Satellite Innovation
SpaceNews is reporting from Mountain View, California, Oct. 8-10 to bring you special coverage of Satellite Innovation 2019.
Industry skeptical about the business case for megaconstellations
Companies that have demonstrated the technical viability of broadband satellite megaconstellations now face a bigger challenge: closing the business case.
Earth observation is expanding into new markets
Markets for Earth observation data and associated services are growing and evolving, according to panelists at the Satellite Innovation 2021 conference.
Rate of space industry deals may slow down in the next year
The torrid pace of investment and acquisitions involving space companies this year is unlikely to continue next year, but investors and bankers are still optimistic about the long-term growth prospects for the industry.
SES CEO thinks satellite industry consolidation likely
The CEO of satellite operator SES says consolidation of the satellite industry is more likely than ever to improve its overall return on investment, but that the structure of the industry might hinder such deals.
GHGSat lauds performance of methane-monitoring satellite
GHGSat, the Canadian firm preparing to launch a constellation of methane-monitoring satellites, announced Oct. 8 that the sensor on its Iris satellite launched in early September detects methane emissions five times as well as its predecessor.
Schedule is king for C-band replacement satellites
Rather than pushing the state-of-the art, Boeing, Maxar Technologies and Northrop Grumman are emphasizing reliability in satellites they are manufacturing to help Intelsat and SES clear C-band spectrum, according to speakers at the Satellite Innovation 2020 conference.
Space debris a frequent topic at Satellite Innovation 2020
Tracking and avoiding the growing debris field in low Earth orbit was clearly on the minds of speakers on the first day of the Satellite Innovation 2020 conference.
Dankberg teases ViaSat-4 specs, still mulling MEO constellation
Viasat says that co-building its ViaSat-3 satellites with Boeing has given the company experience it can leverage to multiply the capacity achievable with a next-generation ViaSat-4 system.
Satellite industry slowly embracing the cloud
Satellite operators are partnering with cloud service providers, but not on everything.
Satellites could claim larger share of booming IoT market
Quilty Analytics is “quite bullish" on satellite IoT for incumbents and some new entrants, Partner Justin Cadman said Oct. 9 at the Satellite Innovation 2019 conference.
Manufacturers say wider range of satellites they build is stressing mission assurance
Manufacturers speaking Oct. 10 at the Satellite Innovation conference here said they are trying to evolve their approaches to mission assurance — making sure what they build doesn’t fail in orbit — so that they can respond to a wider swath of customers.
Earth observation customers want speedy satellite tasking
Companies supplying Earth observation data should speed up satellite tasking for customers whose demands are time sensitive, according to a panel of Earth observation experts at the Satellite Innovation 2019 conference.
Time is ripe for entrepreneurs to partner with U.S. national security space groups, says Fred Kennedy
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California – During this period of rapid change, space industry entrepreneurs should be sharing their ideas with U.S. national security space agencies, Fred Kennedy, former director of the U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA), said…
LeoLabs planning to triple number of radar sites for space debris tracking by early 2020s
“We really need to be fully online as a lot of these large constellations hit their peak stride. We are right on schedule with that.”
Space industry pressed to hire enough software engineers
Some space companies say their greatest hiring difficulty today is recruiting enough software engineers to work on their programs.
Inflection point within the year for megaconstellations?
An inflection point is coming in the next six to twelve months for the multibillion dollar satellite megaconstellations, when it will become apparent which ones are likely to succeed and which ones “will take a pause or exit,” Chris Baugh, Northern Sky Research president, said Oct. 9 at the Satellite Innovation 2019 conference.
