Satcoms

Connecting sensors and soldiers: the U.S. Army has contracted Iridium to develop a smallsat GPS payload, the company said. The contract is worth up to $30 million. Iridium will develop a smallsat payload that supports navigation and GPS systems for the army, Iridium said.

Swissto12 and SatixFy cooperate to develop and sell telecom payloads for satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO), the companies said. SatixFy contributes its software defined, high bandwidth product portfolio; Swissto12 contributes its active antenna technology that leverages 3D printing.

The Swiss nanosatellite startup Astrocast seeks as much as €45.5 million in a private placement ahead of a direct listing on the stock market, Bloomberg reported. The company is backed by venture capital firm Adit Ventures, Airbus SE’s venture arm and the European Space Agency (ESA).

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and Joint Air Power Competence Centre, we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. We are pleased to present “The Impact of Law on NATO's Space Power at the Speed of Relevance” by Mr Álvaro Martín Blanco, Col Dr Daniel Gallton, US Air Force, and Mr Dale Reding

Paris, 23 June 2021. – Airbus Defence and Space will equip its four CO3D Earth observation satellites with S-band antennas from Anywave, the company announced. Airbus Defence and Space was selected by the French Space Agency (CNES) in July 2019 to develop the Constellation Optique 3D (CO3D) Earth observation program.

The satellite operator Yahsat, owned by the Abu Dhabi investment fund Mubadala, wants to go public, sell “at least 30%” of its capital and list at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the company announced. The offering creates an opportunity for investors to participate in the strategic growth of a leading integrated satellite communication services provider, Yahsat said. 

The U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) finances SpaceX and Hispasat with more than $80 million, the bank announced. The bank’s board unanimously approved $80.7 million in EXIM financing to support launch services by SpaceX and U.S.-brokered launch and initial in-orbit insurances for Hispasat Canarias,

Paris, 21 June 2021. – The laser communication startup Mynaric has opened a new facility for the serial production of laser communication equipment for the aerospace sector, the company said. The new production facility is located in the immediate vicinity of Mynaric’s headquarters at the special research airport Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, Germany.

Italian line-up: The Italian Ministry of Defense awarded Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio to build its secure Sicral 3 satellite and ground system, Thales announced. Covering the development of phases B and C, the contract is worth a total of approximately €159 million, Thales said.

This Space Café Scotland will feature movers and shakers from the Scottish Space Ecosystem in conversation with Angela Mathis, CEO of ThinkTank Maths and a friend of SpaceWatch.Global. ‘Scotland’s Sustainable Space Challenges’ – a bold and brave approach to growing the Space Economy in Scotland.