Airbus is shipping the first of a pair of Eutelsat ‘super-satellites’ to the Cape ready for launch preparations. Airbus is building two ‘super satellites’ for Eutelsat. Eutelsat Hotbird 13F is about to ship, while its sister craft, Eutelsat 13G is finishing up with Airbus and will be launched later this year. Eutelsat-13F and 13G will, […]
Alaskan service provider GCI has signed a $150 million contract with Intelsat to expand telecoms capacity in rural areas of the US state. GCI is already very experienced in providing satellite-based services. It has delivered geosynchronous (GEO) satellite-based connectivity for 35 years to provide data, video and voice services in the state. The new deal […]
Constellation operator OneWeb, itself in the process of merging with Paris-based Eutelsat, has booked a $229 million (€230.9m) impairment charge caused by the ending of its six-launch contract with Russia’s Soyuz rockets because of “geo-political” problems. OneWeb has also seen 36 of its costly satellites stuck at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and now unlikely to be […]
SpaceX launched another batch (Mission 4.20) of Starlink satellites late on September 4th at 10.09pm Florida-time. Fifty-one satellites were launched on this particular flight, and it established a new record for SpaceX and its 40th mission so far this year. Also onboard was Spaceflight’s Sherpa-LTC orbital transfer vehicle. This was the seventh flight for the […]
Spaceflight specialises in building so-called ‘space tugs’. These are satellites that can recover and transport orbiting craft which, for example, might be low on fuel. Spaceflight had one of its Sherpa craft launched on September 4th on a SpaceX rocket mission. The company’s fifth craft, a Sherpa-LTC (which is the first chemical-powered version) and already […]
The SpaceX contract with the Royal Caribbean Group to equip all its vessels with Starlink broadband means that SES and its much-lauded O3b/mPOWER technology now has what looks like serious competition. The SES mPOWER satellites are due to start coming into service by the end of Q1/2023. SES is using SpaceX to launch the first […]
Northern Sky Research (NSR) has cast its eye over a new scheme which brought together mega-satellite operator SpaceX along with cellular giant T-Mobile to deliver two-way connectivity between SpaceX and mobile users around the world. NSR, in a note to clients, said “this will be an innovative additional feature for the network, but also asks […]
SpaceX launched its latest Falcon 9 and carrying a batch of Starlink satellites (Mission 3.4) on August 30th from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, placing 46 extra craft into their transfer orbits. However, the day brought good news and bad news for SpaceX. The bad news covered its global satellite service suffering a problem […]
Royal Caribbean Group has revealed its plan to implement SpaceX’s Starlink – making the Group the first in the cruise industry to adopt its high-speed, low-latency connectivity for a better onboard experience for guests and crew fleetwide. The broadband internet service will be installed on all Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises ships, […]
SpaceX continues to populate its mega-constellation of orbiting broadband craft continues. Its mission 4-23 Falcon 9 rocket took off on Aigust 27th from Landing Complex 40 from Cape Canaveral, Florida carrying 54 satellites weighing a combined 16 tonnes – the heaviest payload ever launched. Following launch the booster rocket landed flawlessly on to the ‘A […]