Chris Forrester is one of the most experienced and highly regarded journalists in the field. His insight and analysis, particularly in the satellite and pay-TV arena, is highly prized. He has written for all the major business journals in the sector as well as several national newspapers.
Germany has already made it known that it believes the EU-backed IRIS2 mega-constellation of super-secure satellites is too expensive. Now it seems that Italy is also having thoughts about its own satellite fleet. A report in German newspaper Handelsblatt suggests that the German army (Bundeswehr) is backing an alternate orbiting satellite system, and may not […]
The Baikonur rocket and missile site in the middle of Kazakhstan is an area of some 90 kms in diameter which is leased to Russia until 2050. At its heart is the spaceport, and central to the spaceport’s modest visitors area is a small museum where the world’s first astronaut Yuri Gagarin lived ahead of […]
An Indian rocket will launch AST SpaceMobile’s (AST) first of its 2nd Generation satellites into orbit in May. AST’s intention is to provide a global direct-to-consumer cellular service in conjunction with partners such as Vodafone, AT&T and Verizon. Shareholder optimism is also robust, helped by positive reports from some influential investment banks. But two recent reports […]
The past few weeks have seen all of the major geostationary satellite operators release their latest financial numbers. Analysts from Quilty Space have examined the results and their comments are not good. Referring, for example, to Telesat’s numbers, Quilty said: “Few operators have given a more damning assessment of the prospects for GEO connectivity than […]
SES has released the results of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on April 3rd. All of the motions were carried, but there were some notable objections which while not affecting the end result proved that not all of the proposed motions were 100 per cent supported. For example, Agenda item 10 (“Determination of the […]
Gwynne Shotwell has been with SpaceX for the past 23 years, and became president and chief operating officer in 2008. She also holds a 0.3 per cent stake in the company. She was SpaceX’s employee number 11 and the shareholding has been largely accumulated through stock compensation awards. Forbes magazine says that her shareholding is […]
SpinLaunch has won an order to launch an initial 280 small satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). The scheme is called Meridian Space and is backed by Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace and valued at €122.5 million. SpinLaunch, headquartered in Long Beach, California, but launches using its own technology from a site in the Mojave Desert. […]
Consolidation is running through the satellite industry. A year ago it was Eutelsat absorbing OneWeb, Viasat buying Inmarsat and more recently SES making a $3.1 billion (€2.8bn) commitment to acquire rival Intelsat. The SES/Intelsat move is expected to wrap this summer. Consolidation is also affecting smaller satellite businesses. April 1st saw Canada-based MDA announce its […]
The United Launch Alliance (ULA), which is the joint-venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, is readying its first rocket launch for the Jeff Bezos-backed Project Kuiper broadband-by-satellite mega-constellation. ULA will loft the first 27 Kuiper satellites, probably on April 9th subject to the usual weather and technical considerations. Amazon confirmed on April 2nd that it […]
While the planet now has global low Earth orbiting coverage from Elon Musk’s Starlink, China is quietly getting on with its own rival scheme, in the shape of its Qianfan (Thousand Sails) satellite constellation project. Genesat (Gesi Aerospace), the project’s main contractor, has signed a contract for the second phase of its satellite manufacturing plant […]
Japan: Paramount+ on Lemino
Data: Consumer media usage grew 2.4% in 2024
Report: 88% of Prime Video subs on ad-supported plans
Survey: Most brands expect their TV/streaming budgets to grow
Study: Consumers want next-gen video from brands
TPV to launch Whale TV models across Asia
AT&T plans satellite connectivity trials
Bortis named Ateliere CEO
Discovery Channel celebrates 40 years
Kaleidescape joins 8K Association