Hispasat buyer secures 500M euro credit line • ESA, Polish firms study rocket tech • CETel buys UK teleport operator

Red Eléctrica said the credit line, formalized June 12, is available for five years with the possibility of extension to seven years.

Bangladesh’s satellite starts service • Starlink autopilot sparks concern • SAS Global secures loan

SpaceX says Starlink satellites will directly receive Air Force tracking data and use that to tweak their orbits when presented with the risk of a collision. Space debris experts say the probability of a collision varies on a case-by-case basis, making automation difficult.

Singtel profits dip • Argentine, Turkish companies form small GEO builder • KVH sells Videotel business for $90 million

Singtel reported its lowest profit in 16 years, citing increasing competitive pressure in India and Indonesia.

Discarded Atlas 5 upper stage breaks up in orbit • Viasat, China Satcom partner on IFC • Hughes signs Jupiter-3 customer

The reason for the Atlas 5 upper stage break up, believed to have occurred between March 23 and March 25, is not yet known.

Iridium makes GMDSS progress • Kepler’s next cubesat to test new radiator • Scisys breaks ground in Germany

Iridium moved closer to launching an emergency maritime communications service by signing a public services agreement with the International Mobile Satellite Organization.

ThinKom, Phasor, C-Com hit antenna milestones • Hughes, Inmarsat gain India IFC approvals

Antenna builder ThinKom and fleet operator Inmarsat recently announced the completion of a series of tests using ThinKom antennas and Inmarsat’s high-throughput Global Xpress satellites.

ST Engineering to buy Newtec for $281M • C-Band Alliance hires former Intel exec • Phasor picks antenna manufacturing partner

ST Engineering said the acquisition will add “intellectual property, products and market access,” highlighting Newtec’s European presence, strength in broadcast, and recent successful low-Earth orbit communications testing with Telesat.

First Ariane 6 to carry 30 OneWeb satellites • Viasat seeking to raise $500 million • Hispasat trials Wi-Fi hotspots in Colombia

Arianespace’s first Ariane 6 mission will carry 30 OneWeb satellites to low Earth orbit. The launch, slated for the second half of 2020, will use the “62” version of the rocket, which has two side boosters.

FIRST UP Satcom | Telesat inks first LEO customer, LeoSat gains customer agreement

OmniAccess, a maritime connectivity provider who demonstrated service with Telesat's prototype satellite, signed a “major, multiyear contract” for broadband service from the constellation.

FIRST UP Satcom | Preston Padden leaves C-Band Alliance • Telesat earnings down

The C-Band Alliance’s head of advocacy and government relations Preston Padden left the organization Tuesday after less than six months in the position.

FIRST UP Satcom | Six Protons and an Angara launching this year • Airbus invests $25M in German plant

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TOP STORIES

FIRST UP Satcom | SmartSky raises $104M • SES picks Halliwell successor • Netflix tops satellite, cable in US

SmartSky has raised close to $350 million. Its network of towers across the United States is scheduled to begin commercial service later this year.

FIRST UP Satcom | 2019’s first Ariane 5 launching Feb. 5 • Goonhilly going global • NBN gets CFO

The Ariane 5 launch will carry two telecom satellites: Arabsat’s SaudiGEOSat-1/Hellas Sat 4, and the Indian space agency ISRO’s GSAT-31.

FIRST UP Satcom | First OneWeb satellites shipped for launch • Laser ground stations linked to Facebook

OneWeb and its manufacturing partner Airbus Defence and Space have shipped the first six satellites of OneWeb’s broadband smallsat constellation from Toulouse, France, to French Guiana.

FIRST UP Satcom | Avio takes 10M euro loan • Iridium launches Certus  • NanoAvionics opens UK office

Italian rocket builder Avio is borrowing 10 million euros from the European Investment Bank. The funds will support new space propulsion technologies for Europe’s next-generation Vega C and Ariane 6 launchers, the company said.

FIRST UP Satcom | Intelsat joins GSMA • SSTL completes first GEO bus • Kacific buys Newtec hub

Global fleet operator Intelsat has joined GSMA, a mobile network operators' association that has sparred with the satellite industry over spectrum.