Everyone knows the old fable about the Emperor and his lack of clothing. One person eventually calls out his nakedness and, eventually, everyone agrees; the collective illusion, the group think, is broken. The first truth-teller has to be brave, or have nothing to lose. But, in some ways, the most important figure is the second […]
The European Commission (EC) has published its tender specifications for its IRIS2 global satellite project. The EC wants the contract to be firmly in place within one year. The concept is for an EU-backed fully independent constellation of satellites. The IRIS2 project is for a multi-orbit satellite network and managed as a concession by a […]
Recently, SpaceX launched some second-generation Starlink satellites for its broadband-by-satellite system. However, Elon Musk has confirmed it has problems with at least some of the satellites. On March 22nd Musk tweeted that there were “some issues” with the set of Starlink satellites launched February 27th, confirming industry speculation that some satellites had their orbits changed. […]
March 24th, subject to the usual weather considerations, will see SpaceX launch 55 of its Starlink satellites (Version 1.5). Mission 5-5 is scheduled for launch at 11.33am Florida time (15.33 GMT) from Cape Canaveral. The Falcon 9 rocket which will be used has been turned around from its previous use in just 25 days. Starlink […]
Satellite launch business Virgin Orbit, backed by Sir Richard Branson, is urgently looking for more cash to stay in business. Virgin Orbit suspended all its activity – and stopped paying staff – ten days ago on March 16th while it sought fresh funding. The market is awaiting confirmation – one way or another – as […]
SpaceX, already the world’s busiest supplier of rocket launch capacity, says it can do more and could increase its launch frequency. A series of expert panels at the recent Satellite 2023 event in Washington, DC, talked about anticipated shortages in launch capacity especially in the 2024-2027 time frame. The decision by the Jeff Bezos-backed Project […]
The Jeff Bezos/Amazon-backed Project Kuiper broadband-by-satellite scheme has showcased its consumer terminal and added extra detail as to its plans. The Amazon team recently began development of a dedicated satellite production facility in Kirkland, Washington, and expects to begin mass producing satellites by the end of 2023. Project Kuiper expects to launch the first production […]
OneWeb’s CEO Neil Masterson has largely given up in trying to retrieve satellites worth some $50 million in a dispute related to the Ukraine conflict. Russia’s space agency Roscosmos – in essence – confiscated a batch of 36 satellites that had been delivered ahead of a planned launch from Baikonur and as retaliation to the […]
The extremely long-running C-band legal action between the world’s two largest satellite operators, SES and Intelsat, is due in court next Monday, March 20th. SES is arguing that it is entitled to a 50 per cent share of the FCC’s compensation payments for the pair’s certain satellite C-band frequencies which the FCC subsequently auctioned off […]
Pale Blue Global has developed a water-based propulsion system for satellites. The Japanese business describes its technology as ‘The ultimate green propellant’. The company says it has succeeded in operating the water vapor propulsion system (resistojet) in low Earth orbit. Pale Blue’s propulsion system was installed on ‘EYE’, a small nano-satellite for the Sony-backed STAR […]