LEO
As it plans LEO constellations, DoD must prepare to deal with congestion
The buzzword in military space these days is “proliferated LEO,” which is Pentagon-speak for large numbers of small satellites in low Earth orbit.
Loft Orbital fills first condosat, preps for quarterly launches
Loft Orbital, a company preparing a constellation to carry payloads for customers who don’t want to operate their own satellites, has filled up its first satellite and booked a January 2020 launch through Spaceflight Industries.
Cloud Constellation selects LeoStella to build 10 data-storage satellites
Cloud Constellation CEO Cliff Beek said LeoStella, a joint venture of Thales Alenia Space and Spaceflight Industries, beat Northrop Grumman on price, among other factors.
Op-ed | Protecting low Earth orbit from becoming the new Wild West
If outer space is the "final frontier," the private commercialization of low Earth orbit — about 100-1,200 miles up — could become the new Wild West if we're not careful.
Wyler claims breakthrough in low-cost antenna for OneWeb, other satellite systems
OneWeb founder Greg Wyler says a self-funded side project of his has developed an antenna module costing $15, paving the way for OneWeb user terminals priced between $200 and $300.
Op-ed | Responsible satellite operations in the era of large constellations
While an unprecedented number of satellites brings with them important benefits to humanity, we must be careful to proceed responsibly and minimize the potential for harming the low Earth orbit (LEO) environment for generations to come.
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.
Telesat says ideal LEO constellation is 292 satellites, but could be 512
Satellite fleet operator Telesat says the desired size of its future low Earth orbit broadband constellation is more than twice the number of satellites authorized by U.S. regulators, and could ultimately scale to 512 spacecraft.
Kepler, Phasor test flat panel antenna with LEO cubesat
Startups Kepler Communications and Phasor said Sept. 10 that they successfully demonstrated a link between Kepler’s cubesat and a Phasor flat panel antenna.
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.
LeoLabs raises $13 million in Series A funding
LeoLabs, a Silicon Valley space mapping startup raised $13 million in a Series A funding round led by WERU Investment of Tokyo and Airbus Ventures, the European aerospace giant’s early-stage investment group.
China Satcom’s LEO, HTS projects driven by desire not to fall behind foreign counterparts
China’s state-owned fleet operator is making forward-leaning investments in high-throughput satellites and low-Earth-orbit constellations without worrying, at least initially, about whether these projects are backed by sound business plans.
Trump wants NASA out of the ISS operations business. Easier said than done.
For clues on the space station’s current status and the transition ahead, SpaceNews spoke with Sam Scimemi, ISS director at NASA headquarters.
Oxford Space Systems raises $8.9 million for spacecraft component business
Oxford Space Systems, a British startup that hopes to compete with space industry giants Harris Corp. and Northrop Grumman in the satellite component business, has raised 6.7 million British pounds ($8.9 million) from investors.
DARPA to begin new effort to build military constellations in low Earth orbit
DARPA plans to award $117.5 million in contracts over three phases to up to eight bus or payload suppliers.
Telesat comes out against C-band proposal, girds for spectrum fight
Fleet operator Telesat, originally undecided about a joint-use spectrum plan put forward by Intelsat, Intel and SES, is turning against the plan because of how participants would be compensated.
