Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new premium international airline, has selected Viasat to provide a full, fast, free in-flight connectivity for all Riyadh Air loyalty members on initial Boeing 787 Dreamliner factory-installed deliveries. Powered by Viasat’s multi-orbit ready satellite network, Riyadh Air loyalty members will enjoy seamless, free onboard streaming, social scrolling, web browsing, and gaming […]

Eutelsat has announced its OneWeb low Earth orbit (LEO) services for commercial and business aviation are now live and operational, with over 100 certified antenna installations completed and the first commercial and business aircraft now flying using Eutelsat’s OneWeb LEO connectivity. In addition to its geostationary (GEO) aviation services, Eutelsat is working with Intelsat, Hughes […]

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 […]

United has announced that the FAA has approved its first Starlink-equipped aircraft type and that the first commercial flight is planned for May, less than eight months after the deal was first announced. The FAA issued a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the Embraer 175 and the airline expects the first commercial flight to be […]

Airbus, Thales Alenia and Leonardo, three giants in terms of satellite manufacture, are in “preliminary talks” to merge their operations. Rumours of a potential merger have been reported for some months. The talks would not involve the Airbus aircraft manufacturing business. French newspaper La Tribune reports that the trio are also in discussion with the […]

Satellite giant Intelsat, in the process of being bought by SES, has reported declining revenues across many of its key divisions. Its ‘Transponder Revenues’ vertical, which accounts for video services tumbled 10 per cent, while its In-Flight services division fell back 9 per cent (although 6 per cent when equipment sales were included). Intelsat stated […]

UK comms regulator Ofcom is consulting on proposed updates to its satellite filings procedures, which are the processes for obtaining internationally recognised orbits and frequency assignments for satellites. Before a satellite can use the radio spectrum and orbits it needs, it requires an associated ‘satellite filing’ to obtain international recognition of these resources through the […]

A new European rocket designed to handle small to mid-sized satellites failed on its first ‘demo’ flight from Norway on March 30th. The Spectrum rocket, from Germany-based Isar Aerospace, successfully lifted off from the pad but failed a few seconds later, falling back into the Norwegian bay adjacent to the Andøya Spaceport launch site. A […]

Various reports on a proposed $1.5 billion Italian plan for Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites talk of the agreement being ‘cancelled’ or ‘paused’ or ‘stalled’. In its place Eutelsat’s CEO has addressed the dilemma and specifically talking up Eutelsat’s ability to fill the Italian gap. Eutelsat CEO Eva Berneke told French parliamentarians that “Starlink ties Italy […]

Spanish satellite builder Sateliot is in the final stages of a Series B financing round tonraise €70 million, and helped by the Spanish government-backed Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT) which is putting €13.8 million into the business. The funds will be invested in a constellation of over 100 satellites – critical infrastructure designed to […]