The loss of a valuable Vega-C rocket and two Airbus satellites (valued at some €200 million) has resulted in Arianespace ordering an independent inquiry commission. An Arianespace statement said they and the European Space Agency (ESA) immediately decided to appoint an independent inquiry commission. “This commission is tasked with analysing the reasons for the failure […]
SpaceX has told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that it is ready to start launching its second generation Starlink satellites. The letter to the FCC says that it anticipates beginning its second generation satellites “before the end of December”. SpaceX has also asked for FCC permission to bring into use these second generation craft and […]
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched a proceeding to streamline its review processes for satellite applications. As the space economy booms, the agency will look further to update its rules and processes to ensure that its critical review responsibilities are met as efficiently and effectively as possible. In recent years, the Commission says […]
An Arianespace Vega-C rocket exploded shortly after take-off, and lost two satellites. The mission was carrying a pair of satellites for Airbus. They were part of the Pléiades Neo Earth-imaging constellation. The flight took off Tuesday (December 20th) at 10:47 pm local time; 01.47 GMT on December 21st. The first, more powerful stage of the […]
Virgin Orbit has received the final licences from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to commence launches from Spaceport Cornwall, in Newquay, UK. The CAA said that Sir Richard Branson’s company demonstrated it has “taken all reasonable steps to ensure safety risks arising from launch activities are as low as reasonably practicable”. Virgin Orbit could […]
Starlink, the SpaceX broadband by satellite service, has announced it has reached 1 million subscribers. “Starlink now has more than 1,000,000 active subscribers — thank you to all customers and members of the Starlink team who contributed to this milestone,” Starlink said in a Tweet on the evening of December 19th. This is a major […]
Gilat Satellite Networks, a global player in satellite networking technology, solutions, and services, has announced that the company and Intelsat are expanding their strategic partnership with multimillion-dollar agreements to increase in-flight connectivity (IFC) in the Americas. Gilat hubs deployed in the US and Brazil will be expanded to support increased network capacity to address growing […]
SpaceX placed 54 of its Starlink broadband satellites into orbit on December 17th, and in the process extended its reliability record. The record-breaking flight used the Falcon 9’s booster for the 15th time, the most-ever. The cost-saving benefits of re-using the Falcon 9’s booster is significant. SpaceX charges around $65 million (€61.2m) for a commercial […]
SpaceX successfully launched two mPOWER satellites for SES and its O3b division on December 16th. Despite a heart-stopping interruption to the launch rocket’s video signal which would normally have shown the rocket’s booster on its floating landing barge, but everything was “nominal” in the booster’s landing and the deployment of the two satellites. Confirmation soon […]
Abu Dhabi-based Yahsat has released a White Paper on the evolution of the MENA space and SATCOM Sectors. The operator says it has witnessed “unprecedented growth” in the overall $469 billion (€442.1bn) MENA space economy (according to the Space Foundation) and which Morgan Stanley says could surge to over $1 trillion by 2040. Yahsat says […]