Iridium Communications, which provides satellite telephony and data services to the planet’s hard-to-reach areas as well as emergency services, says it is adding 5 years to its current orbital constellation, and has direct-to-smartphone firmly in its sights. Iridium’s existing mega-constellation of 66 satellites were initially given life-spans of 12.5 years when launched in 2017 or […]

Abu Dhabi-based satellite operator YahSat enjoyed a 6 per cent uplift in revenues for its 2023 trading year according to preliminary accounts. The extra cash came in particular from its Thuraya Telecom subsidiary. However, overall operating profit fell 15 per cent because of write downs on the accelerated depreciation of its Al Yah 3 satellite […]

Each very well established and highly reliable Falcon 9 rocket can carry 23 Starlink satellites into their transfer orbits. The much larger – but as yet unproved – Starship rocket can carry about 50 satellites. Satellite watcher Ken Kirtland, an industrial designer at Formation Design Group, has compared and contrasted the cost vs effectiveness equation […]

Elon Musk says that SpaceX will deorbit approximately 100 of its early version Starlink satellites which have a design problem and could fail, and not be manoeuvrable. Musk also stated that the 3rd test launch of its Starship giant rocket was about 3 weeks away. SpaceX, in a February 12th statement, said these “early version” […]

Paris-based Euroconsult reports that the price of satellite capacity for video services has fallen by 16 per cent over the past 5 years. But the price for data services has crashed 77 per cent over the same period. Video-based services are traditionally more robust and the contracts longer lasting, hence the slower reduction in value. […]

It is always fun going back a few years and Pierre Lionnet, director of research at ASD Eurospace, has done exactly that and gone back to Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) forecasts for the space industry as they saw things in 2015. Lionnet is too polite to say the forecasts were rubbish, but points out that […]

Egyptian-based NileSat and Qatari-based Es’hailSat have signed a strategic partnership agreement for cooperation in satellite services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The agreement means that NileSat, via Es’hailSat, has access to the Arabsat orbital ‘hot spot’ of 25.5/26 degrees East where Es’hailSat also has satellite coverage. Es’hailSat, in return can now […]

Eutelsat’s Latino satellite, Eutelsat 113 West A, suffered a major malfunction on January 31st and was declared a total loss on February 2nd. The satellite was reportedly earning Eutelsat about €3 million a year in carriage contracts. Many, if not all of its existing clients, will be shifted to nearby satellites operated by Eutelsat in […]

Chris Forrester There’s considerable interest in what various heavyweight suppliers might be doing in terms of Direct-2-Cell satellite telephony. Apple, Google, AST SpaceMobile and others, including SpaceX’s Starlink, are very busy in this area. A filing with the FCC from T-Mobile on January 18th (which is linked with Starlink) explains their intentions, and the practical […]

Space Foundation has issued its Space Report for Q4 2023 revealing that global launch activity reached new highs for the third year in a row, with 223 launch attempts and 212 successful launches. Commercial launch activity increased 50 per cent from 2022. The US saw a 33 per cent increase in launch attempts, with China, […]