Launch Readiness Review completedThe Launch Readiness Review (LRR) is GO for Thursday’s liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with another batch of production satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper constellation. The mission is planned to lift off on Thurs., Sept. 25, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, […]
L-3 ULA Update: GO! for launch of Atlas V Kuiper 3 mission
SES’s acquisition of Intelsat creates a global multi-orbit connectivity powerhouse
SES, a leading space solutions company, today announced the completion of its highly value accretive acquisition of Intelsat, creating a strengthened global satellite operator with an expanded fleet of 120 satellites across two orbits. The newly combined company will leverage its skilled teams with deep vertical expertise to deliver integrated multi-orbit, multi-band satellite and connectivity […]
INNOSPACE signs multi-launch service contract with Germany’s Media Broadcast Satellite (MBS)
INNOSPACE (KS:462350) has signed a multi-launch service contract worth $5.8 million with Media Broadcast Satellite GmbH (“MBS”) in Germany. Under the agreement, INNOSPACE will carry out two HANBIT launch missions to deploy MBS satellites into LEO, with one launch in 2026 and the other planned by 2028. In both launch missions, MBS satellites will serve […]
SpaceX launches and lands NROL-48 on secret mission in dense fog from California on Monday
On Monday, September 22 at 10:38 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 launched the NROL-48 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The are satellites built with Northrop Grumman on commercial Starlink buses with military-grade payloads for national security “Having hundreds of NRO satellites on orbit is vital to […]
Rocket Lab’s 2 Mars-bound spacecraft arrive in Florida ahead of their launch
Rocket Lab Corporation (Nasdaq: RKLB) has delivered two Explorer-class spacecraft to Kennedy Space Flight Center for NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission, in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory. Last year Rocket Lab completed the design, build, integration, and testing of the twin spacecraft, named Blue and […]
Forrester’s Digest: Starlink ups plans to 44,988 satellites
SpaceX has filed a formal application to te Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to launch thousands of extra satellites into very low Earth orbit (VLEO). The scheme will take some time to implement but suggests that Starlink would then be able to manage greater coverage of its direct-to-consumer connectivity. Starlink already has about 650 […]
Sandia + Los Alamos: Space-based nuclear detonation detection mission endures
Roughly 12,550 miles above Earth, a constellation of U.S. global positioning satellites orbits the planet. GPS satellites also carry a sophisticated system designed to detect above ground nuclear detonations anytime, anywhere. The Global Burst Detection system, developed by Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories, carries a suite of sensors and instruments capable of identifying signals […]
Europe’s reusable rocket prototype Themis is installed on its launch pad
Since its arrival at Sweden’s Esrange Space Center in June, ArianeGroup teams have completed the integration of the Themis prototype, which was then transferred to the Launch Zone and erected on its launch pad. This milestone marks the beginning of the ‘combined tests,’ during which the interface between Themis and the launch pad’s mechanical, electrical […]
SpaceX sends Starlink Group 10-27 smallsats from Florida
On Sunday, September 21 at 6:53 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched 28 Starlink smallsats to low-Earth orbit to join the Starlink constellation from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This was the 11th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-9, RRT-1, Firefly […]
Pakistan halts broadband direct-from satellite
India has been reported to be slowing down its permissions for the likes of Starlink, OneWeb, Kuiper and SES/Jio to start services. Now it seems Pakistan – no friend of India – is also stuck in what has been described as “bureaucratic limbo”. Evidently, various Pakistani federal institutions are creating obstacles, stalling the companies’ plans […]