at 80%, with the only concerns being the cumulus cloud and the thick cloud layers rules..
The Atlas V 551 rocket’s first-stage booster does not land on a droneship or landing zone, which is what the more familiar SpaceX rocket, the Falcon 9, does. Instead, it will separate and fall into the Atlantic Ocean, where it will be picked up.
In what was supposed to be a rare double launch on Wednesday, SpaceX successfully sent up the Starlink 6-81 mission that same night.
This morning’s Launch Readiness Review gave a unanimous GO for Atlas V to launch one of the most sophisticated and powerful commercial communications satellites ever deployed — the ViaSat-3 F2 ultra-high-capacity broadband spacecraft.
Launch will occur Wednesday from Cape… pic.twitter.com/jWl0Q2WDNL
— ULA (@ulalaunch) November 3, 2025
About the mission
Global communications company ViaSat’s broadband communications ViaSat-3 Flight 2 satellite will be sent to a geostationary orbit.
In fact, the California-based company stated that it will take a couple of months for it to travel to its destinated orbit. But once there at an orbital slot located at 79 degrees west longitude, the satellite will run a series of in-orbit testing before going into service.
“The ViaSat-3 satellites are each designed to provide coverage over nearly one-third of the Earth and ViaSat-3 F2 is expected to provide services over the Americas to address increasing customer demand. Launched in 2023, the ViaSat-3 F1 satellite will also continue to provide coverage over North America to meet user demand,” ViaSat stated.
The satellite will provide communications services like free Wi-Fi for commercial aircraft, home internet, and connectivity for government and defense mission operations.
Watch the launch here
 
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Anthony Leone
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