GEO
Space Force eyes lower-cost sensors to monitor geostationary orbit
GEOST won two U.S. Space Force contracts worth $38 million to develop an optical sensor payload that could be hosted on government or commercial satellites.
DoD eager to leverage LEO broadband constellations
The military is hungry for low-latency broadband services from the likes of OneWeb, SpaceX, Telesat and Amazon that promise to connect the world via thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit.
Intelsat taps Maxar for fifth C-band satellite, capping order spree
Intelsat has signed a satellite contract with Maxar Technologies, placing the final order in a one-time surge in manufacturing deals triggered by the Federal Communications Commission’s upcoming C-band spectrum auction.
Companies are flying old satellites longer, study finds
Nearly a third of commercial geostationary communications satellites in orbit are operating beyond their design lives, a far higher figure than previous years, according to a study.
SES details LEO constellation and expanded MEO constellation to FCC
SES proposed a low Earth orbit constellation to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission that, if built, would make the company an operator of satellites in low, medium and geostationary orbits.
Dankberg teases ViaSat-4 specs, still mulling MEO constellation
Viasat says that co-building its ViaSat-3 satellites with Boeing has given the company experience it can leverage to multiply the capacity achievable with a next-generation ViaSat-4 system.
Arianespace and SpaceX offering new dedicated rideshare services
Two of the largest commercial launch providers separately announced plans Aug. 5 to provide dedicated launches of small satellites to sun synchronous and geostationary orbits.
Satellite component supplier Sodern seeks to double output by 2020
Spacecraft manufacturers have complained of stress on their supplier base as operators purchase fewer traditional geostationary satellites. One company in France is bucking that trend, however.
IARPA aims to bring GEO into focus
The rash of on-orbit satellite failures last year forced the satellite industry to pay more attention to space situational awareness, the real-time monitoring of the near-space environment.
Electric propulsion to send smallsats from LEO to GEO orbit, moon
In an effort to cut launch costs, companies are looking to technology to transport small satellites from low Earth orbit to geostationary orbit and to the moon.
Maxar creating new smallsat division as it shrinks SSL
Maxar Technologies is setting up a new organization focused solely on small satellites while continuing to downsize its geostationary satellite manufacturing business at Space Systems Loral.
GEO order drought bottoming out, Maxar Technologies says
Maxar Technologies won't have access to the Canadian military's three-satellite Radarsat Constellation Mission (RCM), forcing the company to continue relying on the Radarsat-2 satellite launched in 2007 to support its radar business.
