A comprehensive study of the world’s 2020 space activities from astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell (of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics) suggests that there are some questions over the in-orbit reliability of Elon Musk’s Starlink project. The report examines and itemises the assorted SpaceX launches, each of which have been remarkably successful in their ability to place […]
Normally SpaceX launches its Starlink broadband satellites in batches of about 60. But on January 14th it is planning a special ‘ride share’ for ten Starlink satellites as well as a number of other clients. These ten craft are designed to go to a sun-synchronous polar orbit and SpaceX has made a request to the […]
SpaceX and OneWeb, along with other satellite and telco operators, has been granted millimetre wave spectrum in Australia by the country’s media regulator. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued licences in the 26GHz and 28 GHz bands to SpaceX Starlink as well as OneWeb, New Skies Satellite/SES, O3b/SES, Inmarsat, Viasat, Telstra, Optus, […]
There were a few tense moments immediately prior to the launch of the giant Soyuz rocket at Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome when the countdown clock went past the ‘3-2.1-Zero’ command, but a few seconds later, the engines burst into life and the 36-satellite payload for OneWeb launched. Some four hours after its 12.26pm (GMT) launch and […]
SpaceX is reportedly planning another cash-raising round for investors. It last raised money ($1.9 billion) in August and was valued at the time as $36 billion. Bloomberg is suggesting that while talks are at an early stage, the end result could be that SpaceX would have a value of some $92 billion. The cash should […]
SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite system is calling for regulators not to license rival broadband would-be operators who do not recognise frequency sharing. David Goldman, director of satellite & spectrum policy at SpaceX, quoted by Space Intel Report, was speaking to delegates on a panel discussion organised by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and Saudi Arabia’s Communications […]
SpaceX is well on track to have 1000 satellites in orbit by the end of January 2021. Rival OneWeb is due to add another 36 craft to its existing fleet of 74 satellites on December 17th. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has yet to launch any of his Project Kuiper fleet, but observers are expecting launch action […]
A report from management consultants Deloitte says that commercial aerospace and defence industry revenues will recover in 2021 after the challenges of 2020. Deloitte says that satellite-based broadband (and space exploration) will continue to drive growth. “As funding continues to increase and costs decline, the space industry is likely to experience increased opportunities, primarily in […]
SpaceX has won a portion of the US government’s scheme to provide satellite-based broadband access to rural users. The pay-out, which totals $885.5 million, is part of the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). SpaceX, and other non-terrestrial suppliers, had previously complained that they were being excluded from being considered. In total the FCC has […]
SpaceX has launched one of its Falcon 9 first stage rockets for a record seventh time. Elon Musk’s team now seems unbeatable in terms of the launch, recovery and reuse of its rocket system. SpaceX continuity announcer, Kate Tyce, simply stated that “for the seventh time, this Falcon has landed” as she described a flawless […]