E-letter: Briefs

The Space Force announced 12 companies have won contracts totaling up to $3.2 billion to prototype technologies for space-based interceptors in support of the Golden Dome initiative. Space Force’s Space […]

GomSpace, the Danish satellite company, looks to play a key role in developing sovereign satellite capabilities in Ukraine. It has signed a deal with its Ukrainian partner Stetman which will see […]

Rocket Lab has introduced the next-generation of its star tracker lineup, expanding the company’s component offerings. The new High-Performance Star Tracker (ST-HP), is designed for longer duration spacecraft missions.  Rocket […]

The FCC rejected calls to change how it licenses MSS spectrum, dismissing a request by SpaceX and other operators to enter certain spectrum bands.  In an order issued Thursday, the […]

SpinLaunch plans to work with digital infrastructure provider Equinx to support the ground infrastructure for its Meridian constellation with a plan to deploy “ultra-compact teleports” at the company’s data centers.  […]

French constellation startup Univity closed a 27 million euro ($32 million) Series A round to fund two demonstration satellites as it works toward deploying a connectivity constellation in Very Low […]

Australian low-cost airline Jetstar Airways has selected Viasat’s Amara solution for in-flight connectivity on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet. The Amara system will be installed across 11 Jetstar aircraft, according […]

SSC Space and Kuva Space have struck a regional collaboration that aims to strengthen space-based capabilities in various areas of the space value chain in the Nordic region. SSC announced […]

The FCC has granted AST SpaceMobile commercial authorization to provide direct-to-device services using spectrum from its partner mobile network operators (MNOs).  The FCC released an order on April 21 approving […]

Eutelsat has announced three new broadcast deals this week in Mexico and the Caribbean. The satellite operator is to partner with Co-op Cable, introducing an expanded direct-to-home (DTH) and connectivity […]

The Pentagon has decided to end the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) by RTX and instead move forward on upgrades to the existing ground system for GPS, the Lockheed Martin Architecture […]

Satellite technology firm Intellian Technologies detailed two new terminals coming to market — its first terminal for aviation, and a new tactical flyaway terminal.  Intellian has developed its first terminal for […]

Eutelsat has retired its Geostationary Orbit (GEO) communications satellite Eutelsat 139 West A after 22 years of service.  The operator said in a Tuesday statement that the satellite completed orbit-raising […]

Poland is the latest country to invest more in its space defense capabilities with a key new contract with some of Europe’s biggest players for a new Geostationary Orbit (GEO) […]

AST SpaceMobile plans to file an insurance claim for the BlueBird 7 satellite it will lose after a New Glenn vehicle placed it into the wrong orbit on Sunday.  Blue […]

Swedish satellite operator Ovzon has debuted a new mobile satellite terminal in a small form factor, the Ovzon T8. The terminal is designed for mobility across air, land, and sea, […]

Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) was another opportunity for satellite companies to make the case for in-flight connectivity (IFC) to airlines. Via Satellite rounds up some of the significant announcements involving […]

Canadian space domain awareness (SDA) company NorthStar Earth & Space plans to go public through a SPAC deal announced Friday that values the company at $300 million.  NorthStar integrates ground-based […]

The European Space Agency has selected Toronto-based Kepler Communications as prime contractor for HydRON Element 3, the third part of a sovereign optical communications constellation, the company announced this week […]

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Boeing and its subsidiary Millennium Space Systems are rolling out a new mid-class satellite platform called Resolute — designed to give more capability than a traditional small […]

Slingshot Aerospace released Portal, an artificial intelligence-based platform for satellite data monitoring and analysis this week. The software combines Slingshot’s data flows with external sources into its analytics engine, which […]

Lonestar gave a launch date for “the world’s first commercially operational space-based sovereign data storage platform,” dubbed StarVault, in a statement on Wednesday. The company said demand for off-planet data […]

Rocket Lab on Tuesday said it closed its acquisition of optical communications terminal (OCT) supplier Mynaric AG for $155.3 million, $5.3 million more than the original deal terms announced in […]

Airbus will equip 20 of Delta Air Lines‘ upcoming A350-1000 aircraft with a multi-orbit in-flight connectivity (IFC) solution co-developed by Delta and satellite operator Hughes under the terms of a new […]

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — To meet the Defense Department’s appetite for orbital warfare capabilities, Lockheed Martin is self-funding two next-generation space dominance efforts for rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) and command […]

California-based satellite ground-systems technology company ThinKom unveiled a new multi-orbit electronically steered antenna (ESA) for aircraft on Monday. Named the ThinAir Nexus, the new ESA is designed for ease of […]

Toronto-based MDA Space presented MDA Midnight, an on-orbit servicing platform, at Space Symposium on Monday morning. Midnight is designed for rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) use to detect, identify, counter, […]

Anthropic has announced an ambitious new project as it looks to play a key role in securing the world’s most critical software. It is teaming up with Amazon Web Services, […]

The Artemis II crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on Friday, wrapping up a historic nearly 10-day mission that marked the first crewed […]

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said Amazon’s satellite constellation is scheduled to launch service in mid-2026, in a letter to shareholders on Thursday.  Jassy did not share a more specific timeframe […]