E-letter: News Feed
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Technology
Array Labs Teams with Raytheon and Umbra Space on 3D Imaging
Silicon Valley’s Array Labs — a four-year-old startup that aims to field a constellation of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) three dimensional, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) cube satellites with 20 centimeter x 20 […]
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Space Economy
Thales Alenia Space Wins ESA Argonaut Deal for Lunar Cargo Delivery
Thales Alenia Space has signed a large, new contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to spearhead Europe’s plans to have better and autonomous access to the Moon. The contract, […]
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Finance
Northrop Grumman Space Segment Ends Streak of Growth in 2024
Northrop Grumman ended its streak of growth in the Space Systems segment in 2024. Sales were down 1% year-over-year, in line with expectations from leadership. Despite the dip in sales, […]
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Launch
SpaceX Launches SpainSat Military Communications Mission for Hisdesat
SpaceX launched the communications satellite SpainSat NG I on Wednesday, Jan. 29. for Hisdesat. The Falcon 9 mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center at 8:34 p.m. ET., launching the […]
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Technology
Zaitra Aims to Make Satellites More Autonomous and Boost the Czech Space Industry
AI and space tech startup Zaitra is working to make satellites more autonomous and boost the profile of the Czech space industry, where the company is based. Zaitra closed its […]
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Imagery and Sensing
Planet’s Largest Contract to Date: $230M Deal for Pelican Satellites
Planet Labs announced a multi-year, $230 million agreement with an unnamed Asia-Pacific commercial partner to build and deliver a constellation of new Pelican high-resolution satellites. Planet announced the deal on […]
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Manufacturing
York Space Systems Strengthens Satellite Portfolio With Larger, M-CLASS Platform
York Space Systems (York) expanded its satellite platform portfolio, adding the M-CLASS, which is now its largest platform. The company announced the M-CLASS on Jan. 29. The M-CLASS builds upon […]
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Finance
SES Secures Financing from European Investment Bank for 3 mPOWER Satellites
SES has secured a 125 million euro ($130 million) loan agreement with the European Investment Bank’s global arm, EIB Global to fund three satellites in the O3b mPOWER constellation. SES […]
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Finance
Lockheed Martin Space Sales Dip in ‘24, CEO Taiclet Sees Opportunity With DOGE
Lockheed Martin reported a slight dip in sales in its Space segment in 2024, with lower sales on national security space programs. Company-wide, Lockheed Martin posted a 5% increase in […]
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Government/Military
Trump Signs Order for Massive ‘Iron Dome’ Missile Defense Project With Space-Based Interceptors
President Trump has signed an executive order for the Pentagon to move out on developing an “Iron Dome for America,” a massive, likely multi-billion dollar project that will utilize space-based […]
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Imagery and Sensing
BlackSky Secures $100 Million Defense Contract for Gen-3 Monitoring Capabilities
BlackSky Technology won a seven-year contract worth over $100 million with an unnamed, strategic international defense partner for real-time, space-based monitoring capabilities, the company announced Jan. 28. The deal includes […]
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Launch
Arianespace Signs Multiple European Launch Agreements for Ariane 6
Arianespace signed three launch agreements for the Ariane 6 rocket between the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA), EUMETSAT and the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), the […]
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Finance
Boeing Logs $1.7B in Charges in Defense and Space in Q4
Boeing took $1.7 billion in charges in its Defense, Space & Security (BDS) segment in the fourth quarter of 2024 between multiple military aircraft programs and the Commercial Crew program […]
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Connectivity
Orange Launches New Project with SES to Enhance Connectivity in Wallis and Futuna Islands
Orange launched a new project to replace the existing satellite infrastructure of the French Wallis and Futuna Islands in the Pacific Ocean, working with SES. The Nuanua project will use […]
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Connectivity
Viasat Previews Potential LEO Network for D2D With ESA
Viasat has a new agreement to work with the European Space Agency (ESA) on direct-to-device capabilities, and previewed that this could lead to a new Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) network. Viasat […]
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Connectivity
NEC XON and Skywire Deploy OneWeb Satellite Solution in South Africa
NEC XON, an African information and communications technology integrator, and Skywire, a South African wireless network service provider, deployed a OneWeb satellite solution to address connectivity challenges in rural South […]
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Technology
Robotics Startup GITAI Expands Into Satellites With First Cubesat Launch
Japanese space robotics startup GITAI is expanding its business to include satellites. The company launched a 16U cubesat on the SpaceX Bandwagon rideshare mission in December, and plans to sell […]
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Launch
Astranis Orders Another Dedicated Falcon 9 Mission, Set for 2025
Astranis signed a contract with SpaceX for another Falcon 9 launch to deploy five additional MicroGEO satellites later this year, Astranis announced Jan. 27. The satellites are set to provide […]
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Mobility
Scandinavian Airlines Taps Starlink for IFC Services
Another major European airline selects SpaceX and Starlink for in-flight connectivity (IFC) services. Scandinavian Airlines, SAS, is introducing a new free, high-speed Wi-Fi service through a new partnership with Starlink. […]
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Technology
JAXA and NEC Demonstrate Optical Inter-Satellite Data Transmission
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Japanese IT and technology company NEC have demonstrated optical inter-satellite data relay between the Daichi-4 Earth observation satellite in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) and a […]
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Technology
Thales Alenia Space and Hispasat Begin Development of Spain’s Quantum Key GEO Mission
Thales Alenia Space and Hispasat initiated the development, manufacturing, verification and validation phase of the first QKD-GEO prototype, the companies announced Jan. 21. The QKD-GEO mission, which stands for quantum […]
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People
Xona Space Systems Appoints Jonathan Wakenshaw as Chief Operating Officer
Xona Space Systems appointed Jonathan “Jay” Wakenshaw as the company’s first chief operating officer, announced Jan. 23. With over 25 years of leadership experience across aerospace, aviation, and advanced manufacturing […]
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Opinion
How Satellite Data Can Enable Solutions for Smart Cities
The evolution of urban life hinges on a blend of sustainability and forward-thinking design. This is what makes the concept of smart cities so captivating — places where innovation meets […]
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Cybersecurity
ESA Funds New Estonian Space Cyber Testing and Training Ground
A European collaboration will launch a new cyber initiative in Estonia, a country on the front lines of cybersecurity issues. A consortium of Estonian companies, Spaceit, CybExer Technologies, CGI Estonia, […]
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Technology
Quadsat Targets Southeast Asia With Auden Techno Corp
Quadsat has signed a new partnership deal with Auden Techno Corp to deliver Quadsat’s satellite network emulation and electromagnetic calibration services to Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The two companies […]
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Connectivity
Es’hailSat Signs Moroccan Broadcasting Deal
Es’hailSat has signed a new broadcasting capacity deal in North Africa. It has signed a multi-year multi-transponder deal with the public broadcaster of Morocco, Société Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de […]
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Connectivity
Eutelsat and Nigcomsat Partner to Expand LEO Satellite Services in Nigeria
Eutelsat Group and Nigerian satellite operator Nigcomsat entered a multi-year agreement to deliver Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite services in Nigeria, Eutelsat announced Jan. 23. The multi-million-dollar deal leverages the OneWeb LEO […]
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Launch
Rocket Lab Signs Launch Contract with OroraTech
Rocket Lab signed a contract for a dedicated Electron launch for Orora Technologies (OroraTech), a German wildfire-detection startup, Rocket Lab announced Jan. 22. The launch is set to deploy eight […]
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Finance
Space Capital Tracks Rebound in Space Investment in ‘24, Expects More Interest in ‘25
Investment and consulting firm Space Capital reports that investment in space companies hit $26 billion in 2024, an increase of 30% year-over-year. The firm recently released its fourth quarter Space […]
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Technology
Astroscale Secures Japanese Contract for In-Space Refueling Technology Development
Astroscale Japan will develop in-space refueling technologies under a new program with the Japanese government, the “Key and Advanced Technology R&D through Cross Community Collaboration Program” (K Program), the company […]




























