Tag: satellites
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China’s Commercial Space Sector: 2026 Mid-Year Review
China maintained a high launch cadence in the first half of 2026, while its commercial space sector built on the growth momentum of 2025 and continued to strengthen its industrial fundamentals. By the end of June, China had conducted 44 space launches and placed a total of 223 satellites into their designated orbits. The commercial…
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AI plus IP: Sophia Space and Caltech secure a patent for orbital data centers that use passive cooling
An artist’s conception shows a data center satellite that makes use of Sophia Space’s tile-based architecture. (Sophia Space Illustration) Sophia Space has secured a patent for a technology that could pave the way for solar-powered orbital data centers that passively radiate excess heat into space. Developed in partnership with Caltech, Sophia’s architecture tackles a major…
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China’s Commercial Space Industry Reaches Its “TEMU Moment”
Satellites have traditionally been among the world’s most expensive assets. Building, launching, and operating a spacecraft often required investments measured in millions of dollars, limiting access to governments, military organizations, and large corporations. China’s commercial space industry is now attempting to change that equation. Driven by automated manufacturing, expanding launch capacity, and large-scale satellite production,…
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Pulse Space wins $40M contract from Space Force to work on space laser power system
An artist’s conception shows a satellite receiving energy from a laser beam. (Credit: Pulse Space via Vimeo) Bellevue, Wash.-based Pulse Space says it has received a $40 million award from the U.S. Space Force to develop technologies for laser-based power beaming and orbital tracking systems. The startup, founded in 2022, is working on a system…
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Amazon Leo says its latest launch gives it enough satellites to start broadband internet service
An Atlas 5 rocket lifts off from its Florida launch pad, sending 29 Amazon Leo satellites into orbit. (United Launch Alliance Photo) Amazon says the overnight launch of 29 satellites should clear the way for its Amazon Leo network to start offering commercial high-speed internet service from space this year, in direct competition with SpaceX’s…
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K2 Space sets up an engineering office in the Seattle area to support big plans for big satellites
Engineers prepare a high-power satellite for testing at K2 Space’s manufacturing facility in Torrance, Calif. (K2 Space via PRNewswire) California-based K2 Space is establishing a satellite engineering hub in the Seattle area, adding to a thriving regional ecosystem of satellite ventures. The Pacific Northwest operation will support the company’s drive to build large, high-power satellites…
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Founders on the frontiers of space and robotics show off their gadgets and tell the stories behind them
Carbon Robotics CEO Paul Mikesell talks about his company’s LaserWeeder system with a model of Starfish Space’s Otter Pup spacecraft sitting on the table in the foreground. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) Four founders of companies on the tech frontier got together this week at a Seattle conference for a show-and-tell about the hardware at…
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Blue Origin readies New Glenn rocket to launch 48 Amazon Leo satellites after FAA clearance
New Glenn rockets are being processed inside Blue Origin’s Florida facility. (Blue Origin Photo) Five weeks after experiencing its first launch failure, Kent, Wash.-based Blue Origin is getting ready to put its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket back in service to launch 48 satellites into low Earth orbit for the growing Amazon Leo constellation. The mission,…
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TerraByte raises the curtain on its campaign to use AI to unleash the power of geospatial data
A screenshot of TerraByte’s software platform pinpoints cargo ships, warehouses, solar farms, mining sites and areas of deforestation. One complex query generated more than 2,000 results that can be further filtered. Click on the image for a larger version. (Credit: TerraByte AI) A stealthy Seattle startup called TerraByte AI is unveiling a software platform that…
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Amazon Leo’s leaders provide an inside look at the satellite broadband network’s past and future
Rajeev Badyal, vice president of Amazon Leo, discusses Amazon’s plans for satellite broadband services while Chris Weber, Amazon Leo’s vice president of business and product, looks on during the Technology Alliance’s State of Technology Luncheon in Seattle. (GeekWire Photo / Brian M. Westbrook) Amazon Leo is still months away from the commercial launch of its…