May 7, 2025

Daily News Feed

TOP STORY

Telesat LEO Backlog Nears $1.1B Canadian After Viasat Deal
Telesat’s backlog for its Lightspeed Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation is now nearly $1.1 billion Canadian dollars ($800 million) after signing a capacity deal with Viasat in April.

Earlier this year, Telesat reported a Lightspeed backlog of around CA$600 million, indicating the operator has signed roughly CA$500 million in new commitments since late March. Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg told investors he’s optimistic Telesat will secure additional commitments over the course of the year…[continued]

Connectivity
Airtel Africa to Distribute Starlink Connectivity in African Markets
Airtel Africa signed an agreement with SpaceX to bring Starlink internet to its customers in Africa, the companies announced Tuesday. Airtel African plans to use…[continued]

Government/Military
Planet to Supply Imagery to German Government for Land and Water Management
Planet Labs Germany, part of the Planet Group, signed government deal in Germany as the German government looks to improve its water and land management…[continued]

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Government/Military
iDirect Gov Software Defined Radio Integrated into Airbus Ranger Flyaway Terminal
Airbus DS Government Solutions has integrated an iDirect Government software defined radio (SDR) satellite modem into its Ranger Flyaway terminal. iDirect Gov announced Tuesday that…[continued]

People
Industry Leader and Longtime Hughes CEO Pradman Kaul Dies
Industry leader and former Hughes Network Systems President and CEO Pradman Kaul has died, Hughes announced on May 4. Kaul was a longtime leader in the…[continued]

Finance
ICYMI: Trump’s Proposed NASA Budget Looks to Cut Funding by 24%
President Trump’s budget proposal for NASA looks to cut funding for the agency by 24%, while increasing funding for human space exploration and slashing space…[continued]

Podcast
On Orbit Podcast: Phemotron Systems CEO Femi Ishola on Building Africa’s Satellite Ecosystem
In this week’s episode, On Orbit interviews Femi Ishola, founder and CEO of Phemotron Systems, winner of the 2025 Startup Space competition at SATELLITE. Ishola…[continued]

Here's what else we're reading:

SpaceX gets FAA approval to ramp up Starship launches from Texas | Reuters

Amazon exec shares views of Project Kuiper satellites | GeekWire

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