GEO satellites
Former ABS execs form small GEO builder Saturn Satellite Networks
Saturn Satellite Networks will build satellites ranging from 600 kilograms to 1,700 kilograms, and already has a customer order, Tom Choi, Saturn’s executive chairman, told SpaceNews.
GEO satellite orders continued to underwhelm in 2018
Last year’s poor harvest of five commercial orders for large geostationary communications satellites proved even worse than 2017’s surprise low of just seven orders.
Boeing dropping Global IP satellite order
“Boeing is terminating the Global IP satellite contract for reasons of default for nonpayment,” the company said in a Dec. 7 statement to SpaceNews.
Maxar sells portion of SSL real estate
Maxar Technologies sold one of satellite manufacturer Space Systems Loral’s facilities in Silicon Valley for $70 million, the company announced today.
Maxar trying to sell GEO business as defective components compound troubles
Maxar Technologies executives said selling the company’s struggling geostationary satellite manufacturing business is now the most likely path it will take to break free from a business that is operating at a loss.
Swedish firm buys Falcon Heavy launch
A Swedish company with plans for a geostationary communications satellite announced Oct. 16 a contract with SpaceX for a Falcon Heavy launch no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2020.
Do smallsats even need insurance?
Insurers who specialize in the space industry, seeing no quick turnaround, are starting to look beyond its traditional customers to new markets.
World Satellite Business Week: May the satellite industry live in interesting times
Satellite operators had long sought less expensive launch as one way of reducing the overall cost of deploying new satellites. They’ve achieved that with the rise of SpaceX and the competitive pressures it has placed on other companies who have been forced to adapt or else.
Airbus forecasts 15 to 18 commercial GEO orders as new annual norm
As satellite manufacturers grapple with what increasingly looks like a permanent decline in the number of commercial geostationary communications satellites purchased worldwide, one offered hope that a partial rebound will ensue in the coming years.
Space component suppliers endangered by GEO order slowdown
Satellite manufacturers say they are trying to protect their component suppliers from the drought of commercial telecom spacecraft that threatens to put such companies out of business.
Solar panel suppliers adjust to GEO satellite slowdown
Suppliers of solar panels and related equipment for the space industry are pivoting to serve customers planing satellites for low and medium Earth orbits as the slow down in geostationary satellite orders persists.
