Stories about the broadband industry.
Starlink’s V2 satellites are having some issues. On Tuesday, Elon tweeted an explanation for observations that some of the V2 Minis launched last month have changed the altitude and eccentricity of their orbits: The new technologies: The Starlink V2 Minis are essentially trial runs for technology that will fly on the much larger final V2 […]
Earlier this week, Rivada Space Networks announced that Aalyria will help manage and optimize communications across its planned LEO constellation. Aalyria emerged out of stealth late last year, with a trove of valuable IP it acquired from Google parent Alphabet. Rivada 101 Last year, Rivada announced itself to the world with a splashy plan to […]
LeoLabs announced that it has selected a site in Argentina for its next ground radar for remotely identifying and tracking objects in space. The new site, called the Argentina Space Radar (AGSR), is expected to be completed later this year. Keeping an eye on orbit: The Menlo Park, CA-based startup is building out a global […]
CesiumAstro announced this morning that it is officially getting into the in-flight connectivity (IFC) market. The company is planning to test a flat active phased array payload that can connect with satellites in orbit more easily and effectively than current systems, and has several demonstrations aboard Airbus craft set for the coming year. Active phased […]
Ed. note: This analysis was authored by Mo Islam, Payload’s cofounder and a former Wall Street analyst. This is an educated best guess, not based on access to any SpaceX internal data or proprietary info! We’re attempting the impossible yet again: predicting SpaceX’s revenue. Before we get into Act 2—aka 2023—we’re revising our 2022 projections, […]
For the past few years, news of Western private constellation buildouts has become commonplace. At various stages of maturity, these constellations are intended to provide broadband across the globe. Now, though, more nations are drawing up their own plans to bring that broadband capability within the hands of their own governments. IRIS2 The EU’s sovereign […]
On Thursday, South Korean tech conglomerate Samsung shared some color on its own space plans. The tech conglomerate introduced a satellite-to-smartphone communications chip for future phones, rather than unveil any flashy features now. Above, we deliberately used the modifier “tech conglomerate”—twice—to describe Samsung. While best known for phones, Samsung is also the world’s second largest […]
Yesterday, SF-based Astranis announced that it won a Space Force contract worth up to $10.5M to build resilient and jam-resistant waveform technology into its MicroGEO broadband birds. The Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award includes $4.5M for Astranis to incorporate Protected Tactical Waveform technology into its software-defined radio payloads, along with a $6M […]
Another megaconstellation has cleared a key step toward LEO deployment. On Wednesday, the FCC approved Kuiper’s orbital debris mitigation plan, a significant regulatory hurdle that has been keeping Amazon’s broadband constellation out of the sky. The story so far: Amazon has taken a long, winding road with Kuiper. In 2020, the FCC approved the constellation, […]
Busek has its sights set on ramping up production. The propulsion company announced yesterday that it has fully commissioned its thrusters on 80 OneWeb satellites that launched in December and January. “The space community often talks about rapid response and the need for speed, and this is a great example of preparedness, and fast, high-quality […]
Yesterday, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced that it will lend €300M (~$323M) to Luxembourg-based SES to finance a trio of broadcast satellites that will serve Western Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. It’s the largest investment the EU’s investing arm has made to date into a Luxembourg-based company. ESA head Josef Aschbacher has repeatedly […]
Doug Abts is joining Astranis’s C-suite as its new chief commercial officer. Abts, a former Navy SEAL and grad of Harvard Business School, comes to Astranis by way of Viasat, where he was GM of the publicly traded company’s in-flight connectivity (IFC) business. Abts grew Viasat’s IFC biz into a “multi-hundred million dollar in annual […]
