Archive

While NASA’s TBIRD lasercom payload completed its mission in September, NASA is still sharing milestones it reached. Before the mission ended, a NASA optical ground station transmitted its first laser communications uplink to the TBIRD smallsat.  The TBIRD payload, built by MIT Lincoln Laboratory, was launched in May of 2022 on a Terran Orbital satellite....

Gilat Satellite Networks received a contract to provide rural connectivity, including supporting banking transactions in Latin America. Gilat announced the $4 million contract on Oct. 8, but did not name the customer. The contract period is three years.  Gilat will provide satellite communications solutions to distant bank branches and satellite backup links to ensure connectivity...

The U.K. government is teaming up with Canada on the Redwing microsatellite space domain awareness (SDA) mission scheduled to launch in 2027. This international research cooperation between the countries provides the opportunity for joint collaboration and for developing prototype infrastructure and data processing architecture. The U.K. Government announced the move on Oct. 10. Redwing will...

In late August, Verizon was the latest big name telco to team up with a satellite player for direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity. Verizon announced a deal with Skylo to launch a commercial direct-to-device messaging service for its customers so they can stay connected wherever they are. Verizon said customers will see the benefits before the end...

As the five step North American Treaty Organization (NATO) Defence Planning Process (NDPP) wends its way over the next year to assigning quantitative space system targets to the alliance’s 32 countries, policymakers may consider having dedicated NATO satellites. The five steps in the four-year NDPP are the establishment of political guidance; requirements determination; the assignment...

The first Viasat-3 satellite has begun serving its first government customer, the U.S. Marine Corps, Viasat announced Thursday.  The Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38 (MWCS-38) and the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment are the first two military operational units using the satellite. The MWCS-38 provides expeditionary communications support to the Aviation Combat Element (ACE) inside the...

Greenhouse gas monitoring nonprofit Carbon Mapper released the first images of emission detection from the Tanager-1 satellite on Thursday, showing methane plumes from energy plants. These first methane detection images were released after the Tanager-1 satellite launched in August.  An image shared by Carbon Mapper, above, shows a plume of methane detected at an oil...

Iridium Communications has a new collaborator for its recently announced Iridium NTN Direct service. The operator is collaborating with Nordic Semiconductor for early integration of the NTN service into Nordic’s modules and chipsets.  Nordic is known for low power wireless connectivity solutions including cellular IoT (LTE-M, NB-IoT), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE, and Thread. The company has...

SES has signed a new capacity agreement with one of Europe’s biggest DTH players. It has extended its long-standing partnership with Sky through a multi-year contract renewal for satellite capacity and back-up services from SES’s prime video neighborhood of 28.2/28.5 degrees East. SES announced the new deal on Oct. 10. Under the agreement, SES will...

Last week, UAE’s flagship satellite provider Yahsat and geospatial solutions company Bayanat completed a merger to form Space42. The company is targeting vertical integration and regional and international opportunities in geospatial and mobility solutions, satcom, and business intelligence.  Space42 is now publicly traded on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and its major shareholders include artificial...