(Reuters) – Viasat (VSAT) said on Wednesday there was an anomaly during the deployment of its ViaSat-3 Americas satellite in space that could affect the satellite’s performance, sending shares of the company plummeting. about 19% before the bell.
An unexpected event occurred during the deployment of the reflector, the company said, adding that it had begun a review.
ViaSat shares were down 18.5% in premarket trading Thursday when last checked.
The ViaSat-3 Americas, designed to provide high-speed connectivity in the Americas region, launched aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket on April 30.
Viasat acquired British satellite competitor Inmarsat in May for $7.3 billion, and the merged entity has at least 19 satellites in space.
The other Viasat and Inmarsat satellites were not affected, according to Viasat.
The company said it would share additional information about the status of the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite and contingency plans during its Aug. 9 earnings call.
(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru)