Satcoms

Thuraya, the Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) subsidiary of the UAE-based global satellite company, Yahsat, and SCOTTY Group, a developer of beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) satellite communication solutions based in Austria, announced on 30 April 2020 that they have secured line-fit offerability for the Thuraya Aero mobile connectivity solution on Airbus H145 and H135 helicopters.

At present, there exists a global gridlock in the optical downlink domain due to both a lack of industrialized ground stations made available for regular service, and an insufficient number of spacecrafts using optical downlinks.

COMSAT Inc., the global satellite connectivity solutions provider, has ratified an agreement with ABS, a Bermuda-based global satellite operator, to enhance and strengthen the COMSAT global network.

US$68 million of announced space-related financing rounds in April 2020 is by far the lowest number this year and indeed in a while...

The UAE Ministry of Education (MoE) announced on 29 April 2020 that it is collaborating with Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) to extend the reach of its Remote Schooling initiative for students seeking to access e-learning platforms during the current COVID-19 situation. As part of the collaboration, Yahsat will …

Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), announced on 27 April 2020 the signing of a contract with AVIO S.p.A., industrial prime contractor of the VEGA launch vehicle, in the frame of LEAP program of the European Space Agency (ESA),

Is it time for a shift in norms: does the recent pandemic finally push the space sector into using asset-based financing? Could the OneWeb insolvency have ended differently?

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Lockheed Martin a us$5.8 million contract for the first phase of satellite integration on the Blackjack program.

On the 50th anniversary of China’s first satellite launch, Geely Technology Group subsidiary, Geespace announced on 24 April 2020 that its first two satellites will undergo final validation testing in June before being shipped to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for launch into low-orbit. Along with the launch of its first satellites, Geespace is also launching its OmniCloud satellite-based AI cloud platform.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has unveiled the existence of its own Space Command following the successful launch of the Noor-1 Earth observation satellite on 22 April 2020 (reported by SpaceWatch.Global here).