A prototype pair of Project Kuiper satellites have managed to exchange data at rates of up to 100 Gb/s in space laser trials. The two satellites were launched in October and the laser links activated despite the satellites travelling at almost 1000 kilometres per hour and with 999 kilometres (621 miles) separating the two spacecraft. […]

The UK Space Agency has announced funding of more than £6.7 million (€7.7m) to further Scotland’s spaceports ambitions. Scottish-based HyImpulse, a launch company working with SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland, will receive £3.4 million. And Orbex, which is working with Sutherland Spaceport on the A’ Mhòine peninsula, will get more than £3.3 million. Both spaceports plan […]

The European Union’s planned IRIS2 broadband multi-orbit mega-constellation which was planned to be firmly in its final stages of agreement by mid-December, has slipped. IRIS2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) is a major EU satellite initiative providing “a space-based secure communication system for the benefit of EU citizens” had an admitted aggressive […]

Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), the UAE satellite solutions provider, has received the an AA Leader Rating on the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) ESG Index for 2023 in the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) category across its business operations. The MSCI ESG Ratings are designed to evaluate a company’s resilience to long-term, financially […]

Stockholm-based Ovzon has received an order from Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) for Ovzon’s SATCOM-as-a-Service, including Ovzon mobile satellite terminals — the service will be delivered during 2024 with the initial rollout to occur during Q1. The delivery of terminals will start immediately. The total order value amounts to 135 million Swedish Krona. Ovzon’s latest satellite […]

SES is suing Intelsat with a claim for a greater share of the FCC’s compensation scheme for the two satellite operators giving up certain C-band frequencies. The long-running arguments over how the FCC’s overall compensation was allocated continue to resonate between SES and Intelsat. Intelsat on November 13th had argued that the SES claim (“typically […]

A planned launch from Vandenburg Space Force Base of 21 Starlink satellites on February 15th 2024 will contain the first batch of Elon Musk’s ‘direct to cell’ craft. Six of the 21 satellites are described as “trailblazers” and are equipped to handle direct to device communications including cellphones. The remining 15 craft are conventional Version […]

Japan’s Costco Online is selling SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite equipment for Yen 33,000 (about $227) and a reduction of Y22,000 (approx €138). However, buyers have to move fast and order the kit by December 31st. The price is a bargain given that Costco US continues to sell Starlink equipment at the routine $499 cost. Meanwhile, a […]

In a surprise move, Spain’s Startical j-v of Indra and Spanish air-navigation authority Enaire has returned to Sweden’s small-satellite builder GomSpace to build at least the initial satellites of the planned Startical air-traffic-management constellation. Just over a year ago the GomSpace contract was unexpectedly cancelled. The news propelled a significant uplift to GomSpace’s share price […]