After two scrubbed attempts, a SpaceX ‘Heavy’ rocket successfully placed a massive satellite for EchoStar-owned Hughes Communications into orbit in a night-time launch on July 28th. It was the 250th successful mission for SpaceX. The rocket’s core booster was supported by two side boosters – which a few minutes later made a synchronised landing back […]

SpaceX’s Starlink broadband by satellite service has been made available in two new markets: Malaysia and Malawi. The service launched in Kenya a week ago. It is known that Zimbabwe, Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia are likely to add Starlink services later in 2023, although South Africa is still awaiting being licensed by the authorities. The […]

If all goes to schedule, SpaceX will launch the giant Jupiter 3/EchoStar XXIV satellite today (July 26th). The launch, from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, will see two Falcon 9 booster rockets re-land simultaneously after launch. SpaceX is using one of its Falcon 9 ‘Heavy’ version rockets which means the central booster will be […]

Around 26,104 smallsats (satellites <500 kg) will be launched between 2023-2032, representing a daily launch mass of 1.5 tons over the 10-year period, according to strategy consulting and market intelligence firm Euroconsult. Two constellations alone – Starlink (SpaceX) and GuoWang (China SatNet) – will collectively account for nearly two-thirds of smallsats to be launched throughout […]

SpaceX lofted 22 second-generation ‘V2-Mini’ Starlink broadband satellites into orbit in the evening of July 23rd (at 23.09pm UTC). After lift-off from Space Launch Complex 40, the Falcon 9 headed south-east, targeting an orbit inclined at 43 degrees to the equator. The cargo element separated from the second stage about two and a half minutes […]

SpaceX aborted a launch of 15 of its Starlink satellites, scheduled to lift-off from its Vandenberg Space Force facility in California in the early hours of July 19th. The launch was scrubbed with just 5 seconds remaining on the countdown clock. This unusual decision was the second ‘abort’ in a week for SpaceX. Conditions on […]

SpaceX has reportedly told some of its investors that it expected overall revenues this financial year to be in the region of $8 billion (€7.1bn) – double the revenues of 2022. However, this sum is less than some have forecast (around $11.6 billion). A report from The Information says: “The expectation for rapid growth helps […]

Malaysia’s prime minister Anwar Ibrahim recently had a video conference with Elon Musk about his SpaceX broadband service. The end result is a likely order to equip some of the country’s colleges and schools with a Starlink service. But first the system must be formally licensed. Communications and digital minister Fahmi Fadzil said there are […]

July 13th saw a secondary sale of shares from existing investors with stock priced at $81 per share, and a modest rise over the most recent cash-raising which saw shares sold at $77. A total of $750 million in new cash was raised in the offering exercise according to a CNBC report, meaning that the […]

Australian telco Optus, in collaboration with SpaceX have agreed to deliver mobile connectivity using SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation. Together, Optus and SpaceX plan to cover 100 per cent of Australia. “Optus has always thought differently about what it means to deliver connectivity to our customers, and today we proudly provide mobile coverage to 98.5 per […]