Virgin Orbit has launched its first batch of small satellites on its Virgin Orbit converted jumbo jet (named ‘Cosmic Girl’). The launch took place from Virgin’s Mojave Desert location on January 17th at 18.50 GMT (1.50pm ET) The Virgin Orbit aircraft carried a 21 metre rocket (‘LauncherOne’) under its port (left) wing and deployed 10 […]
European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, says that he wants to propose his concept of a European satellite-based broadband network to the Commission this year. First priority would be to use a European Low Earth orbiting (LEO) public/private enterprise system and use it as a ‘gap filler’ for locations with non or low […]
Currently neither SES, Eutelsat nor Hispasat, Europe’s three major satellite operators, have backed low Earth orbiting (LEO) systems with consumer facing broadband services. But the three say they are prepared to co-invest in the European Commission’s suggestion for an EU-wide LEO system. The European Commission is backing the concept of a dedicated LEO system for […]
The European Commission (EC) is looking to build a global Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) broadband-by-satellite system to help bridge – and solve – the digital divide in connectivity. The European Commission has selected a consortium of European satellite manufacturers, operators and service providers, telco operators and launch service providers to study the design, development and […]
SpaceX is well on track to have 1000 satellites in orbit by the end of January 2021. Rival OneWeb is due to add another 36 craft to its existing fleet of 74 satellites on December 17th. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has yet to launch any of his Project Kuiper fleet, but observers are expecting launch action […]
The European Commission seems enthusiastic about backing its own dedicated Low Earth Orbit system for satellite-based broadband. Speaking during the European Space Week 2020 its Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, spoke in favour of a Quantum Communications Infrastructure satellite scheme. The European Commission has awarded a group of European telcos, satellite manufacturers and […]
Telesat’s SVP of Corporate & Business Development, Michael Schwartz, told attendees to the Euroconsult World Satellite Business Week event, held virtually this year, that the Canadian company would meet the key deadlines to build and launch its Low Earth Orbiting satellite constellation. Earlier this week Telesat confirmed a C$600 million (€387.5m) commitment from the Canadian […]
AST & Science is planning a mega-constellation of satellites, called SpaceMobile, to provide 2G/3G/4G/5G connectivity anywhere on the planet, including aircraft broadband connectivity. Texas-based AST & Science (AST) has won investments from the likes of Vodafone and Japanese e-retailer Rakuten and bringing the amount raised to $128 million. Its first test-satellite will reportedly launch later […]
The Canadian government is going ahead with its C$600 million (€391m) plan to ‘bridge the digital divide’ for its citizens. The scheme sees the cash going into satellite operator Telesat which says it will ensure affordable, high-speed broadband connectivity across all of Canada with Telesat’s forthcoming Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. There was a […]
ASD-Eurospace, Europe’s space industry trade association, issued what it called an ‘Industry Manifesto’ on October 15 which called for a “resilient satellite system for secure connectivity […] to make Europe fit for the Digital Age”. The document calls for a constellation of Low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites, owned by the European Commission, and serving military, […]