Tag: megaconstellation
-
Amazon Files for 5,105-Satellite D2D Constellation
Is Amazon Building a Separate D2D Megaconstellation on Globalstar Spectrum? 5,105 satellites. That is the scale of the Direct-to-Device (D2D) satellite constellation Amazon has formally filed with the FCC under the name "Amazon Leo," operating in spectrum the company intends to acquire through its pending Globalstar deal. The filing, reported by Via Satellite on July…
-
A Million Satellites Could Create a Visible Ring Around Earth
Will Orbital Data Centers Create a Permanent Artificial Ring Around Earth? More than a million data center satellites and 50,000 space mirrors, if launched as currently proposed, would concentrate into a single orbital plane visible as a luminous band spanning the entire sky — brighter than any star or planet, and according to researchers, potentially…
-
Reflect Orbital Clears FCC for First Space Mirror Launch
Is Reflect Orbital’s Space Mirror Constellation Legal to Launch? California-based startup Reflect Orbital has received a license from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch and operate its first demonstration satellite, Eärendil-1 — a spacecraft designed to unfurl a reflective surface measuring approximately 18 meters (60 feet) on a side. The license, announced July…
-
FCC Greenlights Reflect Orbital’s 18m Sun Mirror Sat
Does the FCC Have Authority to Regulate Space-Based Sunlight Mirrors? The FCC said no — and on July 9, it formally authorized Eärendil-1, Reflect Orbital’s 142-kilogram demonstrator satellite equipped with an 18-meter-per-side thin-film reflector designed to bounce sunlight onto nighttime regions of Earth. The spacecraft is planned for launch later this year into a low…
-
ULA’s last six Atlas Vs can’t launch anything besides Boeing’s Starliner
The final flight of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket is still several years off, but an important era for the once-dominant launch company came to a close last week. The final flight of an Atlas V for the Amazon Leo broadband constellation lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 12:30…
-
Atlas 5 Ends Satellite Launches with 29 Amazon Leo Sats
Did the Atlas 5 Just Fly Its Last Satellite Mission? Yes — and it went out with a clean record. An Atlas 5 551 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 12:30 a.m. Eastern on July 2, 2026, deploying 29 Amazon Leo satellites beginning 21 minutes after liftoff and completing the full deployment…
-
Aerospace Corp Study Questions Super Heavy Lift Economics
Does Super Heavy Lift Actually Lower Launch Costs Per Kilogram? A new Aerospace Corporation report released June 29 challenges the core economic assumption driving the super heavy lift rocket race: that bigger always means cheaper per kilogram to orbit. The report warns that beyond a certain threshold — which it deliberately does not quantify —…
-
China Launches 18 Qianfan Satellites as Zhuque-2E Returns to Flight
How many Qianfan satellites did China launch in its latest expansion? China successfully deployed 18 new satellites to its Qianfan megaconstellation via Long March 6A, while Landspace returned to flight with its upgraded Zhuque-2E rocket on May 14, 2026. The dual missions mark significant progress for both China’s state broadband constellation program and its commercial…
-
Another Jeff Bezos company has announced plans to develop a megaconstellation
The announcement came out of the blue, from Blue, on Wednesday. The space company founded by Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin, said it was developing a new megaconstellation named TeraWave to deliver data speeds of up to 6Tbps anywhere on Earth. The constellation will consist of 5,408 optically interconnected satellites, with a majority in low-Earth orbit…
-
China’s Guowang megaconstellation is more than another version of Starlink
US defense officials have long worried that China’s Guowang satellite network might give the Chinese military access to the kind of ubiquitous connectivity US forces now enjoy with SpaceX’s Starlink network. It turns out the Guowang constellation could offer a lot more than a homemade Chinese alternative to Starlink’s high-speed consumer-grade broadband service. China has…