E-letter: Briefs

Planet announced Monday that its hyperspectral satellites with the Carbon Mapper Coalition will have 30-meter resolution and cover more than 400 spectral bands. The company said these hyperspectral Tanager satellites […]

The U.K. government approved the Viasat/Inmarsat business combination on Friday under the National Security & Investment Act. This is one step in Viasat’s necessary approvals from the U.K. government and […]

The FCC on Friday approved Lynk Global’s license for satellite direct-to-cell service, approval that will allow Lynk to launch commercial services later this year.  Lynk has six satellites in space […]

NASA announced funds for three projects to study orbital debris on Sept. 14, to help the agency tackle the space sustainability issue. The awards are through NASA’s Office of Technology, […]

Propulsion startup Morpheus Space raised a $28 million Series A funding round led by space VC Alpine Space Ventures. The company develops electric propulsion systems for small satellites and said […]

Digicel is expanding its partnership with SES for disaster resiliency in Tonga throgh the O3b satellite constellation. The Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) constellation will support connectivity in Tonga while the undersea […]

Rocket Lab launched the third radar satellite for Japanese startup Synspective on Thursday evening. The mission, “The Owl Spreads Its Wings,” marked the 30th Electron rocket launch and Rocket Lab’s […]

Iceye and Satlantis are pursuing an Earth observation (EO) constellation with both synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and optical imaging. The two European startups announced plans for the four-satellite Tandem4EO constellation […]

Liquid Intelligent Technologies signed a multi-year deal with Eutelsat Communications for capacity on the Konnect Satellite to support customers in Uganda, South Sudan, and the Eastern regions of the Democratic […]

Spire Global has signed GHGSat as a new customer for its space services segment, and will launch three 16U satellites in 2023 that to GHGSat’s greenhouse gas-monitoring payload. GHGSat currently […]

Microsoft EVP of Strategic Missions and Technologies Jason Zander confirmed in a blog post published Wednesday that the software giant will team up with SES, SpaceX, Pixxel, Muon Space, and […]

U.S. Space Force will need to limit duplication of Space Force systems with those of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Lt Gen. B. Chance “Salty” Saltzman, the Space Force’s chief […]

Hughes Network Systems introduced a new satellite internet offering in the U.S. called Fusion, which combines Geostationary (GEO) satellite and wireless technologies for a lower latency service. The service uses […]

Canadian manufacturer MDA has signed another satellite antenna deal, this time with Airbus OneWeb satellites for Ka-band steerable antennas, the companies announced Monday. MDA and Airbus OneWeb Satellites did not […]

KT SAT Corporation has signed a contract with Thales Alenia Space for the Geostationary (GEO) Koreasat 6A communications satellite, based on the Spacebus 4000B2 platform. KT SAT and Thales announced […]

PARIS — The satellite industry is facing opportunity and danger — danger in terms of regulations, Viasat CEO Mark Dankberg cautioned Monday during a fireside chat at World Satellite Business […]

AST SpaceMobile test satellite, BlueWalker 3 has reached orbit after SpaceX launched the satellite on Saturday. The anticipated satellite test AST SpaceMobile’s satellite direct-to-cell technology.  SpaceX launched BlueWalker 3 along […]

SpaceX has submitted an appeal to the FCC for dropping its Starlink service from the first phase of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund subsidizing internet service in rural areas, claiming […]

ABS has looked to one of the Middle East’s biggest operators for its new CEO. The company announced Sept. 9 that it had appointed Yahsat’s Chief Strategy Officer Amit Somani […]

Kacific Broadband Satellites Group (Kacific) has appointed Ivan Fong as its new Managing Director of the Pacific. The company announced the appointment on Sept. 8. Based in Fiji, Fong will […]

The White House released a formal plan to support the space workforce, along with a coalition of space companies focused on growing the skilled technical workforce.  The Interagency Roadmap to […]

Five companies have signed Cooperative Research & Development Agreements (CRADAs) with U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) to develop rockets to deliver cargo and personnel rapidly around the globe. SpaceX and BlueOrigin were already pursuing […]

Iridium Communications signed a launch contract with SpaceX for a mission called Iridium-9, launching up to five ground spares for the Iridium Next program in mid-2023. The Falcon 9 mission […]

OneWeb is taking part in a satellite and 5G pilot in the U.K. and performing tests with Telstra in Australia for potential commercial service. The Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) provided a […]

SpaceX, OneWeb, and Iridium jointly released a document of best practices for orbital safety on Thursday afternoon. The best practices guide was facilitated by industry group the American Institute of […]

Arianespace launched the Eutelsat Konnect VHTS satellite on Wednesday evening to support Eutelsat’s expansion in the broadband business.  Arianespace launched the satellite on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana […]

Qatar Airways selected Inmarsat’s in-flight connectivity (IFC) solution for its Boeing 787-9 and 737-10 fleet. This is an expansion of an agreement the companies signed in 2017 to install GX […]

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has a deal to use Intelsat General Corporation’s FlexAir service for airborne communications. Intelsat announced the deal for IGC partner Telecom International on Wednesday.  […]

BAE Systems announced plans to launch its own multi-sensor satellite cluster called Azalea for U.K. military intelligence.  Azalea is planned as a cluster of three multi-sensor satellites from BAE Systems […]

Eutelsat Communications has made a series of new appointments as CEO Eva Berneke reshapes her team. The company appointed Laurence Delpy as general manager of the Video business unit and […]