PARIS — After years of delays, new launch vehicles are finally coming online in 2024 with the first flights of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket and the Ariane 6. Blue Origin is set to launch its inaugural New Glenn vehicle later this year, adding another layer of intrigue and competition to the market. Europe...

PARIS — The direct-to-device (D2D) market has been the subject of excitement and hype in the satellite industry in the past few years, with the promise of expanding satellite’s market share and offering connectivity to phones and devices everywhere.  It’s early days for this market, as Apple was an early-mover in offering the service to customers....

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—The Space Development Agency (SDA) continues to advance the communications capabilities of its first batch of satellites on orbit as part of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), demonstrating sustained linkage between two satellites for more than a day at a time, the agency’s top official said on Monday. Two weeks ago, the...

PARIS — The satellite industry is undergoing massive change as many of the largest satellite operators consolidate to deal with competition from SpaceX’s Starlink constellation.  During the operator panel in Paris at World Space Business Week on Sept. 16, Viasat CEO Mark Dankberg described the current environment as a “quantum period of change” unlike anything...

United Airlines tapped Starlink as its in-flight connectivity (IFC) provider, announcing a deal on Friday to equip the airline’s entire fleet with Starlink and offer the service to passengers for free.  United said this deal covers all aircraft, both mainline and regional, which is more than 1,000 planes. Installation will take place over the next...

Japanese startup Synspective has had a busy summer as the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) company ramps up its constellation deployment. In June, Synspective announced a $44 million Series C round, and it became Rocket Lab’s largest launch customer to date, purchasing a block of 10 launches. Last month, Synspective saw the launch of its fifth...

Neo Space Group (NSG) is a new player in the space industry in the Middle East, looking to champion Saudi Arabia’s space industry. Backed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Neo Space Group has ambitions to bring the benefits of the latest satellite technology throughout Saudi Arabia. In this week’s Thursday Morning Conversation, Neo Space...

Boeing is working on a satellite mission to demonstrate quantum entanglement swapping capabilities in space. Boeing called it a first-of-its kind space mission that lays the groundwork for a global quantum satellite network.  The mission is set to launch in 2026 and will involve two entangled-photon pair sources housed within one space vehicle. Boeing is...

Agriculture manufacturer Case IH recently showcased its upcoming satellite terminal for tractors, combines, and more at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, as it prepares to roll out a satcom solution with Intelsat.    Via Satellite spoke with Case IH during Farm Progress to hear about why the manufacturer chose to work with Intelsat, and...

Amid popular, and some military, concern about the timely accuracy and applicability of artificial intelligence (AI), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is launching a pilot program for accrediting geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) models for the National System for Geospatial (NSG) intelligence. The agency’s Accreditation of GEOINT AI Models (AGAIM) “is the evaluation of the methodology and...

In this week’s On Orbit podcast episode, we hear firsthand about the impact the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship is making. Patti Grace Smith was a pioneer in the aerospace industry who served as the head of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation. She broke many barriers as a Black woman and was an...

John Deere is going through an early access program for certain customers to test the company’s new agriculture connectivity solution with Starlink. Via Satellite spoke with Michael Kool, John Deere senior product manager of Connectivity, at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, this week to get an update on the Starlink rollout. Announced in...