E-letter: Briefs

Loft Federal and Microsoft will join Ball Aerospace to work on its Space Development Agency (SDA) contract for the experimental testbed NExT for 10 satellites.  SDA awarded Ball Aerospace the […]

Lynk Global has signed an agreement with Vodafone Ghana to bring mobile coverage to all of Ghana’s population with Lynk’s “cell tower in space” satellite connectivity. This is Lynk’s second […]

Multi-orbit antenna manufacturer All.Space has hired a former SES leader as the company’s new chief development officer (CDO) to help the company scale as it prepares to release its products […]

BridgeComm has demonstrated quantum encryption technology over the company’s optical ground modem, BridgeComm announced April 5.  The company tested both AES-256 and post quantum attack resistant (PQC) Kyber-1024 encryption between […]

The Space Safety Coalition released updated guidelines for sustainable space operations this month, endorsed by 27 companies and groups including The Aerospace Corporation, Avanti, Intelsat, LeoLabs, Planet, and Slingshot Aerospace.  […]

NASA has awarded Capella Space a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) for the company’s synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, NASA announced Monday. This gives NASA five years to order Capella’s data, […]

Aurora Insight, HawkEye 360, Kleos Space and Spire Global have each received contract options from the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to assess on-orbit capabilities under a prior contract the agency awarded the companies for […]

Intelsat’s newly launched IS-40e satellite will add capacity over North America in key markets the company is targeting — commercial aviation, mobility, and network services. SpaceX launched the Maxar-built satellite […]

Loft Orbital has procured a second batch of 15 satellites from Airbus OneWeb Satellites, for the bus platform based on the OneWeb satellites. Loft Orbital announced the deal April 6, […]

Airline industry platform ch-aviation has a new long-term agreement with Spire Global for global flight analytics and insights, Spire announced April 6. The agreement includes access to Spire’s daily Flight […]

OneWeb NEOM, a joint venture formed by OneWeb and NEOM in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has been accepted as an observer member of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), OneWeb […]

Norwegian Cruise Line is testing SpaceX’s Starlink internet service on one of its cruise ships, with plans to roll out the service across additional vessels and other brands Oceania Cruises […]

Startup Quantum Space introduced its Ranger orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) on Thursday, a new last-mile delivery service to carry payloads to Geostationary and cislunar orbits and beyond.  Calling it a […]

True Anomaly, Inc., a year-old company focused on space security, domain awareness, and training, on Thursday said it has raised $30 million in funding so far and plans to launch […]

NASA has awarded Iceye US a five-year blanket purchase agreement to buy the company’s synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, Iceye announced Wednesday.  This will give NASA centers broad access to […]

Axelspace, a Japanese Earth observation provider and smallsat manufacturer, has raised new funding and is partnering with new Japanese venture Space Compass on its Space Integrated Computing Network.  Axelspace announced […]

SEA AIR SPACE 2023 — A Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule last year is likely to spur demand for commercial deorbiting systems that may help declutter parts of Low-Earth Orbit […]

Measat has won a new deal in the oil and gas sector, the company announced April 5. It has signed a deal with Intra Oil Services that will see Measat […]

Satixfy reports that it demonstrated the company’s new antenna with OneWeb Technologies and the Air Force Research Lab. The demonstration was part of the U.S. military program Defense Experimentation Using […]

Consulting firm Deloitte has launched a space practice called Deloitte Space to advise organizations on the potential of the industry. Deloitte has 15 years of experience advising in the space […]

Thuraya has taken the significant step of investing in a Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation for the first time. The company, which is owned by Yahsat, concluded a new investment agreement […]

Australia has selected Lockheed Martin as the preferred bidder for the Australian Defence Satellite Communications System, known as JP9102, which will build the country a sovereign military satellite communications system.  […]

Two space sustainability companies, LeoLabs and ClearSpace, have signed an MoU to work together toward a sustainable space ecosystem. LeoLabs offers space traffic management software and operates a ground radar […]

Axess Networks has won a new deal in the maritime arena, the company announced April 3. Teleserve P/F, a Faroe Islands based communications service provider, will work with Axess Networks […]

This past week, senior Biden administration officials and industry representatives met in a forum to discuss cyber threats and how to strengthen cybersecurity across the ecosystem of space systems and […]

Eutelsat Hotbird 13F satellite — the first Eurostar Neo satellite — has reached its operational Geostationary Orbit (GEO). SpaceX launched the satellite for operator Eutelsat Communications in October 2022. The […]

Virgin Orbit laid off about 85% of its workforce, approximately 675 employees, after it was unable to secure funding.  The smallsat launcher disclosed the layoffs in filings to the Securities […]

Speedcast implemented a new connectivity solution on an unnamed new cruise vessel, calling it the highest continuous bandwidth in cruise history. The cruise line’s new connectivity service debuted on the […]

Boeing and NASA have pushed the Starliner capsule’s first crewed flight test to July. NASA and Boeing said the spacecraft is complete, but there are certification issues with the capsule’s […]

Planet increased revenue by 46% year-over-year in its 2023 fiscal year that ended January 31, 2023. The Earth observation (EO) company also announced Wednesday it is acquiring Sinergise, a developer […]