The key to extending internet access to billions of people around the globe is not launching a massive constellation of satellites into low Earth orbit, but creating inexpensive terminals, senior industry executives said March 9 at the Satellite 2017 conference.
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Debra Werner
104 results found Sort by:3D printing saving satellite builders time and money
Satellite manufacturers are turning increasingly to additive manufacturing to reduce the cost and time required to design and build spacecraft.
NGA using data from Spire and Ball to monitor Arctic maritime traffic
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is using satellite data provided by Spire Global and Ball Aerospace to monitor maritime traffic in the Arctic, a region where the changing climate is having a dramatic impact on trade routes, Peter Platzer, Spire chief executive, said March 6 during a Satellite 2017 panel here.
Boeing expects market for big communications satellites to remain soft
The commercial market for geostationary communications satellites shows no signs of rebound, according to Boeing executives who attribute lackluster demand to the rapid pace of innovation in the satellite market, few launch opportunities and the inability of the U.S. Export Import Bank to finance large transactions.
Is imagery the ‘killer app’ for smallsats?
Peter Wegner, Spaceflight Industries chief technology officer, is convinced the killer app for small satellites is imagery. Joe Rothenberg, the former engineering director for Terra Bella, the Earth-imaging company purchased by Google, isn’t so sure.
Broad supplier base lending material support to smallsat revolutionaries
When Hawkeye 360 solicited proposals in 2016 to build its radio-frequency monitoring satellites, the firm found 25 companies capable of meeting its requirements.
Boeing’s LEO constellation hinges on V-band’s viability
Since filing its license last summer with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for a constellation of broadband communications satellites, Boeing has focused on developing some of the project’s key technologies, Bruce Chesley, vice president and program manager for Boeing’s Global Broadband Systems, told reporters at a March 7 press briefing.
Inmarsat and AVI’s satellite data-relay service exits stealth mode after months of secret, in-space tests
For more than a year, Inmarsat has been working with Addvalue Innovation (AVI) to conduct secret tests of a service that lets operators maintain continuous contact with small satellites in low Earth orbit. Now, the companies are ready to offer the Inter-satellite Data Relay Service to satellite operators.
Smallsat builders admit a little bigger might be a little better
What’s the perfect size for a small satellite? “The answer is 42 kilograms,” said Martin Sweeting, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. founder and executive chairman said at the Small Satellite Symposium in Silicon Valley.
Launch providers making room for smallsat boom
Launch companies that focus primarily on sending large spacecraft into orbit are modifying their business plans to serve customers in the rapidly growing small satellite market, according to a panel of experts speaking at the Small Satellite Symposium here Feb. 7.