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Satellite IoT startup Astrocast orders GomSpace propulsion units, awaits SpaceX/Spaceflight, PSLV launches
FARNBOROUGH, England — Startup satellite Internet of Things (IoT) constellation operator Astrocast of Switzerland contracted with smallsat manufacturer GomSpace of Denmark and Sweden for 10 cold-gas propulsion units for Astrotech’s 3u cubesats, confirming Astrotech’s progress toward deployment....
Interview: Volodymyr Levykin, CEO, British satellite-launch startup Skyrora Ltd.
FARNBOROUGH, England — Skyrora Ltd. is the least well-known of the three British companies designing vertical-launch commercial rocket programs to operate from British soil, especially after the publicity surrounding government grants for competitors Lockheed Martin and Orbex. Unlike the two...
Head over heels: UK government infatuation with rockets is not a business plan
FARNBOROUGH, England — This year’s Farnborough International Airshow was a Mardi Gras celebration of Britain’s promised rocket-launch industry. But beyond the conga line of happy government and industry officials were a few people warning of a long Lent. The record of companies making a business...
With court ruling on Telebras-ViaSat deal, satellite broadband deployment resumes in Brazil
FARNBOROUGH, England — A Brazilian Supreme Court decision lifting an injunction on a Telebras–ViaSat contract to deploy satellite broadband throughout Brazil had the immediate effect of reconnecting four rural schools whose access had been shut down when the injunction took effect:...
Interview: Chris Larmour, CEO, British launch-service startup Orbex
FARNBOROUGH, England — Vertical launch-vehicle startup Orbex has been in “No Comment” mode for three years and on July 16 lifted the veil on a fully made-in-UK rocket — no ITAR issues here — using propane fuel and 30 million pounds ($40 million) in investment from UK and European government...
Is the European Investment Bank finally ready to ride the New Space train? Maybe
PARIS — The European Investment Bank (EIB) on July 11 signed an agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) under which the two organizations would look into space-finance mechanisms for companies and projects that are too small to be on EIB’s radar but have financial requirements beyond ESA’s...
Gogo says open-bar airline contract terms are ending, IFC consolidation is coming
PARIS — In-flight-connectivity (IFC) provider Gogo Inc. said the contract model it pioneered a decade ago is a lousy business it will no longer pursue, and that it would cease trying to lure airlines with open-bar terms that have sent much of the IFC sector into a tailspin. After two months of...
FCC likes Intelsat-SES-Intel C-band-sharing idea, but maybe not its original version
PARIS — The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s decision to pursue proposals to open 500 MHz of now satellite-only C-band spectrum for future terrestrial wireless 5G had the now-predictable effect of causing a big jump in Intelsat and, to a lesser degree, SES stock. But comments of two...
Greylock Partners doubles down on satellite propulsion startup Apollo Fusion with $10M
PARIS — Startup plasma-electric satellite thruster Apollo Fusion has secured $10 million in Series B financing from Greylock Partners’ Reid Hoffman, who was also lead investor in the company’s $8-million Series A. Mountain View, Calif.-based Apollo said that the fresh capital, addition to advance...
Hispasat joins Sky Perfect JSat as investor in satellite B2B broadband startup LeoSat
PARIS — Startup enterprise-grade broadband satellite network operator LeoSat has spent the past year circling the globe looking for a companion investor to Sky Perfect JSat of Japan, which made an initial equity investment in May 2017. On July 10, LeoSat announced that fleet operator Hispasat of...
Gilat and Telesat to test Gilat modems on Telesat’s LEO demonstration satellite
PARIS — Satellite fleet operator Telesat and satellite ground hardware and services provider Gilat will test Gilat’s modem on Telesat’s Phase-1 LEO demonstration satellite using funds provided by the Canada-Israel Industrial Research and Development Foundation (CIIRDF), the companies announced...
