LEO
Stories about operations in low-Earth orbit.
OneWeb and SpaceX Sign Launch Services Agreement
In an absolute plot-twist of a partnership, OneWeb and SpaceX have let bygones be bygones and signed a launch services agreement. OneWeb had an outstanding agreement with Roscosmos through European launcher Arianespace to launch aboard Soyuz rockets. But those satellites became stranded amid sanctions and rising tensions between the West and Russia. A batch of…
Starlink App Sees Downloads Spike in Ukraine
SpaceX has trucked in Starlink terminals to Ukraine to keep the country online during the ongoing war. Over 5,000 terminals are in the country, the Washington Post reported over the weekend. Tesla has complemented these efforts by supplying battery storage systems that can power Starlink dishes, per an internal company email seen by CNBC. SpaceX…
MDA Is Sharing Satellite Imagery with Kyiv
Image: MDA MDA, a Canadian satellite developer and geospatial analytics provider, announced Tuesday that it is supplying satellite imagery to Ukraine. The move follows a similar announcement the same day from Satellogic and Astraea. In a statement, MDA said it “secured special authorization” from the Canadian government “to collect synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite imagery over…
Tomorrow.io SPAC Called Off
Pine Technology Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:PTOC) and Tomorrow.io (née ClimaCell) have called off their SPAC merger, the two said yesterday. $PTOC closed the day down ~1.4%. Announced Dec. 7, the transaction was expected to give the weather forecasting company (and nascent constellation developer) a $1.2B post-deal valuation, while providing Tomorrow.io with up to $420M in gross…
LEO Megaconstellations Are…Dual-Use?
From rocket engines to Earth-observing satellites to the ISS, seemingly no element of space has been spared from rapidly rising geopolitical and off-world tensions between Russia and the West. LEO internet megaconstellations in buildout phase are no exception to this rule. ICYMI Let’s start with OneWeb. Russia sought assurances that OneWeb internet satellites wouldn’t be used for military purposes, with…
Opinion: Protecting the Future of the ISS
The ISS is the most expensive object ever built by humanity, and the largest scientific and engineering collaboration the world has ever witnessed. The space station treaty, signed Jan. 29, 1998 by the EU, the US, Russia, Canada, and Japan, represented a new era of cooperation that ushered in significant scientific and technological breakthroughs for…
E-Space Announces $50M in Seed Funding
On Monday, E-Space came right out of the gate with ambitious mega-constellation aspirations. The startup has raised a $50M seed from Prime Movers Lab, which it says will fully fund two “beta” satellite test batches, launching in March and then the end of 2022. E-Space also claims that mass production is set to begin in…
Blue Origin, Sierra Space to Partner on Orbital Reef Outpost
Blue Origin and Sierra Space will build the Orbital Reef outpost in low-Earth (LEO), the two announced in Dubai yesterday. Blue and Sierra are partnering with Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University on the private space station. Each organization brings a unique skillset to the table. Genesis, for example, will contribute a…
Nanoracks, Lockheed Set Sights on 2027 Starlab Station Launch
ICYMI: Nanoracks and Lockheed Martin have announced a partnership to develop and launch Starlab, a free-flying commercial space station in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Nanoracks, which is majority owned by Voyager Space Holdings, expects Starlab to “achieve initial operational capability” by 2027. The continuously crewed station will double as a research site and commercial hub. Commercial use cases could manufacturing…
