Germany is paying for extra satellite coverage over Ukraine by securing capacity on Eutelsat. Reportedly, this has been going on quietly behind the scenes for almost a year, designed to secure extra bandwidth for Ukraine’s military as an alternate to Elon Musk’s Starlink system. According to a Reuters report, Eutelsat’s CEO, Eva Berneke, revealed that […]
Elon Musk’s businesses may be melting down in value (Tesla stock fell 15 per cent on March 10th, and is down 41 per cent this year) but his SpaceX company is still winning contracts for its Starlink broadband system. But reports suggest Dubai-based Emirates airline has chosen to equip its complete fleet with Starlink direct-to-passenger […]
SpaceX enjoyed partial success for its Starship test #8 on the evening of March 6th. The rocket’s booster (first) stage performed flawlessly and enjoyed a perfect return to Earth and being captured by the sites ‘chopsticks’. However, the upper stage Starship exploded mid-flight. The SpaceX mishap halted some flights from Florida’s busiest airports for “falling […]
The launch of two giant rockets will take place over the next few days. February 28th will see Elon Musk’s SpaceX launch its massive Starship rocket on its eighth test flight from its South Texas launch site. Meanwhile, in French Guiana, Arianespace’s new Ariane 6 rocket is now scheduled to launch its first commercial flight […]
Local reports say that Elon Musk’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite system could soon have permissions to operate in the India market. According to India’s Economic Times, SpaceX has agreed to most of the local conditions needed to gain access to the nation. The company has agreed to comply with most provisions for securing a GMPCS licence, but […]
Last week the South African government, via its ICASA telecoms regulator, held formal public consultations on a proposed licensing plan for satellite services in the country. But SpaceX, and therefore Starlink, declined to appear. SpaceX was due to make a presentation to the hearing, but failed to turn up. According to an ICASA spokeswoman, SpaceX […]
While Europe may not represent the largest market for satellite solutions compared to other large landmass regions with lower fibre density and a greater share of the population living in rural areas, low Earth orbit (LEO) constellations have emerged as an important part of the connectivity toolkit in the region. SpaceX’s Starlink has secured a […]
SpaceX currently cannot operate in South Africa despite some apparent enthusiastic support from Cyril Ramaphosa, the nation’s president. SpaceX has formally asked for local telecoms regulator ICASA to modify its requirements. ICASA is to hold consultations starting on February 5th and 6th with interested stakeholders and the public. The filing is by SpaceX Internet Services […]
Aerospace giant Airbus has hired Goldman Sachs to advise it on forming a European space and satellite company to compete with Elon Musk’s dominant SpaceX, according to Bloomberg News. Discussions are in an early stage to create the company with support from French aerospace company Thales and Italy’s Leonardo. The range of services for the […]
According to a recent Bloomberg broadcast, SpaceX is now valued at about $350 billion (€336.2bn). This value has been suggested to split with the Starlink broadband system representing about 65 per cent of SpaceX’s valuation at $227.5 billion and the rocket launch side of the business accounting for 35 per cent at $122.5 billion. SpaceX […]