Viasat Inc., a global communications company headquartered in Carlsbad, California, has opened its first Real-Time Earth (RTE) facility in Africa, located in Accra, Ghana. What Happened Viasat has partnered with the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute, a government-based institution under Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, on the new station, which will provide Ground-Station-as-a-Service (GSaaS) capabilities that support next-generation and legacy geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO), medium earth orbit (MEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) satellites using the S-, X-, and Ka-bands. The facility is located at the Ghana Radio Astronomy Observatory and includes a Viasat full-motion 7.3M S/X/Ka-band antenna and associated infrastructure. According to the company, the antenna will enable global satellite operators to perform telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) capabilities and rapidly download, stream and/or disseminate satellite-based data in a timely and secure manner. Why It Matters The Ghana facility expands Viasat’s RTE ground service network to a fifth continent—the …