Airbus Defence and Space
ESA awards contracts for moon and Mars exploration
The European Space Agency has awarded contracts for work on elements of its moon and Mars exploration program, ranging from modules for the lunar Gateway to a mission to return Mars samples to Earth.
Momentus forges agreements with Skykraft and Mecano ID
In-space transportation startup Momentus announced service agreements Oct. 2 with Australia’s Skykraft and French spacecraft engineering company Mecano ID.
Yahsat begins Thuraya fleet refresh with Airbus satellite order
The contract covers a satellite called Thuraya-4 NGS, and includes an option for a Thuraya-5 NGS satellite that, if exercised, would complete the replacement of Thuraya’s existing two-satellite fleet.
ESA sets stage for three-way competition to build next-generation Galileo constellation
The ESA-led competition, arranged on behalf of the European Commission, pits rising German manufacturer OHB against European heavyweights Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defense and Space.
Airbus reorganizes U.S. operations to fuel growth in space and defense
The primary markets for Airbus U.S. Space & Defense are military aircraft, geospatial intelligence and satellites.
Bankruptcy court frees payment to OneWeb Satellites to restart satellite manufacturing
OneWeb received permission from a U.S. bankruptcy court Friday to pay its satellite vendor to resume building spacecraft for the company’s broadband megaconstellation.
Thales Alenia Space wins lion’s share of newly awarded Copernicus contracts
Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy won the largest share of prime contracts the European Space Agency awarded July 1 for further development of six new Copernicus satellite missions.
ESA selects prime contractors for six new Copernicus missions
The European Space Agency on July 1 awarded 2.5 billion euros in development contracts for six new Earth-observation missions under the Copernicus remote-sensing satellite program.
NASA taps Airbus for commercial satellite data buy
NASA intends to gain access to Earth observation data gathered by Airbus Defense and Space satellites through the Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition Program.
Four fears satellite manufacturers can’t shake
Satellite manufacturers expressed optimism about market demand, but also listed challenges they face amid market and technological changes.
Airbus impressed by Northrop Grumman, but remains undecided on satellite servicing
Airbus Defence and Space wanted to launch a satellite servicer shortly after Northrop Grumman launched MEV-1, but backed away from those plans two years ago because of uncertainty about the commercial market.
Airbus, citing weak space market, to cut more than 2,300 jobs
Airbus Defence and Space will shed about 7% of its workforce because of weak sales, Airbus Group said Feb. 19.
Power loss halves Eutelsat 5 West B capacity, hosted payload spared
Eutelsat said an investigation into the Eutelsat 5 West B satellite, launched in October, concluded that one of its two solar arrays was unusable, reducing power to support communications services.
Ariane 5 launches satellites for Egypt, Inmarsat
An Ariane 5 rocket from European launch provider Arianespace successfully lifted off Nov. 26, carrying a communications satellite for the Egyptian government and Inmarsat’s newest Global Xpress satellite.
Telesat LEO manufacturing decision bumped to 2020
Telesat Canada will likely choose the winner of a now three-way race to build its low Earth orbit broadband constellation in the first few months of 2020 instead of this year, CEO Dan Goldberg said Nov. 5.
