Ratings agency Moody’s has again downgraded Eutelsat, and blames its decision on the “disappointing” contribution from Eutelsat’s OneWeb constellation of satellites. The downgrade, from B2 to Ba3, cites the operational under performance in comparison with Eutelsat’s forecasts for revenues from OneWeb. The report didn’t help Eutelsat’s share price which fell 3.7 per cent on January […]

Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales (67 per cent) and Leonardo (33 per cent), and Hispasat, Redeia’s satellite services operator, have announced the start of the development, manufacturing, verification, and validation phase of the QKD-GEO prototype, Spain’s quantum key distribution system from geostationary orbit. With a budget of €103.5 million, the QKD-GEO mission […]

Starlink is having a profitable time in at least five African countries where its broadband-by-satellite service is available. The five key nations (Nigeria, Kenya, Madagascar, Zambia and Zimbabwe) have seen sales paused in the main urban cities because of user demand. Sales will be improved as SpaceX’s Starlink system launches more satellites and thus improves […]

Investment bank BNP Paribas, in a major study of Europe’s media and media-related activity, has also looked at the wider satellite sector. Analyst Sami Kassab said that satellite operators’ shares had a mixed performance in 2024. That comment might be seen as an understatement. “Incumbent satellite operators (Viasat, Eutelsat, SES, Iridium) have continued to see […]

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is not happy with last week’s problem with Elon Musk’s Starship rocket which exploded over the Turks & Caicos Islands. The FAA has grounded future flights pending a detailed explanation and examination of the flight’s data. There are numerous reports and images of pieces of the rocket, especially its heat-resistant […]

Rivada Space Networks, which does not yet have a satellite in orbit, has nevertheless signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Vodafone’s Cook Islands “powering network expansion and digital transformation in the Oceania region and beyond”. Rivada has plans to launch 300 satellites. The International Telecommunications Union requires Rivada to launch its satellites by mid-2026. Rivada […]

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has granted a vertical launch licence to Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), a German rocket company to use the SaxaVord launch site in Scotland. “This is a new era for aerospace and granting the first vertical launch licence from UK soil builds towards a historic milestone for the nation,” the […]

Eutelsat has a new major investor. Spacetime Transformations, acting on behalf of clients and funds under its management, has acquired 5.01 per cent of Eutelsat’s shares. The company, controlled by British businessman Christopher Harborne, said it held 23,827,744 Eutelsat shares, or 5.01 per cent of the satellite operator’s capital and voting rights, on behalf of […]

SpaceX lost a Starship on its seventh test flight in a fiery explosion over the Turks & Caicos Islands in the Caribbean. However, the rocket’s booster was successfully captured back at the launch site by the Texas pad’s ‘chopsticks’. Launch was at 5.37pm Texas time on January 16th. SpaceX said: “Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled […]

The Jeff Bezos-backed New Glenn reusable rocket made a successful debut flight (NG-1) just after 07.00 GMT from Launch Pad 36 at Cape Canaveral in Florida on January 16th. The launch schedule suffered a couple of pauses including a 20 minute ‘hold’, and then a further 30-minute delay when a boat entered the splash-down zone. […]