Viasat Inc. announced the appointment of Former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Chief and former Oklahoma Congressman James Jim Bridenstine to its board of directors. Bridenstine will serve as a class II director, with an initial term expiring at the company's 2022 annual meeting of stockholders. With the appointment of Bridenstine, the board now consists of eight members, six of whom are independent directors. Bridenstine will provide the company’s board of directors with extensive experience in space technology, innovation and safety based on his leadership role at NASA, as well as defense and aerospace expertise based on his public service in the United States Navy and Congress. Bridenstine joins the company’s board as the company is preparing for the impending launch of its ViaSat-3 network, a global geostationary (GEO) system using three adaptive beam-forming satellites to safely and securely deliver broadband connectivity around the globe. The ViaSat-3 payload and ground network technology use a new system architecture intended to deliver much more bandwidth, in the higher demand places, than any other broadband space system, in GEO or non-geostationary orbits. The ViaSat-3 architecture is highly-scalable, a critical element in keeping pace with constantly growing per-capita bandwidth demand. Bridenstine served as NASA's 13th administrator from April 2018 until January 2021. Since January 2021, Bridenstine has worked as a senior advisor to Acorn Growth Companies, a private equity firm. Prior, from 2013 to 2018, Bridenstine was a member of Congress where he represented Oklahoma's First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and served on the Armed Services Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee. Bridenstine's career in federal service began in 1998 as a pilot in the United States Navy.