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.

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.