Military and Defence

The Pentagon has announced on the 1st of June that it has agreed to purchase Starlink satellite internet terminals from SpaceX for use in Ukraine. The Pentagon has declined to offer additional contract details, including the price, scope and timeline of the delivery. 

This Space Café Black Ops will feature Namrata Goswami , an independent scholar on space policy and Great Power Politics, in conversation with Dr. Emma Gatti, Space Analyst and Broadcaster and correspondent of SpaceWatch.Global for Italy. Ep. 4: Russia and Japan: Capable partners in differing space orders

Inmarsat, a British satellite telecommunications company, announced on the 18th of May that they are launching the world’s first broadband global area network (BGAN) terminal designed for use on foot. The new solution features the Hughes’ 9203 BGAN Terminal powered by Inmarsat’s ELERA (L-band) satellite network. 

Space Systems Command (SSC), the US Space Force’s field command responsible for acquiring and delivering resilient war fighting capabilities in and from space, announced on the 17th of May that they have successfully delivered the second and final spaceflight-ready payload to Japan. 

Airbus announced on the 11th of May that it has selected the National Satellite Test Facility (NSFT) at Hartwell in Oxfordshire to carry out the comprehensive test campaign on the UK Ministry of Defence’s next generation secure communications satellite SKYNET 6A.

Our Space Café “33 minutes with Dr Gilles Rabin – French-German Space: Of course, I still love you” took place on Tuesday, 28th March. Gilles is a distinguished economist and space advisor, currently serving at the French Embassy in Berlin. With an impressive career spanning over two decades, he has held key positions in urban planning, economic development, and innovation. His journey began at Bipe Conseil, followed by leadership roles in various urban communities including Nancy, Essone, Greater Lyon, and Nice Metropolis.  Gilles's expertise has been pivotal in advising ministers on decentralisation, SMEs, startups, and research. His tenure as Director of Innovation, Applications, and Science at CNES has further solidified his standing in the space sector.

A group of European Space and Telecommunications players have come together to form a partnership to respond to the European Commission’s call for tender related to the future European satellite constellation IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite). IRIS² aims to bring a new secure and resilient connectivity infrastructure to European governments, businesses and citizens.  

Fleet Space Technologies has signed an AUD$6.4 million contract with Australia’s Defence Space Command, marking their first defense contract. The agreement will see Fleet's next-generation of Centauri satellites which it used to develop and demonstrate a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications system focus on tactical communications and data transmission where connectivity is limited.

Lockheed Martin, an Australian aerospace company, announced on the 3rd of April that it has been selected by the Commonwealth of Australia as the perfect bidder for Project JP9102, the Australian Defence Satellite Communications System.

Spire Global, a space-to-cloud data and analytics company based in Virgina US, announced on the 3rd of April that they have been awarded a contract by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) for commercial radio frequency (RF) remote sensing. This contract is part of the NRO’s Strategic Commercial Enhancements (SCE) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) program in September 2022.