Opinion

Last year, Look Up Space logged the milestone that there are more than 10,000 active satellites in orbit. When you consider that in 2020, there were just over 3,000, it […]

In an August 2024 podcast interview, the past and present President of the United States said that “when these poor fools talk about global warming, they don’t call it that […]

The evolution of urban life hinges on a blend of sustainability and forward-thinking design. This is what makes the concept of smart cities so captivating — places where innovation meets […]

It’s hard to believe it’s been over three years since I retired from active duty after 34 years in the U.S. Air Force. In that time, I had the privilege […]

The satellite communications industry is going through a transformative period. The current shift towards virtualization and digitization is leading to innovation, and a whole host of emerging technologies are pushing […]

Welcome to the final edition of Via Satellite in 2024. There’s never a dull moment in the satellite and space industry and 2024 was no exception. One of the biggest […]

Flat panel antennas (FPAs) have been a popular, and technologically necessary, addition to the satcom ground segment. Serving the needs of new space, multi-orbit strategies, and customer demand, the technology […]

With conversations in the satellite connectivity space focused on Low Earth Orbit (LEO) offerings such as Starlink and how incumbent Geostationary (GEO) very small aperture terminal (VSAT) offerings will fare […]

Today, air passengers expect not only the ability to stay connected at 30,000 feet above sea level, but also to access streaming-grade, home-like connectivity free of cost. Airlines around the […]

As satellite operators raise concerns about radio frequency (RF) congestion, greater use of laser communications in response could have unintended consequences. SpaceX, for example, has warned that its cellular Starlink […]

About one year ago, the chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force spoke to attendees at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference in Maryland. General Chance Saltzman described […]

Many remember when mobile phone companies locked our devices to their networks with pre-installed applications. Each phone company would put users into their walled garden, locking them into device/company-specific ecosystems. […]

CyberSat returns very soon for its eighth edition as we look at what the satellite industry needs to do to keep its space assets safe. The event has gone from […]

In our recent Cal Poly report, we introduced the ICARUS matrix to generate novel scenarios in outer space cybersecurity. It’s meant to guard against a failure of imagination, a key […]

There is little doubt that activities in space will be crucial to the future economic wellbeing of humans, apart from important scientific and other discoveries. Future economic growth — from […]

The defense landscape is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by rapid technological advancements. Small satellites and artificial intelligence (AI) are at the forefront of this transformation, not as tools for […]

After years of delays, we are finally seeing new launch vehicles take flight in 2024. We will likely see one more debut launch this year Blue Origin’s massive, heavy-lift New […]

Sustainability has become a critical focus across industries, and the space sector is no exception. As our reliance on space grows, so does the need to address the sustainability of […]

In a column in 2022, I shared some thoughts on the lack of national regulatory frameworks addressing direct-to-device (D2D) at the time. Later in 2023, I commented that given the […]

Imagine you are a European satellite operator looking to sell your capacity and land signals into a given region or territory. You’ve got the necessary ground segment and orbital resources […]

I am sure many of us have been enjoying the Olympics over the summer and it is a marvel of engineering that satellite has consistently been the technology that enables […]

The space sector is brimming with potential, stimulated by advancements in technology, expanded international partnerships, and increased awareness of the benefits of accessing space. The growth of the lunar economy, […]

Five years after launching its Transporter program, SpaceX now enjoys a monopoly on smallsat rideshare with heavy launchers, with the lowest price point on the market and an average launch […]

The FCC, led by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, is working to develop a “single network future” in which satellite connectivity will help make terrestrial “dead zones” a thing of the past.  […]

We’re back with our annual special edition — Via Smallsat — a rebranded Via Satellite geared toward the smallsat community. This year we are launching a new young professional nomination […]

AI is being increasingly used in satellite systems and for the provision and development of satellite products and services. This raises issues on the impacts and limits on the use […]

I would hazard a guess that most Via Satellite readers have been following Starship’s development tests fairly closely, or at the very least, watching the livestream tests. But to recap: […]

Space has always been a huge part of popular culture. In fact, some of the highest-grossing movies like “Star Wars” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” have space at the heart. The […]

In August, 2022, less than six months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Atlantic Council’s David T. Burbach proposed that the conflict was the first ‘two-sided space war.’ He described […]

We are entering an industrial era in which space is becoming an important driver of technological advancement, global sustainability and geopolitical competition; one in which investing in interoperability is more […]