Satellites

A collection of 111 posts

Markets

UAE Grants Starlink 10-Year Satellite Broadband Licence

The UAE's Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority has granted Elon Musk's Starlink Satellite Communications LLC a 10-year General Space Services License to provide broadband satellite internet services across the country. The licence, announced alongside Starlink's commercial entry into the UAE market, authorises

Policy

SpaceX Petitions FCC to Block Viasat-3 F2 Satellite Over Starlink Interference

SpaceX has asked the Federal Communications Commission to reverse its approval of Viasat's new Viasat-3 F2 satellite, warning it will cause severe interference to Starlink. The Friday petition targets a satellite scheduled to enter service next month, arguing Viasat has failed for years to reach a required

Markets

Pentagon Awards SpaceX Fleet Contract to Put Starshield on Military Aircraft

The Space Force has awarded SpaceX a fleet-level service contract to expand use of its Starshield satellite network aboard military aircraft, extending the government-focused system beyond ground terminals and into airborne platforms. The award, posted August 25 by the Space Force's Commercial Space Office, covers satellite

Satellites

NBN Co Pushes Next-Generation Satellite Launch to Mid-2027

NBN Co has confirmed its next-generation satellite internet plans will not be available until after the middle of 2027, well beyond the fourth-quarter 2026 launch it originally planned. The service is intended to give regional and remote Australians access to newer satellite connectivity and eventually replace the current

Satellites

Zelenskyy Awards Musk Ukraine's Order of Freedom Amid Push for Starlink Drone-Strike Access

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded Elon Musk the Order of Freedom, a major Ukrainian state honor reserved for strategic partners. The award arrives as Kyiv actively lobbies Musk to allow its forces to use the Starlink mobile internet system to guide drone strikes inside Russian territory. The recognition places

Launch

China Flies Seven Satellites on Long March-6C in Commercial Space Push

China launched seven satellites aboard a Long March-6C rocket this week, adding to a growing cadence of missions tied to the country's expanding commercial space sector. The flight underscores the maturing of Chinese commercial launch infrastructure beyond state-only operations. The launch forms part of a broader

Satellites

Russia's Starlink Rival Falters as Satellites Fail and Rocket Plant Is Hit

Russia's plan to field a domestic alternative to Starlink is running into serious trouble, with one Rassvet-3 communications satellite already lost and two more potentially heading toward atmospheric reentry. The setbacks come as a Ukrainian missile strike on the plant that builds the program's launch

Satellites

Starlink Collision-Avoidance Files Yield First Real-Data Map of Thermospheric Density at 482 Kilometres

A researcher has turned one week of SpaceX's publicly posted Starlink orbit files into a map of atmospheric density at 482 kilometres altitude, drawn by latitude and longitude. Mamoru Yamamoto of Kyoto University's Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere believes it is the first time the technique,

Satellites

Beyond Reach Unveils Flarewing Deployable Structures for High-Power Small Satellites

Beyond Reach Technologies on Aug. 24 announced Flarewing, a line of rigid deployable structures designed to let small satellites carry large solar arrays that stow tightly for launch. The company says the technology could enable spacecraft to generate as much as 200 kilowatts of power. The concept traces back to

Markets

Shanghai Spacecom Closes $1.94 Billion Series B for Sovereign LEO Broadband Network

Chinese state-owned satellite operator Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology closed a 7 billion yuan, or $1.94 billion, Series B financing round on August 21, 2026. The capital injection values the commercial satellite company at approximately $6.96 billion and ranks among the largest private capital raises in China'

Markets

Chinese RF Sensing Startup StarRF Closes Pre-A+ Round Led by Provincial Investor

StarRF, a Tianjin-based startup building an orbital constellation to detect and geolocate radio-frequency emissions, has closed a Pre-A+ funding round as China's commercial space sector expands. The company, formally named Xingkan Jiuzhou Technology, announced the round on Aug. 21, marking further growth for space-based

Launch

SpaceX Reaches 100 Falcon Launches for 2026 With Latest Starlink Flight

SpaceX launched its 100th Falcon mission of 2026 on August 22, sending 27 Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The company reached the century mark before the end of August, putting it on pace to well exceed 100 missions by year's end.

Markets

Starcloud Adds $250 Million to Series A at $2.3 Billion Valuation as Launch Capacity Tightens

Starcloud, a startup building satellites that perform AI inference in orbit, has added a $250 million extension to its March Series A round, lifting its valuation to $2.3 billion. The company plans to use the capital to open a larger manufacturing facility and secure scarce launch capacity as the

Satellites

Starlink Seeks India Clearance for 30,000-Satellite Gen 2 Fleet With Direct-to-Device

Starlink has reapplied to India's space regulator for approval of its Gen 2 satellite constellation, seeking authorization for nearly 30,000 satellites in low Earth orbit. The application includes direct-to-device connectivity, positioning the company to enter one of the world's largest and most contested

Markets

Muon Space Raises $250 Million Series C to Scale Satellite Constellation Production

Muon Space has closed a $250 million Series C financing, bringing its total equity funding to more than $386 million. The oversubscribed round will accelerate production of large-scale satellite constellations and expand the company's dual-use spacecraft platforms amid rising demand from commercial, government, and international sovereign

Markets

Intuitive Machines Backs Maxar Deal With $600 Million Satellite Order and Data Center Ambitions

Intuitive Machines' $853.3-million acquisition of large-satellite builder Maxar Space Systems is gaining strategic coherence following a $600-million order for three geostationary-orbit satellites and emerging plans for an orbital data center capability. The company was also separately selected by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Defense

Space Force to Extend Aging DMSP Weather Satellites Through at Least 2028

The Space Force will keep its aging military weather satellite fleet operational until at least 2028 as it works to field a new replacement architecture. The decision reflects a gap between the retirement of legacy systems and the arrival of their successors, a gap the service is now managing directly.

Markets

Airtel Africa and Starlink Launch Continent's First Commercial Direct-to-Device Satellite Service

Airtel Africa has launched Africa's first commercial direct-to-device satellite service in partnership with Starlink, allowing standard mobile phones to connect directly to satellites without a ground terminal. The service, announced August 18, 2026, marks a commercial milestone for direct-to-device connectivity on the continent. The

Policy

FCC Clears AST SpaceMobile to Test 800 MHz Satellite Connectivity

AST SpaceMobile has received temporary authorization from the FCC to test satellite connectivity in the 800 MHz band. The clearance opens the door for the company to evaluate a lower-frequency spectrum that offers better building penetration than the higher bands it has tested before. The 800 MHz band matters

Launch

China Presses Ahead With Guowang Launch Days After Long March 7A Failure

China launched a fresh batch of Guowang megaconstellation satellites aboard a Long March 12 rocket early on August 16, followed hours later by a Long March 2C mission carrying a developmental Earth observation satellite for the United Arab Emirates. The Long March 12 success came less than a week after

Markets

Lynk and Omnispace Complete Merger, Rebrand as Elveo Mobile to Expand Direct-to-Device Services

Lynk Global has completed its merger with Omnispace and rebranded as Elveo Mobile, adding globally coordinated S-band spectrum to expand direct-to-device satellite services beyond basic messaging. The companies said Aug. 17 they had cleared all U.S. and foreign regulatory approvals needed to close the transaction, which

Defense

Viasat Taps Rocket Lab to Build Anti-Jam GEO Satellite for Space Force Tactical Comms Program

Viasat has selected Rocket Lab to build a geosynchronous satellite bus for the U.S. Space Force's Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global program, the two companies announced on August 17, 2026. The maneuverable, anti-jam spacecraft is intended to deliver secure communications for national security missions in contested environments.

Markets

Intuitive Machines Books $600 Million Order for Three GEO Communications Satellites

Intuitive Machines won a $600 million contract from an undisclosed customer to build three geostationary orbit communications satellites, the company disclosed August 13 in its second quarter earnings results. The award, signed in June, marks a substantial commercial win for a company best known for its lunar landers. Intuitive Machines

Satellites

Astranis Moves Into Space Surveillance With New Perceptor Satellite

Astranis unveiled Perceptor on Aug. 13, a spacecraft designed to monitor, inspect and maneuver around other objects in geostationary orbit. The satellite marks the San Francisco-based manufacturer's push beyond broadband communications into the market for space domain awareness. Astranis has built its business around microGEO satellites, small

Markets

Rocket Lab Clears Antitrust Review and Files S-4 in Push to Acquire Iridium

Rocket Lab Corporation cleared several major milestones in its proposed acquisition of Iridium Communications, including the expiration of the U.S. antitrust waiting period, the filing of a registration statement with securities regulators, and applications to transfer Iridium's licenses. The company also detailed a capital strategy to finance