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Analyst: SpaceX tops $6bn in equity funding

Researchers at Quilty Analytics have carried out a running total of SpaceX’s fund-raising exercises and estimate that the Elon Musk-backed business has raised around $6 billion (€4.9bn) since the announcement of its – then proposed – Starlink broadband-by-satellite service in 2015. Quilty says its calculations show some $6.54 billion, not including debt financing and the […]

February 25, 2021By Chris Forrester

SpaceX valued at $74 billion

SpaceX has wrapped a fundraising round of a reported $850 million (€704.4bn) to help pay for his new Starlink launches and development work on his Starship/Mars project. CNBC reports that the new cash was generated by the sale of shares at an impressive $419.99 per share and thus giving the privately held business a value […]

February 18, 2021By Chris Forrester

Starlink in licensing discussions with ICASA

Elon Musk’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite system has added South Africa as a target market. South Africa’s media and telecoms regulator ICASA (Independent Communication Authority of South Africa) confirming that SpaceX is in discussion with the reguklator about obtaining a licence to operate in the country. To operate in South Africa and to provide its satellite-based internet […]

February 16, 2021By Chris Forrester

SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites; loses booster

Early on February 16th, SpaceX lifted another batch of 60 Starlink satellites from Launch pad 40 at Kennedy Space Center, but did not successfully land the booster rocket. The booster landed in the Atlantic close to its target barge some 400 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral. This was the first time since March 2020 that […]

February 16, 2021By Chris Forrester

SpaceX plans Starlink IPO

Elon Musk, in one of his regular Tweets, stated that an Initial Public Offering for the Starlink broadband-by-satellite system was on the cards “once we can predict cash flow reasonably well”. His rationale was that building 120 satellites a month, plus their launches, plus their ground segment and operational costs represented a “deep chasm of […]

February 11, 2021By Chris Forrester

Starlink goes global

SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite system is inviting potential subscribers to sign up for its service almost anywhere on the planet, provided the country of residence has granted permission for Starlink to operate. Starlink stresses that it will treat those users signing up that they will be treated on a “first come, first served basis” and that […]

February 10, 2021By Chris Forrester

Starlink: 10,000 beta-users

SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite service is now supplying capacity to more than 10,000 beta-users. The news emerged in a filing to the FCC. Moreover, SpaceX says that it has registered “hundreds of thousands” of interested users without a dollar being spent in advertising. SpaceX says that demand for its service is “strong and widespread”. The FCC […]

February 8, 2021By Chris Forrester

SpaceX aims for quadruple success

Elon Musk will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief at the end of this weekend when, if all goes to plan, his second Falcon 9 rocket orbits the second batch of 60 Starlink satellites. The first consignment was another flawless flight, landing in the early hours of February 4th (01.19 Florida time) after lifting […]

February 5, 2021By Chris Forrester

Musk loses another Starship; Starlink rescheduled

SpaceX did not have the best of experimental launches on February 2nd when one of its prototype Starship giant rockets again exploded on landing. It had a perfect launch and a superb in-orbit manoeuvre as preparation for landing on its exact take-off spot. It reached some 6 miles in height, but the landing resulted in […]

February 3, 2021By Chris Forrester

Nilesat confirms SpaceX launch

Egypt’s latest commercial geostationary satellite, Nilesat 301, will be launched by SpaceX next year. Nilesat 301 is being built by Thales Alenia Space and follows on from a long relationship with Arab satellite operators. The very first Arabsat (Arabsat-1A) was built by Alcatel Alenia in 1985 which was eventually absorbed by Thales Alenia. Nilesat 301 […]

February 2, 2021By Chris Forrester