The SmallSat Europe conference at the RAI Congress Centre in Amsterdam heard speaker after speaker express anxiety over the planned European IRIS2 mega-constellation. The project, which will eventually bring together low Earth orbit, mid-Earth and geostationary satellites in a global ring of craft with ultra-secure communications, is looking extremely fragile if the event’s speakers are […]
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 […]
The Canadian government has announced a loan of C$2.14 billion (€1.42bn) to satellite operator Telesat to help the company build its broadband satellite constellation in what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described as Canada’s largest ever space programme. Trudeau said the Telesat Lightspeed constellation will enable people in the most remote parts of the country, including […]
A Chinese mega-constellation of an eventual 15,000 low Earth orbiting satellites will start launching in a few weeks. The fleet will rival Starlink in size. The project is backed by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (Yuanxin Satellite). The constellation, named G60 Qianfan, will see the first batch of 18 satellites launched around August 5th. Subsequent rocket […]
China successfully launched three test satellites for its expanding broadband Internet technologies on December 30th. The satellite was launched by a Long March-2C carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. These satellites are for the GuoWang national network of 13,000 satellites. However, there is now confirmed news that China […]
Eutelsat OneWeb, part of the Eutelsat Group, the satellite communications company, has confirmed that its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation has successfully connected to a 5G mobile network, supporting 5G QoS levels for the first time. This milestone brings super-fast mobile phone connectivity to remote and rural areas one step closer. The achievement of […]
Rivada Space Networks has confirmed its plans to launch two satellite mega-constellations. The news emerged after the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) approved a request to permit a delay in the launch obligations for the two low Earth orbiting constellations. The ITU’s Radio Regulations Board has waived the requirement that Rivada put 10 per cent of […]
Quilty Analytics has provided a summary update on the various operators who are either planning to launch satellite mega-constellations, or already have. Starlink has confirmed that Japanese budget airline Zipair is to offer its broadband service on its flights. OneWeb has agreed a $50 million capacity deal with Canada’s Galaxy Broadband Communications, one of Canada’s […]
Rivada Space Networks, a European network company launching a unique connectivity constellation for Government and Enterprise communications, has issued its request for proposals for 600 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, having recently released the RFP for the associated heavy-lift launch services. The company anticipates selecting a prime contractor for the space segment, parts of the […]
Paris-based consultancy Euroconsult says that despite the virus pandemic it still expects around 1000 smallish satellites to be launched each year throughout this decade. The drive will largely come from would-be broadband suppliers with mega-constellation operators accounting for around half of all launches and one-fifth of market value. Euroconsult’s forecast (contained within Prospects for the […]