Commercial
D-Orbit Satellite Carrier delivers Planet SuperDoves to desired orbits
D-Orbit of Italy demonstrated the first commercial last-mile delivery service when it finished a two-month campaign Oct. 28 to drop off 12 Planet SuperDove Earth-imaging satellites.
FCC approves OneWeb sale as Starlink begins public beta
The Federal Communications Commission approved the sale of OneWeb to the British government and Bharti Global Oct. 27, as rival SpaceX started a public beta test of its Starlink system.
Satellites eligible for FCC’s $9 billion 5G Fund for Rural America
The Federal Communications Commission approved the creation Oct. 27 of a 5G Fund for Rural America to distribute as much as $9 billion over the next decade to extend 5G wireless broadband connectivity to rural communities.
Aerospace Corp. calls for collaboration in space solar power
The Aerospace Corp. is calling for U.S. government agencies to work together to develop space solar power technologies in a paper that underscores the importance of collaborating with international partners.
Space experts roll out policy advice as Election Day nears
Aerospace Corp.'s policy center rolled out "Space Agenda 2021" to influence discussions in the next administration.
Starburst announces 15 finalists to pitch ideas to U.S. and U.K. defense agencies
Starburst Aerospace announced 14 startups and one consortium invited to share proposals for addressing important space-related challenges facing the United States and the United Kingdom at International Space Pitch Day, an event to be held in November at the virtual Defence Space Conference 2020.
NOAA and Google to apply machine learning to satellite data
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced an agreement Oct. 27 with Google Cloud to explore the benefits of artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance the agency’s use of satellite and environmental data.
NorthStar orders three satellites to collect space situational awareness data
NorthStar Earth and Space, a Canadian company planning a satellite constellation to track other satellites, has selected Thales Alenia Space to build its first satellites.
Ovzon’s ultimate goal: global coverage with its own fleet of satellites
Swedish broadband service provider Ovzon anticipates strong demand for the type of high-capacity mobile satellite communications it demonstrated recently for a U.S. government customer.
Aerospace Corp. seeks to license laser communications
The Aerospace Corp. is working to license commercially a laser communications subsystem that downlinked data at a rate of 200 megabits per second from three-unit cubesats.
Engineering software firm Ansys to acquire AGI for $700 million
Ansys announced Oct. 26 it intends to acquire space data services provider Analytical Graphics Inc. for $700 million.
SpaceX reaches 100 successful launches with Starlink mission
SpaceX launched another set of Starlink satellites Oct. 24, marking the 100th time the company has placed payloads into orbit.
Axiom Space finalizing first commercial ISS mission
Axiom Space hopes to soon finalize its first commercial mission to the International Space Station, scheduled for late 2021, as it continues development of a commercial module for the station.
Chinese rocket companies secure local government support for research, production facilities
Two young Chinese rocket companies have secured deals with local governments for the establishment of major launch vehicle facilities.
Intelsat rejects $1.8 billion SES claim for C-band clearing payments
Intelsat rejected a $1.8 billion claim filed by SES regarding the breakup of the C-Band Alliance, arguing instead that SES’s action cost Intelsat more than $1.6 billion in potential C-band clearing payments.
International consortium to launch tiny hyperspectral camera
An international consortium plans to launch a hyperspectral camera built by South Africa’s Dragonfly Aerospace on a NanoAvionics rideshare mission scheduled to launch in 2021 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
