Manufacturing

Japanese satellite manufacturer Axelspace is debuting a new service for in-orbit demonstration of space components, called AxelLiner Laboratory or AL Lab. The service allocates space on Axelspace’s 100 kg-class microsatellites to customers for their in-orbit demonstration equipment.  Axelspace said that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has provided in-orbit demonstration opportunties through the Innovative Satellite...

Thales Alenia Space placed a follow-on order with Redwire Corporation for additional Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) wings for the manufacturer’s Space Inspire line of satellites.  The follow-on order increases the total number of shipsets that Redwire will deliver based on its existing agreement with Thales Alenia Space, announced in June. Redwire announced the deal on...

EnduroSat has signed a landmark deal in Africa which will see it help to build Botswana’s first-ever satellite. EnduroSat will work with The Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) to build BOTSAT-1, the country’s first satellite. EnduroSat announced the deal, July 3. BOTSAT-1 will directly benefit local agriculture and mining industries by using...

Terran Orbital and South Korea’s Hanwha Systems announced an MoU on Wednesday to work together on satellite manufacturing, including solar cells, and cooperate in the defense industry in both the U.S. and South Korea. The announcement was light on details, but the companies said the MoU establishes a framework for joint research and development efforts...

Northrop Grumman delivered the two satellites in Space Norway‘s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM), the company announced June 21. The satellites are scheduled for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as early as mid-July. The mission brings together an interesting coalition of partners between domestic and international,...

Vyoma signed a contract with Belgian small satellite manufacturer Aerospacelab for a second space situational awareness (SSA) satellite. The satellite is set for launch late 2025 at the earliest, according to a June 13 announcement.  Vyoma ordered its pilot satellite from EnduroSat in 2023. That satellite is set to launch in February 2025. The company...

Satellite developer and manufacturer Apex on Wednesday said it has closed a $95 million funding round that will allow it to begin to scale production and expand its suite of standardized and configurable spacecraft buses that it eventually expects to deliver within weeks of an order. Demand is strong and the customer base is growing, the product...

Yahsat has contracted Airbus Defence and Space to build two new Geostationary (GEO) satellites, Al Yah 4 (AY4) and Al Yah 5 (AY5). The satellites are expected to launch in 2027 and 2028 respectively, and will eventually replace Al Yah 1 and Al Yah 2.  They will be designed on the Airbus Eurostar Neo platform....

Japanese satellite operator Sky Perfect JSAT ordered a software-defined satellite from Thales Alenia Space, JSAT-31. Based on the Space INSPIRE platform, JSAT-31 will have the largest capacity in the history of SKY Perfect JSAT satellites. It is expected to launch in 2027. This is JSAT’s first order with Thales. The satellite will operate in both...

Belgian small satellite manufacturer Aerospacelab broke ground on a new factory this week that it says will be capable of producing 500 small satellites per year. The new factory, located in Charleroi, Belgium, will open in 2026.  With 7,000 square meters of production area and 4,000 square meters of clean room, Aerospacelab said it will...