A Glimpse at some of the headlines in August’s Megaconstellation Monthly:
 
SpaceX goes off menu on spectrum. Starlink wants temporary authority to use “greenfield” spectrum using its latest Quad Band gateways.
 
The Space Data Network is open-ish. Five vendors received $12M apiece to prove they can plug into the Space Data Network, but SpaceX is building the backbone, and its Link-182 waveform remains behind a government-controlled gate. The result is a network with an on-ramp for vendor diversity but a distinctly SpaceX-shaped core. 
 
Starshield becomes too expensive to leave. The Space Force put a price on decoupling from Starshield Aviation investments in a new sole-source justification, which includes the more than $50M the government invested in the Mini.
 
The SDA found fifth gear on the way out. Tranche 1 checkout is running 2–3x faster than the first batch.
 
DTD players: take your marks. Amazon Leo formalized its 5,105-satellite system; AST SpaceMobile expanded its MNO and MSS spectrum footprint; Elveo Mobile launched with 60 MHz of globally coordinated S-band; Equatys advanced its 2,800-satellite architecture; MDA put SpaceRAN on the ITU map; Jio filed for 1,600 satellites spanning satellite and terrestrial cellular spectrum in India; and SpaceX is aiming Starlink-connected femtocells straight at the MNOs.
 
Sovereign constellations got materially bigger. Europe added 66 satellites to IRIS², taking the system to 348 spacecraft and increasing secure government capacity by up to 60%. Canada expanded the Telesat Lightspeed constellation by 69 satellites through a C$2.3B Arctic defense award. Sovereignty is proving to be an effective satellite growth subsidy.
 
Golden Dome met the funding wall. More than $22.5B has moved through reconciliation, but a CR cannot carry a program without an annual appropriation. The next tranche is now waiting on a funding vehicle that Congress has yet to deliver.