Tag: Satellite
-
Spaceflight and Tethers Unlimited team up on deorbiting system for satellite carrier
An artist’s conception shows Spaceflight’s Sherpa-FX, the first orbital transfer vehicle to debut in the company’s Sherpa-NG (next generation) program. The vehicle is capable of executing multiple deployments, as well as providing independent and detailed deployment telemetry. (Spaceflight Inc. Illustration) Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. says it’ll use a notebook-sized deorbiting system developed by another Seattle-area company…
-
Air Force goes with BlackSky’s Spectra AI platform to track impact of COVID-19
A satellite image of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport reveals an unusually high number of parked airplanes (identified in yellow boxes) and an unusually low number of parked cars. That’s consistent with what would be expected during the COVID-19 pandemic. (BlackSky Photo) BlackSky, a satellite data venture with offices in Seattle, says it’s won a U.S.…
-
FCC chief seeks conditional approval for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband satellite network
Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, speaks at CES 2020 in Las Vegas in January. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota) The Federal Communications Commission’s chairman, Ajit Pai, says he’s proposing approval of Amazon’s plan to put more than 3,200 satellites into low Earth orbit for a broadband internet constellation known as Project Kuiper…
-
British-Indian team puts in a winning $1B bid for OneWeb satellite broadband venture
An artist’s conception shows OneWeb’s satellites circling the globe. (OneWeb Illustration) Update for 12:20 p.m. Nov. 20: OneWeb has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a new CEO, Neil Masterson, who was formerly co-chief operating officer at Thomson Reuters. The British government announced the completion of OneWeb’s acquisition in partnership with Bharti Global. Previously: The…
-
Amazon Web Services is creating its very own space force for cloud computing
AWS Ground Station makes use of satellite ground stations. (AWS Photo) Amazon Web Services today unveiled a new business unit devoted to developing data infrastructure and cloud services for the aerospace and satellite industry — and headed by someone who helped set up the U.S. Space Force. The Aerospace and Satellite Solutions business segment will…
-
Relativity makes deals with Vandenberg AFB and Iridium for California launches
An artist’s conception shows Relativity Space’s Terran 1 rocket lifting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (Relativity Space Illustration) Relativity Space, a startup that was born in Seattle but grew up in Los Angeles, says it has signed an agreement to develop launch facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and a…
-
Tethers Unlimited delivers software-defined radios to Millennium Space for satellite constellation
The SWIFT-SLX radio is a compact, affordable software-defined radio designed to provide S-band and L-band communications for small satellites. (Tethers Unlimited Photo) Bothell, Wash.-based Tethers Unlimited says it has completed an on-time delivery of 15 S-band software-defined radios in support of a small-satellite constellation mission being developed by Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing subsidiary. In…
-
LeoStella confirms delivery of BlackSky’s Earth observation satellites for SpaceX launch
In a photo from 2019, LeoStella technicians work on the first satellite to be produced by the Tukwila, Wash.-based joint venture. (GeekWire Photo) Tukwila, Wash.-based LeoStella cast a spotlight today on the delivery of its first two built-from-scratch satellites for the BlackSky Earth-watching constellation — with their launch on a SpaceX rocket set for Thursday.…
-
SpaceX sends Starlink and Planet satellites to orbit in a new kind of piggyback launch
SpaceX today launched dozens more of its Starlink broadband internet satellites, plus three piggyback satellites for Planet — marking the first of the company’s in-house rideshare deliveries to orbit. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 5:21 a.m. ET (2:21 a.m. PT), just 10 days after the…
-
Japanese firms finish acquisition of Spaceflight, with BlackSky satellite venture going its own way
One of Spaceflight’s most notable projects was the launch of 64 satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in December 2018. (SpaceX Photo) Japan’s Mitsui & Co., working in partnership with Yamasa Co. Ltd., has completed the acquisition of Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. from its parent company, Spaceflight Industries. Today’s announcement of the transaction’s completion follows…