In a move that is equal parts shocking as it is on-brand, SpaceX just flashed its orbital watchdog badge to the FCC in what is being characterized as a “transparent attempt to hijack competition, hinder innovation, and impair national security.”

As the next big LEO constellation, Kuiper’s delays have attracted significant attention, but the question of how serious the delays are has gone unanswered. A comparative analysis of other large LEO constellations shows Kuiper is moving at a pace consistent with early industry precedent.

Just a month ago in Washington DC, “multi-orbit” was the talk of the show at Satellite 2025. Multi-orbit, in aviation industry parlance, refers to the concept of pairing GEO and LEO services to achieve optimal service levels.

The vitality of Starlink in Ukraine put wind in the sales of the European Union’s IRIS² constellation, and is stirring talks in Canada of wedding sovereign communications needs to local champion Telesat Lightspeed.

Impairment charges on GEO satellites show waning confidence in their ability to deliver previously anticipated returns.

Northrop Grumman’s 2017 docking of a Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-1) with an Intelsat satellite was a watershed moment for in-space life extension…

Spacesail partnerships in Brazil, Kazakhstan and Malaysia demonstrate an appetite for international growth.

Musk’s influential role in the second Trump administration has opened Starlink to new attacks.

Between the imminent debut of Blue Origin’s New Glenn and the seventh demo launch of SpaceX’s Starship, the team at SpaceX quietly hit a new record in first-stage booster reuse Jan. 10, launching a Falcon 9 booster on its 25^th mission.

The European Union is treating Italy’s consideration of a €1.5 billion ($1.6B) contract for secure Starlink services as a binary decision between Europe and a foreign provider…

Globalstar on Dec. 12 held its first investor day in years, bringing analysts and shareholders together to outline business priorities. Quilty Space attended the event, and walked away with the conclusion that..

Based on satellite design lives, OneWeb may need to replace half its fleet before IRIS2 enters service in 2030.

Telesat Lightspeed experienced a cascading series of delays over the past seven years, mainly related to financing, but the project’s recent preliminary design review shows Telesat’s timeline is no longer slipping hard to the right.

If SpaceX achieves VP of Flight Kiko Dontchev’s recently established goal of another 26 launches by the end of the year, the company will not only notch a new record, but set the stage for an even higher flight rate in 2025.

Constellations are never quick, and Europe’s IRIS² is no exception.

On Oct. 21, United Launch Alliance began integrating its third Vulcan rocket on a mission that, if done this year, positions the company to make good on an ambitious launch cadence in 2025.

On Oct. 11, SpaceX filed with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requesting to modify Starlink’s architecture and establish what it calls “SpaceX V3.”

The Defense Department doles out study contracts in the six-to-seven figure range so often they are rarely worth mentioning in the grand scheme of needle movers, but the Space Development Agency’s Commercial Disposal Services awards are different. 

Military agencies have long been ideal customers for the satellite industry because of their willingness to pay a premium for resilient communications.

Every year at the perennial Paris pilgrimage, one or more trends emerge as the dominant theme of the show, and 2024 was no different.