Operating satellites at orbital heights of less than 300 kms is seen as a solution to reduce the cost of satellite launching and making affordable performance. Thales Alenia Space and the Belgian team of the UK’s QinetiQ are backing the development of so-called ‘skimsats’. The pair are working with the European Space Agency (ESA) and […]
Liechtenstein has lost its appeal to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to allow a delay of one year to launch two low Earth orbiting broadband constellations. The ITU’s powerful – and usually strict – Radio Regulations Board has firmly turned down the government of Liechtenstein along with its licensed partner, US-based Rivada Space Networks, which […]
Bill Ray, VP/analyst at Gartner Research, says that he expects low Earth orbiting [LEO] satellites to dramatically change the way we work. He says that 5G has not yet lived up to its expectations, but “the LEO constellation market has, in many ways exceeded its early expectations, driven in part by launch technology, phased array, […]
A massive Indian rocket (GSLV Mk3) will launch in October, and again in January 2023, carrying satellites for the OneWeb low Earth orbiting mega-constellation. India’s Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chairman, Dr S Somanath confirmed the order from OneWeb and explained that the October launch would be the maiden flight for the rocket. The GSLV Mk3 […]
OneWeb, the global space-based communications company, and commercial aviation terminal partner Stellar Blu Solutions, have successfully delivered high-speed, low-latency inflight LEO satellite connectivity to a commercial airliner. Stellar Blu, has partnered with antenna technology provider Ball Aerospace to incorporate its electronically steered arrays (ESA) into the terminal solution. This collaboration realised breakthrough performance on OneWeb’s […]
The European Commission (EC) has paused making a decision on creating a rival mega-constellation of broadband satellites until later this year. The EC is looking to create a European rival to Elon Musk’s Starlink as well as other systems from Jeff Bezos (Kuiper), Canada’s Telesat (Lightspeed) and similar proposals from China and other satellite operators […]
Sony has announced a new business, Sony Space Communications Corporation (SSC), to conduct space optical communications. “Currently there are approximately 12,000 satellites in space, and the number is expected to increase in the future. The amount of data used in orbit is also increasing year by year, but the amount of available radio waves is […]
Benya Group, the digital solutions and ICT infrastructure provider in Egypt and the Middle East and Africa region, have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with OneWeb, the low Earth orbit satellite communications company. OneWeb NEOM JV, a joint venture formed by OneWeb and NEOM in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with […]
Canadian satellite operator Telesat has showcased its potential low Earth orbiting Lightspeed system with a connectivity demonstration over India. Telesat, working with Indian satellite service provider Nelco, used its first LEO test satellite, to provide the demo. The signals went to a routine 85 cm parabolic dish antenna at Nelco’s Teleport outside Mumbai. Round-trip signals […]
Thaicom’s 30-year concession to operate the nation’s satellites ended last September. The Thai government took two satellites – half the fleet – back on September 10th 2021. The consequences are now clear. The Thai Ministry for Digital Economy and Society (MDE) had hoped to find someone prepared to stump up the government’s fees for using […]