Tag Archives: Airbus

Airbus and Loft Orbital signed a contract for Airbus to supply more than fifteen satellite platforms stemming from Arrow, the foundational platform of OneWeb. There are currently 394 such platforms in orbit for the OneWeb constellation with a further 254 under production. The contract signals start-up Loft Orbital’s intention of implementing the Airbus Arrow service business model.

Intelsat buys two software-defined satellites from Thales Alenia Space, the satellite operator said. The two satellites will advance Intelsat’s software-defined 5G GEO network and enables “greater agility, flexibility and orchestration across edge, satellite and core”, Intelsat said.

Airbus Crisa, an affiliate company of Airbus, has signed a contract with Northrop Grumman to develop the Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) system for the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), Airbus announced. The contract worth over US $50M marks Airbus’ first contribution to the Lunar Gateway, part of NASA’s Artemis program.

Airbus partners with OneWeb to provide Low Earth Orbit (LEO) communication services for military and governmental use, the companies said. Airbus and OneWeb plan to develop a complete range of secure services dedicated to the specific needs of armed forces for all their operations on land, at sea, and in the air.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has asked Airbus to build its Ariel exoplanet satellite that is due for launch in 2029, ESA said. Ariel stands for Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey and is the third in a trio of dedicated exoplanet missions conceived by ESA; it will follow Cheops, which launched in 2019, and Plato, scheduled for launch in 2026.

NASA has expanded its Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition Program (CSDAP) to include Airbus as the first radar data provider to NASA’s community of researchers and scientists, Airbus announced. The company will help advancing NASA’s science and application goals. Airbus will provide a comprehensive catalog of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Earth observation data products to the Agency.

SpinLaunch conducted a successful first test flight of their alternative method of launching spacecraft into orbit in New Mexico last month, CNBC reported. The launch system uses kinetic energy with a centrifuge spinning the rocket faster than the speed of sound before releasing.

Arianespace has successfully launched three French military Ceres satellites on a Vega from the European spaceport in French Guiana, Airbus and Arianespace said. The satellites were built by Airbus Defence and Space and Thales for the French Armament General Directorate. CERES stands for Space-based Signal Intelligence Capability.

The 72nd International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2021), organised by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), held in the Middle East for the first time and hosted by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) ended on Friday. Over 6,500 delegates from more than 110 countries attended the “Inspire, Innovate & Discover for the Benefit of Mankind” themed event.

As space technology continues to develop at pace, we are seeing larger numbers of satellites being launched than ever before. Used for communication, navigation, earth observation and scientific development (to name but a few), these satellites provide some incredible services and insights required for the everyday functioning of our society.