E-letter: News Feed
-
Finance
L3Harris Reports Modest Gains in Q1 Tactical Satcom, Space Sales
L3Harris Technologies Communication Systems division continues to benefit from U.S. Department of Defense orders to modernize its tactical communications capabilities. The increase in military business drove a 2.9% year-over-year increase in […]
-
Imagery and Sensing
Arianespace Launches Airbus Pléiades Neo Satellite in Vega Launch
Arianespace’s Vega rocket returned to flight on Wednesday evening, launching a next-generation Earth Observation (EO) Pléiades Neo satellite for Airbus, along with five rideshare small satellites. The launch from French Guiana […]
-
Finance
Hispasat Makes Key Media Acquisition in Latin America
Hispasat has made a significant move in the Latin America media market, one of its key target territories. The company announced April 29 that it has struck a deal to […]
-
Finance
Northrop Grumman Space Sales Jump 29% in Q1
Northrop Grumman’s Space segment saw sales increase 29% in the first quarter of 2021, the company reported Thursday. Sales were $2.5 billion in Q1 of 2021, up from $1.9 billion […]
-
Finance
Analysts Applaud Eutelsat’s Ambition With OneWeb Investment
Eutelsat’s over $500 million investment for a 24% stake in OneWeb, announced Tuesday, marks one of the major Geostationary Orbit (GEO) operators making a substantial move in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). […]
-
Launch
Brazil Taps Virgin Orbit to Establish Nation’s First Orbital Launch Capabilities
Brazil is one step closer to finally achieving domestic orbital-class launch capabilities. On Wednesday, the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) and Brazilian Air Force signed a contract with Virgin Orbit to […]
-
Manufacturing
York Space Systems Introduces Larger, More Powerful LX-Class Spacecraft
York Space Systems is adding a larger and more powerful platform called the LX-Class to its family of spacecraft platforms. The new platform is built off of the York S-Class, […]
-
Launch
Rocket Factory Signs OHB Cosmos Launch Deal, Secures Launch Site
German rocket developer Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has signed a launch contracts with OHB Cosmos and LuxSpace, for dedicated missions between mid-2024 and 2025. The deals, announced Tuesday, are for […]
-
Technology
SES Exec Details Ground Station of the Future for O3b mPOWER
While there is always huge excitement around new satellites and new capabilities in space, the drive to create improved and more efficient ground infrastructure is also coming sharply into focus. […]
-
Finance
Boeing Defense, Space & Security Sees Sharp Increase in Q1 Revenue
Boeing‘s Defense, Space & Security division reported $7.2 billion in revenue in its first quarter 2021 (Q1) financial results, reflecting a 19% jump from the same period in 2020. The […]
-
Technology
Inmarsat and Honeywell Partner on U.S. Government Solutions
Inmarsat and Honeywell are teaming up to deliver a new set of solutions to the U.S. government, the two companies announced April 27. The solutions will be focused on fixed-wing […]
-
Connectivity
ST Engineering iDirect Wins Ground Network Expansion Agreement in Brazil
ST Engineering iDirect will extend the ground infrastructure of a 3G, 4G, and corporate internet services network in Brazil under the terms of a new contract with a Tier 1 […]
-
Connectivity
FCC Approves SpaceX Request to Lower Starlink’s Altitude
The FCC has granted SpaceX permission to lower the altitude of future satellites in the Starlink Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation. The FCC’s decision, announced Tuesday, came despite protests from Viasat, […]
-
Finance
Eutelsat Joins OneWeb Consortium With $550M Investment
Eutelsat has joined the OneWeb investment consortium with a $550 million investment. This brings funding for the new iteration of OneWeb to $1.9 billion — 80% of what is needed to […]
-
Connectivity
SES Signs German Broadcast Deal
SES has renewed a broadcast capacity deal in Germany. The company announced April 27 that Bayerische Medien Technik GmbH (bmt) has signed a multi-year agreement to continue using SES’s satellites […]
-
Government/Military
Washington Post: Blue Origin Challenging NASA’s Lunar Lander Award to SpaceX
Just over a week after it lost out on a high-profile and lucrative contract to build the next spacecraft that would land astronauts on the moon, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin filed […]
-
Imagery and Sensing
Rocket Lab to Build, Manage MethaneSAT Operations Control Center
Rocket Lab has won a contract to build a Mission Operations Control Center (MOCC) in Auckland, New Zealand for MethaneSAT. The contract was issued under a $26 million (NZD) New […]
-
Podcast
(Space) Graphic Design is My Passion
Our latest episode of the On Orbit podcast is all about design. Not spacecraft design, or satellite engineering, but graphic design in the space industry. Visual and graphic design elements […]
-
Connectivity
Gilat Lands Deals with Telcos in Latin America and Japan
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. has recently signed two deals with telecommunications companies for its SkyEdge II-c Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) network platform. On Monday, Gilat announced a $3 million […]
-
Connectivity
OneWeb Constellation Reaches 182 Satellites With Latest Launch
OneWeb has seen another 36 satellites successfully launched as it looks to build up its Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation. Arianespace and launch partner Glavkosmos launched the satellites from the Vostochny […]
-
Technology
SSC Expands Coverage With 4 Polar Antennas
Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) is expanding its offerings with four new polar antennas, the company announced Monday. The first is a new 7.3 m tri-band antenna at the Inuvik Satellite […]
-
Cybersecurity
Laying the IT Groundwork for a Crowded Space Economy
Private companies from OneWeb, Boeing, and Amazon to SpaceX are busy flooding Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) with thousands of small satellites to deliver high-speed internet and other services to the most […]
-
Launch
OQ Technology Signs Constellation Launch Deal with Spaceflight
Spaceflight Inc. will provide launch and integration services for OQ Technology‘s first batch of six 5G Internet of Things (IoT) satellites under the terms of a new contract announced April […]
-
Finance
Optical Link Japanese Startup Warpspace Closes $3.6M Series A Round
Japanese space startup Warpspace has closed a 400 million yen ($3.6 million) Series A funding round to commercialize its plans for an inter-satellite optical communication relay network service. This funding […]
-
Launch
SpaceX Successfully Launches 3rd Crewed ISS Mission in Less Than a Year
This time last year, the U.S. had not launched astronauts from American soil in nearly a decade, but with SpaceX’s Crew-2 mission, these missions are now happening regularly. SpaceX launched […]
-
Connectivity
Inmarsat Wins ESA Contract for Natural Disaster Early Warning System
On Earth Day, Inmarsat announced a deal with the European Space Agency (ESA) to help in the area of national disasters. The satellite operator, alongside SINTEF, one of Europe’s largest […]
-
Technology
LeoLabs’ Costa Rica Space Radar Facility is Now Fully Operational
Commercial Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) mapping and space situational awareness services provider LeoLabs has commenced full operations at its Space Radar facility in Costa Rica. The company broke ground on the […]
-
Launch
Isar Aerospace Signs Launch Deal with Airbus Defence and Space
Isar Aerospace had signed a deal for launch services with Airbus Defence and Space, the companies announced April 22. The deal sees Airbus Defence and Space commit to one launch, […]
-
Government/Military
Northrop Grumman to Proceed With Protected Satcom Payload Prototype
Northrop Grumman will proceed with its Protected Tactical Satcom (PTS) rapid prototype program for the U.S. Space Force, with a flight demonstration set for 2024. The program involves the space […]
-
Mobility
Viasat Signs IFC Deal with Dutch Airline KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is bringing Viasat connectivity to part of its fleet for European routes. This year, KLM is outfitting 181 of its Boeing 737-800 fleet with Viasat In-Flight […]





























