A planned launch from Vandenburg Space Force Base of 21 Starlink satellites on February 15th 2024 will contain the first batch of Elon Musk’s ‘direct to cell’ craft. Six of the 21 satellites are described as “trailblazers” and are equipped to handle direct to device communications including cellphones. The remining 15 craft are conventional Version […]
In a surprise move, Spain’s Startical j-v of Indra and Spanish air-navigation authority Enaire has returned to Sweden’s small-satellite builder GomSpace to build at least the initial satellites of the planned Startical air-traffic-management constellation. Just over a year ago the GomSpace contract was unexpectedly cancelled. The news propelled a significant uplift to GomSpace’s share price […]
SpaceX, as expected, has sold ‘insider’ shares at $97 (€88.80) to existing and new shareholders. It means that SpaceX is now valued at around $180 billion. The $97 achieved is a couple of dollars better than the rumoured $95 talked about over the past few weeks and indicates a strong demand for participation. Investors would […]
Es’hailSat, the Qatar Satellite Company, has announced that nine HD television channels from Rotana Group are now available on Es’hail-2 satellite located at the 26⁰ East hotspot covering Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This is part of a multi-channel, multi-year deal between Rotana and Es’hailSat which adds to the premium television channel video […]
Euroconsult, a specialist in satellite industry market intelligence, has announced the release of its 26th edition flagship report, Satellites to be Built and Launched. This edition forecasts an average of over 2,800 satellites launched annually – equivalent to eight satellites per day and totaling a mass of four tons – between 2023 and 2032. The […]
EchoStar’s owned Hughes Europe is linking with Italian satellite service provider Telespazio to launch a government and consumer-focussed satellite online connectivity service. The pair will use Eutelsat’s Konnect Very High Throughput (VHTS) craft for its widespread coverage. The intention behind the partnership is to target both the government as well as the growing enterprise broadband […]
Thuraya Telecommunications Company, the mobility arm of the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider, Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, is releasing a new generation version of its state-of-the-art XT-PRO DUAL satellite phone, as demand for dual-mode communications soars worldwide. The innovative phone, which has been one of Thuraya’s top-selling and most popular phones, is a dual-mode, […]
Intellian Technologies, a provider of multi-constellation satellite user terminals and communications solutions, and Eutelsat OneWeb, the GEO-LEO satellite operator, have announced the launch of OW130L for Eutelsat OneWeb customers. The OW130L will offer a robust service on Eutelsat OneWeb’s network while also being tolerant to rain fade and ensuring delivery on the highest Service Level […]
Earlier in November SpaceX launched one of its regular ‘Rideshare/Transporter’ missions when it carries dozens of smaller satellites into space. It now appears that the November 11th launch suffered a glitch in safely deploying three small satellites for Momentus. San Jose-based Momentus, which offers clients in-space infrastructure services, including in-space transportation, hosted payloads and in-orbit […]
Rivada Space Networks, despite not yet having its satellite fleet in orbit, has secured another useful contract. It comes from Tekniam, a US based company providing emergency connectivity for disaster response and recovery. Rivada is planning a 600-craft fleet of laser-linked low Earth orbiting satellites. Tekniam CEO, Andrew Heaton, commented: “Tekniam’s RUCS is a cutting-edge […]