E-letter: Briefs

Primo Space, an early stage Italian venture fund focused on space startups has closed at about $68 million (58 million euros). The funds included contributions from the European Investment Fund […]

Hughes Network Systems is joining the U.K. Government and Bharti Enterprises in their acquisition of OneWeb. Hughes announced Monday that it will invest $50 million with the consortium, and continue […]

Harmonic will partner with SES for technology upgrades associated with SES’s process to clear C-band spectrum. The companies announced Monday they will work together to fast-track this deployment, by freeing up […]

Optus extended its partnership with Foxtel, with an extension for the provision of satellite services until 2031. Foxtel is a media company, while Optus Satellite owns and operates Australia and […]

Smallspark Space Systems and Leaf Space, an Italian ground segment services provider, revealed on July 17 that they entered into an agreement to offer ground station services to the U.K. […]

Viasat has raised $175 million from affiliates of Intercorp, and affiliates of The Baupost Group, L.L.C., Viasat’s largest shareholder, the company announced Thursday. Under the terms of the investment, the […]

U.S. Space Command reports it has evidence that Russia recently conducted an anti-satellite weapons test. In a Thursday announcement, Space Command said Russia released a new object into orbit from […]

LeoLabs, a commercial provider of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) mapping and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services, revealed that its next space radar will be located in Costa Rica. According to a […]

XipLink, a manufacturer of  Wide Area Network (WAN) acceleration technologies, and Galaxy Broadband Communications have integrated XipLink’s XipOS optimization software into the Galaxy Multi-Satellite, Microwave and LTE Hybrid Networks. The […]

Orange purchased all available capacity on the Eutelsat KONNECT satellite from Eutelsat Communications, which covers the entirety of France. Orange’s customers will receive high-speed fixed satellite broadband service starting in […]

Hispasat joined the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) — a global association that develops standards for mobile communications —  to work on the integration of satellites into the developing 5G […]

The U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) selected Ball Aerospace to develop a prototype of a new multi-band, low-observable satellite communications antenna to be installed on the U.S. Navy‘s newest stealth […]

Global Eagle has entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to facilitate a sale of its assets to a group of loan holders. The company, which provides In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) […]

Lockheed Martin continues to see sales increases despite the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday, the company reported Second Quarter (Q2) 2020 net sales of $16.2 billion, compared to $14.4 billion in […]

The U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Air Force Research Lab have awarded geospatial intelligence analytics company BlackSky a contract to monitor COVID-19 mitigation efforts involving U.S. military bases and […]

Arianespace has confirmed that it will launch its next three satellites on an expanded Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou at approximately 5:29 p.m. Tuesday, July […]

Specialized satellite manufacturer LeoStella will build and integrate satellite buses for space infrastructure-as-a-service company Loft Orbital Solutions under the terms of a new contract announced July 21. LeoStella will produce […]

SpaceX successfully launched South Korea’s first military satellite, Anasis-11, on a Falcon 9 rocket. The rocket took off at approximately 5:30 p.m. EST Monday from the company’s Space Launch Complex […]

Cost concerns first, latency concerns second — that’s how Algerie Telecom Chief Business Development Officer Karim Aberkane outlined his priorities when explaining how LEO and MEO satellites are starting to […]

The UK Ministry of Defense (MOD) awarded a contract to Airbus Defense and Space worth more than £500 million ($632 million USD) to upgrade the capability of the Skynet military […]

There may be a sliver of good news for satellite In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) providers looking to rebound from the COVID-19 shutdown, according to new air travel industry data released by […]

Maxar Technologies received more than $120 million in constellation service contract extensions from various, unnamed defense and intelligence customers in the Middle East and Asia, the company announced July 20. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized nearly $20 million in funding for Viasat to expand rural broadband in Pennsylvania, the Commission announced July 17. Viasat will be paid $19,945,120 over […]

The European Space Agency (ESA) selected Teledyne‘s e2v business unit to supply infrared detectors and imagery sensor technology for two ESA-funded Copernicus Sentinel satellite missions. Teledyne will supply infrared detectors […]

HawkEye 360 is set for the late-2020 launch of its second batch of satellites after successfully completing environmental tests, the company announced July 17. The HawkEye constellation will provide  RF […]

Airbus is ready to commence operational services on its EDRS-C satellite after completing in-orbit tests and establishing laser communications links to the European Space Agency (ESA) Copernicus Earth observation spacecraft, […]

Exotrail has raised $13 million (11 million euros) for on-orbit transportation for small satellites. This Series A round was led by two European Venture Capital firms, Karista (through Paris Region […]

There are many things I thought I would never say, and getting a Harry Potter space-related exclusive would no doubt fall into that category. However, this week’s Thursday Morning Conversation […]

Gilat Satellite Networks has delivered a solution for Telefonica International Wholesale Services (TIWS) for a satellite communication project in Argentina including rural broadband services and cellular backhaul.  The companies announced […]

Virgin Galactic has hired Disney executive Michael Colglazier as the company’s new CEO. Colglazier has decades of experience at Disney, and was most recently president and managing director of Disney […]