News

Intelsat has completed testing of the operational and data collection system for the first space-based instrument to monitor major air pollutants across the North American continent every daylight hour at high resolution. The new UV-visible spectrometer, which Intelsat operates for NASA and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, will launch on the Intelsat 40e (IS-40e) satellite tentatively next month.

Ai Telecom Networks, a Mexican satellite and terrestrial communications provider, will partner with Astranis - American geostationary communications satellite operator and manufacturer- and ST Engineering iDirect - an American satellite communications company - for new MicroGEO satellites. The satellites and ground infrastructure will deliver connectivity for 4G cellular backhaul and enterprise services across Mexico and part of Central America. Ai Telecom's MicroGEN satellites will be built by Astranis and will use ST Engineering iDirect's Mx-DMA MRC waveform technology. 

The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) has selected teams to develop software solutions to constantly monitor up to 1,000 targets of interest via satellite with the Oversight program. This is to help military planners keep track of up to 1,000 targets of interest through the management of available space domain resources

Andre-Hubert Roussel will step down as CEO of ArianeGroup- a French aerospace joint venture between Airbus and Safran - French newspaper La Tribune reported on the 30th of March. ArianeGroup lost nearly a quarter of its turnover in 2022, this is largely due to the Russian-Ukrainian war and delays in Ariane 6 - which could be postponed until the first half of 2024.

In a recent episode of Space Café Canada, Dr. Jessica West interviewed Hira Nadeem, a Space Systems Engineer at Planet Labs and co-founder of Zenith Canada Pathways Foundation, which provides internship and mentorship opportunities for students in Canada to support a more inclusive space industry. They discussed Hira's journey into the space industry, her experience working in both Canada and the United States, her initiatives to create opportunities for Canadian students from all backgrounds in space-related fields, and the need for industry to pursue talent recruitment and retention through more intentional designs that nurture diversity from young hires through leadership positions.

Impact Observatory, a D.C. geospatial mapping company using artificial intelligence (AI) and satellite imagery to power its technology, has raised a nearly $6 million seed round to bring its product to market and multiply in size. Impact Observatory will also use the funds to continue research and development for additional monitoring capabilities.

Unseenlabs, a French radio frequency (RF) data and solutions provider for Maritime Domain Awareness, has announced today the coming launch of BRO-9. This will be the ninth satellite for its constellation dedicated to the geolocation of all the vessels at sea. BRO-9 will be launched in April 2023 as part of the Transporter-7 Mission aboard SpaceX’s launcher Falcon 9 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. 

SES has released a statement to confirm ongoing rumors about its ongoing talks with Intelsat about a possible merger. The statement came after a Bloomberg report said the two companies were close to a deal of more than $10 billion in value, including debt.

Ian Grosner, the Brazilian Space Agency federal attorney and host of SpaceWatch Global's Space Café Brazil, has become the chair of the Working Group on the Definition and Delimitation of Outer Space of the Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in Vienna, Austria. The election happened on Monday, March 20, 2023.

Business Wire reported on the 29th of March that Planet Labs PBC a global, daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions has signed an agreement to acquire the business of Holding Sinergise d.o.o. -a European geospatial technology company. Through this new contract Planet aims to continue to expand into new vertical markets by reducing the complexity of analysis and insights extraction.