Airbus
Airbus signs $350 million contract to build CRISTAL ice-monitoring satellite for EU
The European Space Agency signed a 300-million-euro ($352 million) contract with Airbus Defence and Space on Sept. 21 to develop an ice-monitoring satellite for European Union’s Earth-observing Copernicus program.
Airbus, Eutelsat win ESA study contracts • Leonardo CEO to lead industry group
The European Space Agency has awarded study contracts to Airbus and Eutelsat consortia to identify what solutions and “disruptive technologies” the agency should focus on.
Arabsat orders all-electric Airbus satellite
Commercial fleet operator Arabsat of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia announced Aug. 18 it ordered a geostationary communications satellite from Airbus Defence and Space.
Airbus eyes new customers for OneWeb Satellites
Debra Facktor, head of Airbus U.S. Space Systems, is banking on government demand for commodity satellites.
Maxar backs away from Telesat LEO competition
Maxar Technologies no longer expects, at least initially, to win any manufacturing contracts for Telesat’s future broadband megaconstellation of 300 satellites.
Intelsat to market half of capacity on Eutelsat’s Quantum satellite
Intelsat has agreed to help market half the capacity on an upcoming Eutelsat satellite designed mainly for government customers, the companies announced July 30.
British military finalizes Skynet-6A contract with Airbus
Britain’s military on July 19 agreed to fully fund a gap-filler Skynet satellite it sole-sourced from Airbus Defence and Space three years ago, signing a 500-million-pound ($628.5 million) contract that covers the satellite’s manufacture and launch, as well as ground segment upgrades.
British government and Bharti Global buy OneWeb, plan $1 billion investment to revive company
The British government and Indian mobile network operator Bharti Global placed a winning bid to acquire OneWeb, a broadband megaconstellation startup that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March after running out of funding, OneWeb said July 3.
Optus orders OneSat satellite from Airbus
Airbus will build the satellite, called Optus-11, on its new OneSat platform, designed with a reconfigurable payload that can steer and reassign beams for different customers and services.
After bankruptcy, OneWeb’s supply chain looking for new ways to keep busy
With OneWeb’s drive to cover the globe with hundreds of mass-produced satellites halted by last month’s Chapter 11 filing, some of the bankrupt megaconstellation’s component suppliers are looking to repurpose the investments they made in expanded manufacturing capabilities.
UAE’s Falcon Eye 2 satellite switched from Vega to Soyuz
Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, said Airbus, the satellite’s manufacturer, asked to switch from Vega to Soyuz to avoid further delays getting Falcon Eye 2 into orbit.
Avio anticipates Vega C upgrade funding at ESA ministerial, Vega return to flight in March
Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo said during a Nov. 7 earnings call, said Vega is on track for a return to flight by March, though what payload will launch on the mission is still to be determined.
Earth observation companies plan new satellites and seek new customers
As operators of Earth observation satellites prepare to update their fleets, with an emphasis on both improved resolution and revisit time, they disagree on how much demand there is for existing and new data.
OneWeb Satellites inaugurates Florida factory
OneWeb Satellites, the joint venture of Airbus and OneWeb, formally opened its Florida factory that will soon be producing satellites for OneWeb’s constellation at the rate of two per day.
Airbus to build four imaging satellites for French space agency, mulls 20-plus constellation
Airbus and the French Space Agency CNES have agreed to cofinance a constellation of four Earth observation satellites while leaving the door open for Airbus to finance additional satellites with other partners.
What Airbus learned from building satellites with OneWeb
Regardless of whether the Airbus-OneWeb joint venture gearing up to crank out dozens of satellites a month ultimately builds just 648 satellites or closer to the 900 originally envisioned, OneWeb’s constellation is the first such project large enough to truly incorporate aviation-style mass production procedures for spacecraft.
