Business

China Space Forum Wrap-Up

Last week, the seventh annual China Commercial Aerospace Forum (CCAF) convened in Wuhan, China. Leaders from China’s civil, commercial, and military sectors met to discuss the country’s ascendant space program—and positive spillovers in the private sector. State updates: China Aerospace Science & Industry Corp. (CASIC), the country’s state-owned aerospace company, hosted the forum. CASIC reps […]

BusinessCivil

Blue Origin Loses NASA Lawsuit over SpaceX $2.9B Lander Contract

ICYMI: Blue Origin has lost its federal lawsuit over NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) contract. Yesterday, Court of Federal Claims Judge Richard Hertling ruled against Blue Origin in its lawsuit against NASA. Hertling did not share many details in his 192-word statement. What happened? NASA initially intended to award two separate HLS moon lander contracts. Then, citing budgetary constraints, the agency […]

Business

Astra, Hughes Net, Inmarsat, Telesat, and Others File Constellation Applications

Astra, Hughes, Inmarsat, and Telesat filed plans yesterday with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to build satellite constellations in low-Earth orbit (LEO). The FCC parcels out and regulates radio frequency (RF) usage in the US.  Why all at once? A coincidence? But of course not. Yesterday was the deadline for the FCC’s new processing round for satellite V-band […]

BroadbandBusinessLaunch

Morgan Stanley Note Emphasizes SpaceX’s “Double Flywheel” of Starship, Starlink

Can anyone catch SpaceX? That’s the question posed by a Morgan Stanley Research team in a recent, updated note to investors. Spoiler alert: The analysts seem to believe the answer is no.  Payload read and digested the updated memo, which was first covered Tuesday by CNBC. For starters, the report is front-loaded with choice quotes from investors:  […]