Advanced Television

Satellite

SpaceX wraps 2023 with 98 launches

SpaceX was just short of its own unofficial 100 rocket launch target in 2023, achieving 98 launches overall. The 2024 target is (again unofficial) of about 130-150 launches, or launch activity about every 2.6 days. SpaceX managed: • 2 Starship launches • 5 Falcon Heavy launches • 91 Falcon 9 launches • 98 launches in […]

January 2, 2024

Starlink: Over 2.3m active customers

SpaceX’s Starlink broadband by satellite service says it has more than 2.3 million active customers – up 300,000 from three months ago. However, Starlink declines to call these users “subscribers” which would – at least – confirm there was a commercial relationship in place. Starlink says that it is available on all seven continents and […]

December 22, 2023By Chris Forrester

Yahsat and Bayanat to merge

Abu Dhabi’s Yahsat (Al Yah Satellite) is planning to merge with Bayanat, which specialises with geospatial imagery and analytics. The combined company will trade as Space42. The news has more than a few surprises. First is that Yahsat will be the junior partner in the deal. The second is that the combined business has hired […]

December 21, 2023By Chris Forrester

Hughes brings Jupiter 3 into service

Hughes Network System has launched new Hughesnet service plans for US/Americas consumers that leverages capacity from its new Jupiter 3 satellite (the largest commercial communication satellite ever built). Hughes says these Jupiter-powered plans fundamentally reinvent what satellite internet can be – offering faster speeds (up to 100 Mb/s download speeds), unlimited data, Whole Home Wi-Fi […]

December 21, 2023By Chris Forrester

Tata to build satellites in India

Giant Indian conglomerate Tata, and its Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) division along with Satellogic, have announced their collaboration for establishing and developing local space technology capabilities in India. They say this collaboration is but a first step in TASL’s satellite strategy and a significant milestone for Satellogic as the company enters the Indian defence […]

December 21, 2023By Chris Forrester

Panasonic Avionics expanding into LEO

Panasonic’s aviation division is a major supplier of In-Flight entertainment and broadband connectivity. It leases capacity from the likes of Intelsat, Eutelsat and other geostationary operators and connects about 2,500 commercial aircraft and their passengers. Panasonic is now looking at expanding into low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites. Panasonic Avionics already has a commercial relationship with […]

December 21, 2023By Chris Forrester

Forecast: 28,700 satellites to launch in next decade

Analysts at Euroconsult forecast that the next decade will see some 28,700 satellites launched into space. The activity will be worth around $588 billion (€536.4bn). Activity from, Starlink, Project Kuiper, Telesat’s Lightspeed, Eutelsat/OneWeb and Chinese craft will lead the exponential growth. The analysts admit that their forecast might be an underestimate; they have included in […]

December 20, 2023By Chris Forrester

India backs ‘free’ satellite access

India’s government is proposing that satellite spectrum over the country will be assigned without would-be operators having to bid for the bandwidth. This rule, if enabled, will be a major advantage for the likes of Amazon’s Project Kuiper, Eutelsat/OneWeb and Elon Musk’s SpaceX/Starlink. The proposed Bill was tabled for approval in India’s parliament on December […]

December 20, 2023

Ariane 6 “on track”

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) giant Ariane 6 rocket remains firmly on track for a test launch in June-July 2024. The test flight confirmation came from the Ariane 6 Launcher Task Force, which consists of top management of ESA, as the overall Ariane 6 procuring entity and launch system architect, of the French space agency […]

December 20, 2023By Chris Forrester

SpaceX applies for Drone Ships

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has applied to the FCC for permission to place 12 US flagged ‘Drone Ships’ in an experiment to fill the maritime gaps. The tests will run from January 1st to June 29th 2024. The Drone Ships will be placed in US territorial waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The SpaceX request […]

December 20, 2023By Chris Forrester