Author: starpathwp-production
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SES and Eutelsat Detail Fleet Investments With IRIS² Contract Signing
The European Commission signed the contract on Monday for Europe’s IRIS² constellation with the group of companies tasked with delivering the constellation in the SpaceRISE consortium. The EC Director-General for Defence, Industry and Space, Timo Pesonen, signed the 12-year concession contract at a ceremony in Brussels on Dec. 16 with leadership from SES, Eutelsat, and…
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BepiColombo’s fifth flyby of Mercury reveals planet’s surface in mid-infrared light
The European Space Agency’s BepiColombo spacecraft recently performed its fifth flyby of Mercury on Dec. 1, becoming the first spacecraft ever to observe the planet in mid-infrared light. BepiColombo’s observations from the flyby have revealed interesting new details on the Mercury’s surface, including temperature and composition variations. BepiColombo is only the third mission to visit…
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Iridium Launches Certus 9704 Module for Advanced Satellite IoT Applications
Iridium Communications Inc., a provider of global voice and data satellite communications, launched the Iridium Certus 9704, its newest IoT module, and Iridium Certus 9704 Development Kit. This transformational new module, featuring Iridium Messaging Transport (IMT) technology, is the smallest and most powerful created by Iridium, ideal for supporting satellite IoT applications that require real-time…
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The Ground Segment’s Digital Shift Moves from Education to Implementation
The satellite communications industry is going through a transformative period. The current shift towards virtualization and digitization is leading to innovation, and a whole host of emerging technologies are pushing the boundaries of what is possible. As technological advancements reshape the satellite communications sector, the ground segment faces a transformative shift towards a virtualized model.…
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Post-ISS NASA might look very different than we expected
Next year we will pass the milestone of a quarter century of a continued human presence in space thanks to the International Space Station. Led by NASA’s efforts to lead in LEO, NASA plans to take the lead in the commercial space station market as well. However, NASA’s method might not be what we expect…
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SpaceX launches RRT-1 mission from Cape Canaveral
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket cruises by a nearly full Moon during the RRT-1 mission on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update 8:43 p.m. EST (0143 UTC): SpaceX landed the first stage booster on the droneship following liftoff. Against a cloudy Florida sky, SpaceX launched its latest Falcon 9 rocket with a…
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SWISSto12 Opens New Mission Command and Control Facility in Georgia
SWISSto12, Europe’s fastest-growing satellite company, has announced the opening of a new state-of-the-art command and control facility in Athens, Georgia, U.S.A. The new facility will oversee the launch and manage the orbit raise to the right position of SWISSto12’s geostationary small satellites before handover to the company’s customers. News of the Georgia facility follows an announcement in…
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NextPlat’s Outfitter Satellite Secures 3-Year Government Contract for Satellite Services
NextPlat Corp, a global e-commerce provider, announced that its US-based connectivity division, Outfitter Satellite Inc., has been awarded a three-year service contract from a US state government customer to provide satellite-enabled services. Under the terms of the contract, the Outfitter will provide satellite connectivity airtime service plans and hardware to the Customer in support of…
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Northrop Grumman’s Next-Gen Polar Missile-Warning Satellites Enters Manufacturing Phase
Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a contract extension for Phase 2 of its Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Polar (NGP) program from the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command. The multi-year award supports space vehicle (SV) manufacturing, assembly, integration, testing, and launch of two NGP satellites. Both NGP SVs will operate in Highly Elliptical Orbits…
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New ST Engineering iDirect Tech Enables Switching Between GEO and NGSO Satellites
ST Engineering iDirect has released a technology that enables tracking and switching between satellites in Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) and Non-Geosynchronous Orbit (NGSO). The feature is currently in on-orbit satellite testing with an unnamed major satellite operator, ST Engineering iDirect announced Dec. 10. The company said the breakthrough features a single tracking algorithm. This tracking algorithm…