Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, reports that the past week had seen two of Elon Musk’s Starlink craft have re-entered the atmosphere and burned up. McDowell says two Starlinks – which were already ‘retired’ from the fleet – came down at about 14.30 UTC on April 17 and another at […]
Jeff Bezos has contracted nine rocket launches with the United Launch Alliance (ULA) to launch his initial Project Kuiper low Earth orbiting (LEO) broadband-by-satellite craft. The contract means that for the time being he is not depending on his own Blue Origin rocket system. “We’re determined to make affordable broadband a reality for customers and […]
Just hours before NASA awarded a massive $2.9 billion contract to restart human flights to the Moon – and back – Elon Musk, in one of his Tweets, told an enquirer that SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite service would be transitioning out of a widespread beta-programme into conventional usage “probably by this summer”. Moreover, Musk answered another […]
Elon Musk might well mount an IPO for his SpaceX business somewhere down the line, but for the moment he seems happy to raise cash by issuing new equity. In a regulatory filing, SpaceX says it has raised a total of $1.164 billion over the past few weeks. The company had already reported raising some […]
The demand for broadband connectivity over both fixed and mobile broadband networks is increasing dramatically. However, despite network expansions and upgrades, only half of households worldwide currently have access to fixed broadband services. With the rollout of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations, satellite broadband services will improve broadband penetration significantly. Global tech market advisory firm […]
Ottawa-based Telesat is reportedly “racing” to launch its 298-craft Low Earth orbiting satellite platform. Even though Telesat is some two years behind Elon Musk’s Starlink, the Canadian company’s CEO, Dan Goldberg says Telesat’s Lightspeed LEO system will be the company’s “Holy Grail” and deliver a “sustainable competitive advantage in global broadband delivery”. Telesat is certainly […]
Elon Musk’s broadband-by-satellite service is now rolling out in parts of Australia. Starlink is now available in rural parts of Victoria and the southern portion of New South Wales. “Starlink is now available in limited supply in Australia! Initial beta service is available in parts of central Victoria and southern New South Wales,” a press […]
Investment bank Exane/BNPP, in a report on the state of the satellite industry, talks optimistically about the prospects for Elon Musk’s Starlink mega-constellation. Analyst Sami Kassab says that Starlink, and the constellations from OneWeb and Telesat (Lightspeed) will “change industry economics for good.” “For the last six decades, the economics of the satellite industry were […]
Different investment analysts regularly come up with varied opinions as regards their favourite picks in the satellite industry. Now Sami Kassab, from investment bank Exane/BNPP, in a major report takes a deep examination into Europe’s two leading satellite operators. He concludes by favouring SES. His study extends to one of today’s hottest business prospects; SpaceX […]
SpaceX launched another 60 Starlink broadband-by-satellite craft from Florida on April 7th. It was the 24th batch of Starlinks to be placed into orbit and the 10th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket this year. However, news emerged that SpaceX will make fresh use of its California launch site for some Starlink satellites. The latest […]