Advanced Television

Satellite

Blue Origin to exit Orbital Reef space station

Orbital Reef is – or was designed to be – a privately-funded space station. Blue Origin, the Jeff Bezos-backed rocket business and Sierra Nevada Space are likely to end the corporate partnership they formed to help fund the space station. The concept was for an orbiting ‘business park in space’ and operating in low Earth […]

October 6, 2023

Virgin Galactic 04 ready to fly

The fourth Virgin Galactic tourist flight (number 04) has a launch window opening today (October 5th). It is the fifth flight of the year and the ninth overall. One passenger will be Namira Salim, who will be the first Pakistani to get to space. Two other passengers are not named other than one is from […]

October 5, 2023By Chris Forrester

Forecast: IFC demand to soar

A report published by space consulting and market intelligence firm, Euroconsult, focusing on In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) for air travel has highlighted a second consecutive year of strong growth, with over 36,000 commercial and business aviation aircraft now equipped with onboard internet access. The 11th edition of Prospects for In-Flight Entertainment & Connectivity predicts this number […]

October 4, 2023

Starlink expands coverage over US

SpaceX’s Starlink service has expanded availability over the US. Heavy demand in some parts of the US has meant that Starlink was severely limiting new subscribers owing to limited bandwidth. However, with almost 1,000 new broadband satellites launched over the past few months, and the latest full Version 2 craft now being launched with four-times […]

October 4, 2023By Chris Forrester

Double blow for Arianespace

Ariane 6, the giant replacement rocket for the European Space Agency (ESA), is already delayed until the end of 2024. Now the ESA says that is medium-lift rocket, Vega-C, is also delayed until Q4/2024. The news means that Europe doesn’t have a working rocket to launch commercial, scientific or military satellites, other than two remaining […]

October 4, 2023

ManSat now River Advisers

Isle of Man-based space and satellite business ManSat is rebranding as River Advisers. “The new name and branding reflects the growth of expertise, services, and ambition of the company,” says River Advisers in a press statement. “The rebrand recognises the expansion of River Advisers’ consulting services from traditional service providers to clients in New Space, […]

October 4, 2023By Chris Forrester

Starlink readies ‘Direct-to-Cellular’

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has licensed Elon Musk’s Starlink service to test a ‘Direct-to-device’ service. SpaceX will launch the first of a new batch of enabled satellites in December which when fully established will permit users to make calls via Starlink. Apple and Globalstar already have a similar service running, while Omnispace is planning […]

October 3, 2023By Chris Forrester

ViaSat-3 on the move

ViaSat-3 Americas, which suffered a major malfunction after launch on April 30th, is on the move from its original test position to a new location. The satellite’s problem concerns its giant reflector which failed to deploy correctly. The satellite has subsequently been shaken and manipulated – all quite normal actions – in attempts to coax […]

October 3, 2023By Chris Forrester

SES to receive FCC’s $3bn by October 16

A report from investment bank BNPP’s Sami Kassab says that October 16th is the likely date when satellite operator SES will receive about $2.99 billion as its share of the FCC’s C-band compensation scheme. SES is also involved in litigation over about $400 million from Intelsat in its claim for a larger percentage of the […]

October 2, 2023

Starlink invited to cover Turkey

Last week it was India which said that it was about to grant permissions for Starlink to operate over the nation. Now Turkey says that Starlink can apply for licences. The news follows on from an in-person meeting that Elon Musk had with Turkey’s President Erdogan in New York on September 18th. Erdogan reportedly wants […]

October 2, 2023By Chris Forrester