Anyone in the market for an FCC satellite license? A federal judge has ordered that a financially underwater company be stripped of its most prized asset: its FCC license. The backstory: Creditors sued Theia Group to recover hundreds of millions they loaned to the six-year-old satellite developer. Per its website, Theia seeks (sought?) to develop “the only […]
Yesterday, the Biden White House outlined space priorities and held its first National Space Council (NSpC) meeting. The three themes: using Earth observation (EO) data to mitigate climate change, creating global space norms, and promoting STEM education. Top of mind for NSpC: Collaboration with industry on climate change initiatives. VP Kamala Harris and others singled out EO satellite […]
This morning, the US House Committee on Science, Space and Technology is holding a hearing on Astro2020. The decadal survey on astronomy and astrophysics is sponsored by NASA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Department of Energy (DoE). On the docket for 2023-2033: a large infrared/optical/ultraviolet (IR/O/UV) space telescope and a few new powerful ground-based telescopes. The long […]
Yesterday, the NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report on the agency’s management of the ISS. OIG’s findings underscore the high stakes riding on success with the Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program. CLD will support the development of one or more private space stations that could replace the ISS once it is decommissioned […]
SpaceX could face a “genuine risk” of going bankrupt if it doesn’t iron out kinks in Starship Raptor engine production, Elon Musk reportedly told employees in an email seen by Space Explored. As CNBC reported, SpaceX propulsion and mission/launch operations recently had leadership shakeups. If SpaceX can’t reliably, cost-effectively make enough Raptors, it can’t attain a “Starship flight […]
The FCC is in the process of repurposing chunks of mid-band spectrum to accelerate 5G network rollouts. In the US, satellite operators have historically occupied the C-band, a key mid-band chunk. Long story short, those leases are up. Dec. 5 represents a key deadline for C-band satellite operators. If they clear a predetermined portion of […]
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 […]
India recently instructed citizens to refrain from signing up for SpaceX’s Starlink service. The catalyst: On Friday, India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) tweeted that it noticed Starlink presales are open to potential users in Indian territory. The hang-up: SpaceX needs a DoT license to operate the high-speed, satellite-based broadband internet service in India—and accept Starlink pre-orders. The backstory: India’s DoT has been scrutinizing Starlink […]
NASA is set to launch its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday. The mission will slam a spacecraft into an asteroid, hoping to knock it slightly off its orbit. A bit more detail: NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office contracted the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) to build DART. APL […]
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) successfully completed its 22nd launch, “Love At First Insight,” with Electron last week. The rocket transported two BlackSky Earth observation satellites to orbit, bringing Rocket Lab’s satellite launch total to 107. With a twist: Love at First Insight involved a controlled splashdown of the rocket’s first stage. Rocket Lab stationed a helicopter […]
Denver-based Voyager Space has a new deal in the works. Yesterday, the holding company said it intends to buy a majority stake in Space Micro, a San Diego-based satellite subsystem maker. The wheeling and dealing is becoming routine—Space Micro is Voyager’s sixth acquisition since it spun up in Oct. 2019. How’s that for flight heritage? Space Micro, started in […]
Astra (NASDAQ: ASTR) successfully reached orbit Saturday. The small launcher’s LV0007 vehicle lifted off from a Kodiak, AK, spaceport, with a dummy payload for the US Space Force. “The team’s worked so hard on this for so many years,” Astra cofounder CEO Chris Kemp said on NASASpaceflight’s launch livestream. “We’re just getting started, folks,” he tweeted. LV0008, LV0009, […]
