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.

FIRST UP Satcom | Orbcomm satellite breaks up • OneWeb denies Russian investment talks

One of Orbcomm’s first-generation satellites broke up Dec. 22, resulting in 34 trackable objects, according to the U.S. Air Force’s 18 Space Control Squadron

FIRST UP Satcom | ISRO launches Ku-band satellite • SpaceX raising $500 million • SES closes 400 million euro loan

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark 2 rocket lifted off on schedule at 5:40 a.m. Eastern and deployed the GSAT-7A satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit 19 minutes later.

FIRST UP Satcom | Arianespace schedules last 2018 launch • Over half the world will be online next year

Arianespace’s final launch of the year is scheduled for Dec. 18 at 11:37 a.m. Eastern. The company will launch a French military Earth observation satellite called CSO-1 on a Europeanized Soyuz rocket from Sinnamary, French Guiana.

FIRST UP Satcom | China allegedly seeking US satellite tech via startup; Inmarsat gets favorable ruling in RigNet dispute

The founders of Globa IP said they left after concerns its investors, supported by the Chinese government, were using the company as a means to gain access to satellite technology prohibited for export to China under U.S. law.

FIRST UP Satcom | LeoSat optimistic on regulatory progress • Russia plans IoT constellation • SSTL starts lunar comms mission

LeoSat CEO Mark Rigolle said the FCC's approval “will help us getting landing rights in other countries."

FIRST UP Satcom | Senators join C-band discussion • GSLV launches Indian satellite • Thales Alenia Space teams with ONERA

Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) wrote to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai saying the agency “must consider whether sufficient spectrum will remain available to accommodate today's C-band services,” among other issues.

FIRST UP Satcom | Argos constellation completed • S7 Group wants reusable launcher • GetSAT releases new antenna

After completing the purchase of Sea Launch in April, S7 Group now views expendable rockets as uncompetitive.

FIRST UP Satcom | Turksat tests 8K broadcast • SpaceX changes Starlink leadership • Hughes starts service in Peru

Turksat has tested satellite broadcasts in 8K Ultra-HD, demonstrating the ability to transmit content with 16 times the resolution of HD.

FIRST UP Satcom | Telstra stirs NBN privatization talk • Mynaric lands supplier deal with constellation venture

Australian government officials say it is too early to speculate about the privatization of NBN Co. despite an unsolicited offer from Telstra to eventually buy the public telecommunications company.

FIRST UP Satcom | Intelsat invests in AMN • Iridium gets $44 million DISA contract extension • NSR finds slow growth in satellite operator revenues

Intelsat invested in Africa Mobile Networks (AMN), a U.K.-headquartered group of companies with telecom infrastructure in Africa, to reach "ultra-rural" parts of the sub-Saharan side of the continent.