Tag: Satellite
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Deep Space Industries will equip BlackSky satellites with water-spraying thrusters
Deep Space Industries’ Comet propulsion system uses water vapor as propellant. (DSI Illustration) California-based Deep Space Industries says it has signed a contract to provide water-spraying thrusters for the BlackSky Earth observation satellites that are due to be built in Seattle. The contract covers an initial block of 20 Comet water-based satellite propulsion systems. The…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches fifth batch of Iridium NEXT telecom satellites
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (SpaceX Photo) Another 10 next-generation Iridium telecommunications satellites were sent into orbit today aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This makes the fifth set of 10, out of a total of 75 that SpaceX…
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FCC approves SpaceX’s plan to provide broadband services with Starlink satellites
SpaceX’s two prototype Starlink satellites are seen on either side of their carrier in advance of February’s launch. (SpaceX via YouTube) The Federal Communications Commission says it has approved SpaceX’s application to provide broadband internet access via thousands of Starlink satellites — a new breed of spacecraft that’s currently under development at the company’s…
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Boeing HorizonX joins $15M funding round for Australia’s Myriota IoT satellite venture
Myriota makes use of a satellite-based communications system to monitor Internet of Things devices. (Myriota via YouTube) Boeing’s HorizonX venture capital arm has made its first investment outside the U.S., as part of a $15 million Series A funding round for an Australian satellite-based IoT startup called Myriota. Myriota makes use of low-power micro-transmitters to…
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Jeff Bezos and National Reconnaissance Office talk about space and innovation
Betty Sapp, director of the National Reconnaissance Office, sits in on a chat with Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon and Blue Origin. (NRO via Twitter) Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos paid a visit to the National Reconnaissance Office this week — which fits right in with his plan to participate in national security space missions…
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Built to take a beating: Kymeta introduces portable KyWay Go satellite data terminal
The KyWay Go satellite terminal system is designed to be set up within four minutes. (Kymeta Photo) Redmond, Wash.-based Kymeta Corp., the communications company backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, says it’s starting to roll out a ruggedized portable terminal that’s designed to be set up for satellite links within four minutes. “Commercial and government…
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Spaceflight Industries firms up European satellite alliance and $150M funding round
Workers assemble BlackSky’s Global-1 Earth observation satellite. (BlackSky via YouTube) It’s official: After receiving all government approvals, a French-Italian joint venture has taken a minority stake in Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries as part of a $150 million funding round. The French and Italian partners in The Space Alliance, Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio, have also joined…
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FCC stings Swarm Technologies after an unauthorized launch of tiny satellites
India’s PSLV rocket lifts off in January, carrying controversial satellites into orbit. (ISRO Photo) A stealthy California startup called Swarm Technologies is facing the wrath of the Federal Communications Commission after its super-miniaturized satellites were launched without proper authorization. The flap was first reported last Friday in IEEE Spectrum. It all started when Swarm Technologies…
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Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin strikes satellite launch deal with Japan’s Sky Perfect JSAT
Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith and founder Jeff Bezos meet with Sky Perfect JSAT CEO Shinji Takada and other executives. (Blue Origin Photo via Twitter) Blue Origin, the space venture founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, says it has signed up Japan’s Sky Perfect JSAT for a satellite launch to geostationary orbit in the 2020s.…
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BlackSky shows off first next-generation Global satellite for Earth observation
An artist’s conception shows BlackSky’s Global satellites in orbit. (BlackSky Illustration) Spaceflight Industries’ BlackSky geospatial intelligence service is taking the wraps off its first operational satellite, Global-1, which will blaze the trail for what’s expected to be a 60-satellite Earth observation constellation. The Seattle-based venture plans to have four of the Global satellites launched within…