The negotiations which should have led to a decision (the Rendezvous-1/RDV-1 stage) are running late. These past few days have seen both SES and Eutelsat make comments on the discussions. They are the key players in the SpaceRISE consortium (along with Hispasat) and responsible for the scheme. The industry was expecting a decision by April […]
AST SpaceMobile has received fresh examinations and upgrades from a number of investment banks. While the company’s Q1 results missed consensus on timing around ground station shipments and government revenue recognition, AST said it believes that its satellite launch schedule matters more than the quarter’s performance. For example, Roth Capital says that while some timing […]
SpaceX’s giant Starship will probably launch next week, possibly on May 19. SpaceX, in a statement, said that while the primary objective is a successful launch, stage separation and landing in the Gulf of America. But the massive rocket will also carry a few surprises. The first is that this significantly redesigned vehicle’s Upper Stage […]
Critics of AST SpaceMobile are suggesting that previous launch promises are again slipping. AST now says that its next batch of three satellites (BlueBirds 8,9, 10) will launch mid-June on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. “Vertical integration reaching scale with BlueBird 11 through BlueBird 33 in advanced stages of production and assembly,” said the satellite […]
On April 30th an Arianespace 64 rocket delivered 32 satellites for Amazon Leo’s mega-constellation. All 32 satellites were deployed over 12 separation events lasting roughly 25 minutes in total and thus helping put the satellites into ideal orbital positions between 450 and 470 kms altitude. That is too high, says SpaceX’s Starlink. The launch provided […]
The world is getting very anxious about AI, and who can blame them? What can AI really do, what will it be able to do, can we trust those in charge of it, can we stop them, can we stop it? Not surprising then that politicians seem to circle the problem and then put it […]
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries is reportedly examining a multi-billion dollar entry into low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications through Jio Platforms, India’s Economic Times has reported, citing people with knowledge of internal discussions. The plan includes building satellites, payloads, launch vehicles, and user terminals, while Reliance simultaneously holds talks with Indian government bodies over securing […]
In the early to mid 20th Century, there were the movie moguls; Mayer, Zukor, the Warners, Zanuck, Goldwyn, Fox. In the mid-late 20th Century came the media moguls: Murdoch, Berlusconi, Redstone, Maxwell, Turner. All of them were big in business but all of them were also characters about whom their studios could have made scarcely […]
Failed Scottish aerospace business Orbital Express Launch (Orbex) owed more than £73 million when it entered UK bankruptcy administration. The would-be rocket builder had received more than £130 million of grant and equity funding. It focused on sustainable, eco-friendly rocket launches using bio-LPG, establishing a rocket factory in Forres, Scotland. Orbex ceased operations and entered […]
A report from analysts at McKinsey & Co, issued to coincide with ‘May the 4th be with you’, says that the Star Wars Day captures our imagination with visions of interstellar exploration and technological possibility. “This May 4th, those themes are increasingly reflected in the real-world evolution of the aerospace and defence sector. From the […]