E-letter: News Feed
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Connectivity
FCC to Start Assignment Phase of C-Band Auction on Feb. 8
The FCC will start the assignment phase of the 5G auction of C-band spectrum on Feb. 8, the commission announced Tuesday. In this phase, bidders that won generic spectrum blocks […]
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Finance
Lockheed Martin Space Sales See Double-Digit Boost in Q4
Lockheed Martin’s Space segment continues a streak of increased sales, as the company reported $401 million in net Space sales in Fourth Quarter (Q4) of 2020 — a 14% increase […]
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Connectivity
Eutelsat Signs Two Capacity Deals With Liquid Telecom, ESRevolution
Eutelsat announced two new capacity deals in the space of 24 hours, including a deal with Liquid Telecom, which renewed and expanded its Ku-band capacity agreements on the EUTELSAT 7B […]
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Connectivity
On-Demand TV Carves Into Satellite TV Share in Middle East, Media Partners Asia Says
Satellite pay-TV subscription numbers in the Middle East countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are experiencing a sharp drop-off over the past few years, according to a new report […]
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Connectivity
Hispasat Extends and Expands US Backhaul Capacity Agreement with Gilat
Spanish operator Hispasat announced on Tuesday that it has renewed and expanded a multi-year, multi-transponder satellite capacity contract with Israel’s Gilat Satellite Networks. Under the terms of the agreement, Hispasat will […]
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Connectivity
Latest Starlink Satellites Equipped with Laser Communications, Musk Confirms
The latest Starlink satellites launched on Jan. 24 are equipped with laser links, and all Starlink satellites launched next year will be equipped with laser inter-satellite links, Elon Musk, SpaceX […]
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Government/Military
US Air Force Pays $787M to End Launch Services Agreements with Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin
On Dec. 31, the U.S. Air Force ended its Launch Services Agreements (LSAs) with Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin and paid out $787.2 million to the companies – $531.7 million to Northrop […]
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Launch
Exolaunch Execs Talk Expansion Plans as Rideshare Demand Grows
German rideshare provider Exolaunch was a part of SpaceX’s Transporter-1 mission on Sunday, the largest rideshare mission to date, carrying 143 satellites in total. Exolaunch brought 30 satellites along for […]
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Finance
Speedcast Ready to Emerge from Chapter 11 With New CEO
Speedcast gets ready for a new chapter under new CEO Joe Spytek as it prepares to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company announced Monday that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court […]
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Government/Military
Inmarsat Supplies Satellite Service to the UK’s Zero-Carbon Air Transportation Program
Satellite operator Inmarsat will provide connectivity services to a United Kingdom government initiative, Project HEART, which aims to build the U.K.’s first automated, zero-carbon regional air transportation network by 2025. […]
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Launch
SpaceX Launches Record Rideshare Mission Carrying 143 Satellites
SpaceX launched Transporter-1, the first mission in its dedicated smallsat rideshare program on Jan. 24, carrying 143 satellites total — 133 commercial and government spacecraft and 10 Starlink satellites. This […]
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Mobility
Alphabet Shutters Loon Venture
Alphabet, parent company of Google, is shutting down Loon, its subsidiary dedicated to providing broadband from balloons in the stratosphere. Loon CEO Alastair Westgarth announced the news in a Medium […]
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Finance
Forsway Adds Irdeto Exec to Board of Directors
Forsway, the Swedish satellite/terrestrial broadband player, is adding a new member to its board of directors. The company announced Jan. 22 that Irdeto Executive Bengt Jonsson will join the board. […]
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Government/Military
Steve Jurczyk Named Acting NASA Administrator Following Bridenstine’s Exit
U.S. President Joe Biden named Steve Jurczyk to the post of acting NASA administrator on Thursday, replacing the agency’s former administrator Jim Bridenstine. Jurczyk previously served as NASA’s associate administrator, […]
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Government/Military
Satellite Industry Responds to Jessica Rosenworcel’s New Role as Acting FCC Chair
Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Friday, Jan. 22. U.S. President Joe Biden named Jessica Rosenworcel acting chairwoman of the FCC on Thursday. She succeeds Ajit Pai, who stepped […]
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Mobility
Gilat Tests ESA Over Inmarsat GX Network
Gilat Satellite Networks’ Electronically Steered Antenna (ESA) has been successfully tested over Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) network, the companies announced Thursday. Gilat’s open-architecture antenna has been integrated with Inmarsat’s G-MODMAN […]
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Connectivity
Eutelsat Signs Konnect Service Agreement for Post Office Network in Côte d’Ivoire
Eutelsat Communications has signed an agreement with distribution partner InterSat to provide “konnect” broadband service to a network of 170 post offices throughout Côte d’Ivoire. Under the multi-year agreement, “La […]
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Connectivity
Swedish Space Corporation Signs Optical Communication MOU With Airbus
Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) has signed a deal to work on space-to-ground optical communications with Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands. Optical communication between ground stations and satellites in orbit enables […]
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Imagery and Sensing
Maxar Sells New Supply of Earth Imagery to Mapbox
Mapbox, the mapping and location cloud service that aims to power future automated vehicle and enterprise networks, has added 135 million square kilometers of satellite Earth imagery from Maxar Technologies […]
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Government/Military
Thales Alenia Space, Airbus Win Second-Generation Galileo Satellite Contract
The European Commission (EC) awarded 1.47 billion euros ($1.77 billion) to Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence & Space on Tuesday to build and launch Europe’s second-generation Galileo satellite positioning […]
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Connectivity
SpaceX’s Starlink Constellation Hits 1,000-Satellite Mark after Successful Launch
California-based launch and internet service provider SpaceX sent a new batch of Starlink internet satellites into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday […]
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Connectivity
Myriota to Provide IoT Services for Australian Government Space Project
Myriota will take part in a new project by the Australian government involving satellite, the company announced Wednesday. It will be involved in the SASAT1 Space Services Mission to deliver […]
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People
Thursday Morning Conversation With Jean-Marc Nasr of Airbus Defence and Space
Satellite manufacturing, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Johnny Cash. Via Satellite’s Thursday Morning Conversation this week goes to France to talk to Jean-Marc Nasr, head of Space Systems […]
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Finance
Intelsat Board Chair David McGlade Accused of Insider Trading in Lawsuit
A class action lawsuit has accused David McGlade, former Intelsat CEO and chairman of its board of directors, along with shareholders BC Partners and Silver Lake, of insider trading around the […]
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Podcast
2020 in Review and the Decade Ahead With Euroconsult’s Maxime Puteaux
In this episode, Maxime Puteaux, principal advisor at Euroconsult, gives us the rundown of satellite trends in 2020, as well as what he sees happening in the decade ahead. Puteaux […]
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Connectivity
SES Networks to Deliver Capacity to Northern Canada for SSI Canada
SES will deliver satellite capacity to Nunavut in northern Canada, through a multi-year agreement with with SSi Canada, the developer-operator of Qiniq broadband, and SSi Mobile services in Nunavut. Under […]
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Government/Military
Iridium, Lockheed Martin Join Group Calling for FCC to Stay Ligado Order
Update: On Tuesday, Jan. 19, the FCC denied a request to stay the Ligado decision. “[The] order imposed stringent conditions in order to protect incumbent users, including GPS services and […]
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Connectivity
C-Band Auction Sets Record, Grossing $81B in Phase One
The FCC’s C-band auction has set a new FCC auction record at the end of its first phase, grossing $80.9 billion. This far exceeds previous estimates for the auction, which […]
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Launch
Virgin Orbit Sends the First Air-Launched, Liquid-Fueled Rocket to Space
Virgin Orbit successfully deployed 10 payloads for NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) during the California-based company’s second demonstration of its LauncherOne spacecraft on Sunday, Jan. 17. The LauncherOne was deployed […]
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Connectivity
Globalstar to Provide Satellite Services for Smart Livestock Tag
Globalstar has signed an agreement to supply satellite services to Ceres Tag, a direct-to-satellite animal tracking platform. The Ceres Tag is a smart ear tag that weighs just over one […]





























