Aerospace giant Airbus has relaunched its high-altitude Platform Station business (HAPS) with a new name, Aalto, and is targeting high-altitude surveillance, 5G and direct-to-device connectivity. The company is expected to seek outside investment for the programme which will then be spun-off as a separate business. Zephyr/Aalto, using very high-flying solar-electric drones, will initially be 100 […]
India’s Space Research Organisation (ISRO) wants to build a rocket and satellite tracking station on one of the islands of Fiji. In particular, and in reports timed to coincide with ISRO’s International Science Festival in Bhopal, India has completed a technical survey in readiness for an upcoming scientific satellite launch (Adita-L11, which is a solar […]
In an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper, Rajeev Suri, Inmarsat CEO, predicted that only a handful of satellite operators will succeed and survive over the next 7 to 10 years. He said that it takes billions to get satellites into space and the industry has already seen plenty of bankruptcies, noting: “The industry structure […]
OneWeb signed an agreement in September 2021 for an aggregate insured value for its satellites and launch activity of more than $1 billion and has extended its relationship with insurance giant Marsh for its remaining 2023 launches. The upcoming launches are being handled by SpaceX and India’s NewSpace, part of ISRO. In December 2022 OneWeb […]
Built by Thales-Alenia Space, Hispasat’s Amazonas Nexus satellite is ready at Cape Canaveral for launch. The satellite left Nice Airport on the Cote d’Azur having been delivered from Thales’ facility at Cannes. SpaceX will be handling the launch currently scheduled for February 1st. Amazonas Nexus is a 4500 kgs satellite and the launch will place […]
Intelsat is making a concerted commitment to enhancing day-to-day network quality and helping African communications service providers (CSPs) deliver secure and affordable connectivity across the continent. “Satellite communications providers (CSPs) have historically rushed to the rescue in the aftermath of a natural or manmade calamity that rendered a local terrestrial network unavailable. Today, Intelsat is […]
Paris-based Euroconsult says that the satellite industry is rapidly changing and adopting laser links for communications both to-and-from Earth, but very much from satellite to satellite. The links are more efficient and harder to intercept. Euroconsult’s report looks at the prospects for further growth and says that inter-satellite communications via optical links are rapidly becoming […]
Despite Virgin Orbit’s setback in Cornwall, Scotland’s SaxaVord Spaceport is moving rapidly ahead with its own plans. SaxaVord is materially different to Cornwall’s Newquay spaceport in that it is planning to loft conventional rockets vertically and directly into orbit from its launch pad. SaxaVord has announced a partnership with Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA). This partnership […]
Virgin Orbit has reported that its Cosmic Girl launch from Cornwall on January 9th “ultimately fell short of reaching its target orbit”. The company admitted that the effort was not a moment to remember. Investors shared the sentiment and sent Virgin Orbit Holdings share price on the Nasdaq exchange crashing down 22 per cent on […]
Formalising its November 2022 announcement, the Federal Communications Commission has released an Order adopting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s plan to modernise the FCC by establishing a Space Bureau and Office of International Affairs. The planned reorganisation is designed better to support the needs of the growing satellite industry, promote long-term technical capacity at the FCC, and […]