Tag: satellites
-
BlackSky satellite data venture makes a $1.5B deal to go public in SPAC merger
An artist’s conception shows BlackSky’s Global satellites in orbit. (BlackSky Illustration) BlackSky Holdings, which is operating a growing fleet of Earth observation satellites as well as a cloud-based platform to analyze geospatial data, says it will become a publicly traded company through a blank-check merger valued at nearly $1.5 billion. The agreement with Osprey Technology…
-
SpaceX’s Elon Musk and Amazon’s Project Kuiper stir up a war of words over satellites
The rivalry between SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is back in the news. (Musk Photo: TED via YouTube; Bezos Photo: GeekWire / Kevin Lisota) SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Amazon’s Project Kuiper escalated a different kind of Star Wars today, over the orbital parameters for their rival satellite constellations. Musk complained…
-
SpaceX puts record 143 satellites in orbit, with Spaceflight playing a supporting role
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rises from its launch pad with 143 satellites on board. (SpaceX via YouTube) SpaceX set a record for the number of satellites sent into orbit by a single rocket, and that’s not the only milestone reached during today’s Transporter-1 mission. The Falcon 9 rocket launch also marked the orbital debut of…
-
Virgin Orbit sends 10 satellites to orbit, building on Paul Allen’s air-launch legacy
LauncherOne lights up its rocket engine after its release from a carrier airplane. (Virgin Orbit Photo) Eight months after an unsuccessful first attempt, Virgin Orbit finally lived up to its name today and used an innovative air-launch system to put 10 satellites in orbit. With backing from British billionaire Richard Branson, Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne system…
-
Korean tech conglomerate will invest $30M in Gates-backed Kymeta antenna venture
Kymeta’s next-generation antenna can fit on top of a vehicle to provide hybrid cellular-satellite connectivity. (Kymeta Photo) Hanwha Systems, a smart-technology company headquartered in South Korea, has agreed to make an $30 million investment in Redmond, Wash.-based Kymeta Corp. — with an eye toward getting a foothold in the market for antennas capable of linking…
-
Project Kuiper plus AWS: How Amazon’s cloud and satellite internet ventures mesh
Amazon Web Services’ infrastructure, which includes satellite ground stations, could come in handy for supporting Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite broadband constellation. (AWS Photo) Amazon Web Services and the Project Kuiper satellite internet venture may be separate domains of Jeff Bezos’ business empire, but even Amazon’s executives admit there’s a lot of potential for synergy. That’s…
-
Amazon’s Project Kuiper reveals details on customer terminals for satellite internet
A Project Kuiper employee works on antenna hardware. (Amazon / Project Kuiper Photo) Amazon’s Project Kuiper hasn’t yet said when it’ll start launching satellites or providing broadband internet access from above, but it is sharing details about how customers will get their data. The $10 billion project, which aims to put more than 3,200 satellites…
-
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network wins $885M in federal aid for rural broadband
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lofts a set of 60 Starlink satellites into orbit on Nov. 24. (SpaceX Photo) SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network — which relies on hundreds of spacecraft built in Redmond, Wash. — has been awarded $885.5 million in federal subsidies to boost high-speed internet service to rural Americans. The awards are part of…
-
Spaceflight Inc. fills out its line of Sherpa orbital transfer vehicles for small satellites
An artist’s conception shows Spaceflight’s Sherpa-FX in orbit. (Spaceflight Illustration) Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. today unveiled two new options for its Sherpa orbital transfer vehicle — one that uses an environmentally friendly chemical thruster system to help get small satellites where they need to go, and another that’s powered by an electric propulsion system. Such options…
-
Pentagon worries that satellite attacks could spark ‘mutually assured destruction’
Satellite constellations are becoming increasingly important for military communications. (DARPA Illustration) In the years ahead, the long-running nightmare of the nuclear Cold War — mutually assured destruction — could return in a new context on the final frontier, a Pentagon adviser said today at a Seattle-based space policy conference. Brad Townsend, a space strategy and…