SpaceX’s Starlink has managed to launch 349 of its Direct-To-Cellular (D2C) satellites in less than a year. While this is an admirable achievement the fleet is currently only able to manage simple Text/SMS messages to users in remote areas. The 349 launched craft represent some 90 per cent of the target constellation. The first Starlink […]

By and large, the recent newsflow for Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat has been negative. But good news came on December 9th from market analysts at financial research specialist CFRA, which has upgraded Eutelsat from ‘Sell’ to ‘Hold’, and issued a price target of €3.50. Eutelsat’s share price closed on December 9th at €3.21, up on […]

Orbex, a main contractor and backer of the Sutherland, Scotland spaceport is moving its activity to rival Scottish launch site at SaxaVord in the Shetland Isles. Orbex says it has suspended construction at Sutherland. SaxaVord said cryptically via X: “SaxaVord Spaceport today welcomes Orbex to its growing stable of clients after the spaceflight company decided […]

AT&T is a US telco giant with 241 million subscribers. It wants to serve those subscriber when the user is in a ‘not spot’ and will use AST SpaceMobile to cover most of the US (Alaska might be a challenge) with AST’s satellite coverage. AT&T CEO John Stankey explained his forward-looking strategy and how AST […]

The European Space Agency (ESA) has, until now, attempted to return to Europe’s national governments contracts that were equal in value to their payments into ESA. ESA is introducing a new structure called ‘Fair Return’ which will allow a business (or consortium) that wins an ESA contract to choose how the contract’s value is spent. […]

The European Commission’s new head of its Defence & Space (DG DEFIX) portfolio has started work. Andrius Kubilius, the former prime minister of Lithuania, assumed office on December 1st. He will work under Ursula von der Leyen who is the continuing president of the Commission. Commissioner Kubilius held a staff meeting on Dec 1 and […]

Investment bank JP Morgan has lowered its Eutelsat share price target from €3 to just €2.80 (and ‘SELL/Underweight’ advice to clients). The move prompted a share sell-off and a rapid collapse and its already extremely low share price fell back from about €3 on Nov 28, to a low point of €2.84 on the 29th […]

The long-running war of words and legal disputes between South Africa’s two giant independent broadcasters, MultiChoice Group and eMedia, has seemingly come to an end. All legal actions have been curtailed and the two entities have apparently opted for a private settlement between themselves. A note within eMedia’s half-yearly results (issued on November 25th) says […]

There is, in reality, no links with the Kremlin for Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat, but that didn’t stop one shareholder using last week’s AGM at Eutelsat to complain about the operator broadcasting Russian channels. The cause for the complaint are channels which are carried as part of – for example – Eutelsat’s popular 36 degrees […]

Rivada Space Networks is still working with key supplier Terran Orbital (now owned by Lockheed Martin) according to the company. Rivada says that its launch orders with SpaceX, while not set in terms of specific final launch dates, are still valid and in place. Rivada has an initial 300 satellite contract with Terran Orbital although […]