Tag: Satellite
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Intelsat-OneWeb satellite merger falls apart due to doubts about debt swap
The OneWeb satellite venture says it has terminated its deal for a mega-merger with Intelsat because not enough of Intelsat’s bondholders agreed to a debt swap. The deal would have been facilitated by a $1.7 billion investment from Softbank, but it was contingent on a go-ahead from at least 85 percent of the bondholders. In…
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SpaceX to launch first homegrown satellite this year, plans broadband network in 2019
SpaceX plans to launch its own satellites on Falcon 9 rockets, like the one shown here lifting off from NASA’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida. (SpaceX Photo) SpaceX has laid out its latest schedule for the satellite broadband service it’s developing in the Seattle area, starting with the launch of a prototype satellite by the…
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Spaceflight Industries unveils BlackSky Spectra for multispectral satellite imaging
An image from BlackSky Spectra displays visible-light imagery, synthetic aperture radar readings and infrared data over Panama City and the Miraflores Locks. The imagery comes from Airbus Pléiades, Airbus TerraSAR-X and USGS Landsat. (Spaceflight Industries Photo) Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries lifted the curtain on another satellite imaging service today: BlackSky Spectra, a Web-based platform that knits…
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It’s another first for SpaceX! Previously launched Falcon 9 rocket lifts off and lands a second time
SpaceX’s first reflown Falcon 9 booster rises from its Florida launch pad. (SpaceX Photo) Today SpaceX did something it’s never done before: reusing a Falcon 9 rocket booster that’s already been launched and landed. The Falcon 9 mission to send the SES-10 communications satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit lifted off at 6:27 p.m. ET (3:27…
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RBC Signals raises $1.5 million in seed round for satellite data delivery service
RBC Signals knits together a network of antennas at sites around the world. (GSA Illustration) Seattle-based RBC Signals says it’s raised $1.5 million from investors around the world, providing a boost for its plans to knit together a network of ground stations for receiving satellite data. San Francisco-based Bee Partners said it was a lead investor…
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After delay, SpaceX launches EchoStar satellite – but forgoes rocket landing
The launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lights up the night at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. (SpaceX via YouTube) For the second time in a week, weather worries caused a delay in SpaceX’s launch of the EchoStar 23 communications satellite – but this time, liftoff took place less than a half-hour later than…
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SpaceX postpones launch of EchoStar communications satellite due to high winds
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket stands on its pad at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in preparation for sending the EchoStar 23 satellite into orbit. (SpaceX Photo) High winds have forced SpaceX to postpone its launch of the EchoStar 23 communications satellite, a mission requiring so much oomph that the company won’t even try landing…
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Google patent filing hints at how SpaceX’s satellite broadband network could work
The satellite coverage scheme described in a patent application envisions two sets of satellites orbiting in different inclinations at different altitudes. (PatentYogi via YouTube) When it comes to providing global broadband internet coverage, two satellite constellations in low Earth orbit are better than one. At least that’s the implication of a patent application filed by…
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Virgin Orbit satellite launch spin-off created with ex-Boeing exec at the helm
An artist’s conception shows Virgin Orbit’s carrier airplane, Cosmic Girl, deploying a LauncherOne rocket for a high-altitude orbital launch. (Virgin Galactic Illustration) Virgin Galactic says it’s spinning off its satellite launch operation, including the LauncherOne rocket development program, as a new commercial space company called Virgin Orbit. The newly created company’s first president, Dan Hart,…
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SoftBank puts $1.7B into Intelsat merger with OneWeb satellite internet venture
An artist’s conception shows a OneWeb satellite in orbit. (OneWeb Illustration) Intelsat and OneWeb today laid out plans for a mega-merger aimed at bolstering their satellite internet services, with a $1.7 billion investment boost from SoftBank. The arrangement is a head-turner, due to the complicated conditions of the deal as well as its ambitious objective.…