E-letter: Briefs

Slingshot Aerospace on Nov. 25 received a potential $13.3 million contract from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to develop the user interface for a new space traffic coordination […]

Kongsberg Satellites Services (KSAT) will play a key role in an ambitious lunar project in Australia. It will team up with  Australian company Starsite to build a 20-meter antenna for […]

Airbus has signed a contract with the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence to provide the next-generation modems for the nation’s Skynet satellite communications constellation. Airbus is building the Skynet 6A […]

Working together, Deutsche Telekom, Qualcomm, and Skylo completed a trial to send a text message over a Geostationary (GEO) satellite, the companies announced Tuesday. The proof-of-concept was conducted in Greece […]

D-Orbit USA has selected Spectrum AMT as its manufacturing partner in the U.S. to support satellite bus design, manufacturing, and business development.  The deal announced Tuesday is with Spectrum Advanced […]

NASA awarded SpaceX a contract to launch the agency’s Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s Titan moon on a Falcon Heavy rocket in 2028. The firm-fixed-price contract announced Monday is worth $256.6 […]

Note — This story was updated on Dec. 9 with more information on the suborbital mission Rocket Lab hit the milestone of launching two missions from two continents in less […]

Sky Perfect JSAT is launching a new facility as it looks to be a pioneer in 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) technologies in Japan. It has unveiled its Universal NTN Innovation […]

Firefly Aerospace completed environmental testing on its Blue Ghost lunar lander and is now preparing to ship the lander to Cape Canaveral for launch in January. It will launch on […]

The U.S. Department of Commerce has finalized agreements with Rocket Lab and BAE Systems Electronic Systems for funding under the CHIPS program for investment in semiconductors used in satellites.  Rocket […]

Military forces’ demand for Proliferated Low-Earth Orbit (PLEO) services outstripped what the U.S. Space Force expected, and the service has already divvied out $660 million in communications task orders — […]

Blue Origin flew a crew to the edge of space on the New Shepard rocket on Friday in its ninth human spaceflight mission. The civilian astronaut crew included TV host […]

Space ISAC has opened a new Watch Center Hub in Australia to provide a global perspective on real-time threat intelligence. Announcing the hub, Space ISAC said the hub will expand […]

Viasat has joined the 5G Automotive Association, known as 5GAA, a cross-industry organization focused on future mobility and transportation services. 5GAA works on applications like supporting fully autonomous cars, real-time […]

Hungarian telecommunications company 4iG plans to launch Earth observation satellites and a telecommunication satellite in the HUSAT program. In a Nov. 20 announcement, 4iG called HUSAT the “largest privately funded […]

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will leave the FCC at the end of President Biden’s term, she announced on Thursday. She will depart the FCC on January 20, 2025. She will […]

Speedcast has sold more than 10,000 Starlink kits as an authorized integrator of SpaceX’s satellite internet service. Speedcast announced the milestone on Wednesday and previewed that Starlink plans to introduce […]

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is on the path to modify SpaceX’s license to authorize more Starship launches from SpaceX’s launch base in Texas.  The FAA released a revised draft […]

Iceye has been tapped to lead an industry consortium for the Finnish Ministry of Defense (MoD) F-35 fighter jet program. The consortium will develop advanced space and joint intelligence technologies, […]

Comtech has appointed Daniel Gizinski as president of the company’s Satellite & Space Communications segment. With this role, he will oversee all aspects of the S&S segment, including product development, […]

Arianespace will launch Exotrail’s first GEO mission of its spacevan vehicle in a new deal announced Tuesday. The spacevan is an orbital transfer vehicle designed to deploy and transport other […]

Kepler Communications petitioned the FCC this week to adjust its satellite constellation plans for the company’s updated optical data relay infrastructure.  Instead of a network of 360 linked, radio frequency […]

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Brendan Carr to lead the Federal Communications Commission as chairman, announcing the appointment in a statement on Nov. 17.  Carr is the senior Republican on […]

The Exploration Company has raised $160 million in a Series B round that marks the largest space Series B round in Europe and a statement of intent from the European […]

The U.S. Navy awarded Comtech Telecommunications a contract valued at more than $50 million for SLM-5650B satellite communications modems, the company announced Nov. 14.  John Ratigan, president and CEO of […]

AST SpaceMobile has signed on for Blue Origin’s upcoming New Glenn rocket. The launch agreement announced Thursday covers multiple New Glenn launches from Blue Origin’s launch complex at Cape Canaveral […]

The FCC has revised its satellite spectrum sharing rules, releasing a Report and Order on Nov. 15 to clarify how spectrum is shared between different satellite systems. The FCC said […]

The Space Development Agency (SDA) on Tuesday said it has awarded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions a potential $116.7 contract to create and operate a missile defense fire control ground infrastructure […]

Starfish Space on Wednesday announced a new funding round that will allow it to complete development and build of three spacecraft that will be used for on-orbit docking and maneuvering missions […]

The U.S Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) delivered the the robotics payload to Northrop Grumman for the Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV). The robotics payload included two robotic arms and electronics. Northrop […]