Another Viasat Anomaly Seen Indicating Space Insurance Market Challenges

Satellite operators will likely start facing challenges in getting insurance due to the recent spate of expensive geostationary orbit (GSO) satellite anomalies, William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma wrote investors Friday after Viasat's announcement of an Inmarsat-6 F2 malfunction. Viasat said the I6 F2, which launched Feb. 18, had a power subsystem anomaly during its orbit raising. It said it and satellite manufacturer Airbus will determine the cause and whether the satellite "will be able to perform." It was launched to provide spare L-band and Ka-band capacity, Viasat said, noting the I6 F2 was insured, and the twin I6 F1 launched in December 2021 is operational and is performing as expected. Viasat said it has three L-band satellites and seven more Ka-band satellites under construction. The I6F2 anomaly follows Viasat reporting problems last month with a reflector on its ViaSat-3 satellite (see 2307130003) and Astranis' delayed start of service by its Arcturus satellite, launched in April, due to solar array drive assembly problems (see 2307210017). DiPalma said the impact of the Viasat losses is mitigated by the redundancy of the ViaSat and Inmarsat networks. The overall market opportunity for insurers is shrinking as low earth orbit becomes more important, with insurance providers dropping out altogether, meaning it "may become all but impossible to insure the most expensive ... satellites," satellite and spectrum consultant Tim Farrar posted on X, formerly Twitter. "Another major insurance claim imminent ... adding to the likely US$420 million Viasat 3 claim," space data firm Seraadata tweeted. "It is going to be a losing year for the space insurance market."