The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket company permission to launch and place into orbit more than 1500 new Low Earth orbiting ‘Stalink’ satellites. A statement from SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell (President/COO) says: “This approval underscores the FCC’s confidence in SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation satellite constellation and connect people around the […]
SES Q1 numbers (to March 31st) showed overall revenues down 2.3 per cent at €489.6 million, with its Video division suffering badly with revenues down 7.3 per cent. The operator’s Network division continues to perform well with revenues up 5.4 per cent. US Video revenues showed a similar decline where it is heavily involved in […]
Japanese space exploration agency JAXA has revealed that it has suffered a failure with its Kizuna (‘Winds’) satellite. The craft failed in mid-February and began to drift in the geostationary arc from its designated slot at 143 degrees East. JAXA says the craft was powered down on February 27th as the agency could not raise […]
Elon Musk, when he is not arguing with the SEC over Tweets, or Wall Street over missed Tesla car production targets, is frequently busy talking about his Starlink concept – which sees thousands of satellites girdling the planet. Just a few days ago Musk requested that SpaceX investors to raise an additional $500 million to […]
Mega-constellation OneWeb promises to start commercial services in 2021. CEO Adrian Steckel, speaking to The Australian newspaper, said that the first important stage is to start launching batches of Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites at a rate of 35 a month, every month, from this coming December. OneWeb, in partnership with Airbus, is now building […]
Independent voices have come out in support of the C-Band Alliance’s (CBA) proposals to make available 180 MHz of satellite spectrum to help 5G’s roll-out in the US. WAY Media, a major Tennessee-based national religious broadcaster which reaches 25 million radio regular listeners (and 1 million weekly), and currently depends on usage of the 3.7-4.2 […]
Spacecom’s much-needed Amos-17 satellite will not be launched before June, according to reports. There had been suggestions that Amos-17 might launch in late May on a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX, but the satellite doesn’t yet appear in the formal SpaceX launch manifest. The Boeing-built satellite is badly needed by the financially stressed Spacecom operation […]
Hughes Network Systems, a global player in broadband satellite networks and services, has announced that Xplornet Communications, Canada’s leading rural broadband provider, has agreed to a lifetime capacity agreement on the next-generation JUPITER 3 Ultra High Density Satellite (UHDS), designated EchoStar XXIV. In a contract valued at more than $250 million over 15 years, the […]
SpaceX says it is looking to raise an additional $500 million in funding. According to a regulatory filing, Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies is the vehicle, and the target for the cash is the company’s ‘Starlink’ internet by satellite project. Musk raised a similar sum a few months ago, and the fresh cash-raising suggests that […]
In-flight entertainment and connectivity operator Gogo is raising $900 million in new Senior Notes in order to pay off its 2022-due Senior Notes borrowing. Gogo, in releasing its preliminary Q1 revenue guidance, said that a combination of better-than-expected Commercial Aviation revenues, and lower than expected overall operating and satellite communication costs contributed to its much […]