Viasat said Wednesday there was an anomaly during the deployment of its ViaSat-3 Americas satellite in space that may affect its performance, sending the Carlsbad company’s shares down 20% after the bell.
An unexpected event occurred during reflector deployment, the company said, adding that it had started a review.
The ViaSat-3 Americas, designed to provide broadband connectivity in the Americas region, was launched onboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on April 30.
Viasat in May acquired British satellite rival Inmarsat for $7.3 billion, and the merged entity has at least 19 satellites in space.
Other Viasat and Inmarsat satellites were not affected, according to Viasat.
While the stock initially fell 20%, it gained back some and was down around 16.5% to $35.90 at 5:30 p.m. Pacific time.
The company said it will share additional information on the status of the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite and contingency plans during its earnings call on Aug. 9.