Space is a Network.
Constellations is Your Connection.
Europe’s largest telecom operators see significant potential in satellite direct-to-device (D2D) services but remain uncertain about market demand, profitability and which D2D providers will ultimately survive.
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The Sept. 2 launch of 13 U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA) satellites leaves brings to 23 the number of Tranche 0 Transport and Tracking spacecraft in orbit. All these missile detection and tracking satellites are equipped with optical communications terminals (OCTs), which SDA has repeatedly said is a key development goal for its Proliferated Warfare Space Architecture.
Space and airborne laser communications terminal (LCT) builder Mynaric AG reported a backlog of 348 units as of April 27, up from the backlog of 256 terminals as of Dec. 31. Germany-based Mynaric is one of several companies under contract to the U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA) and the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to test lasers on relatively small satellites in low Earth orbit.
MDA Ltd. said its contract to build 198 Telesat Lightspeed broadband satellites gives its new digital beam-forming antenna and on-board processor product line immediate credibility in a broadband-LEO market the company said includes a handful of credible prospective customers.
Mobile satellite services provider Globalstar said supply-chain bottlenecks that had slowed production of its Spot personal communications devices were now behind it and that the company will begin beta testing its new two-way products with key customers by the end of the year.
The year 2022 was the first time in history that the private sector launched more tonnage into space than the world’s governments, and the single most important cause is SpaceX’s Starlink broadband constellation. “The growth in the [private sector] is 100% linked to the activity of Starlink, deploying an incredible amount of mass in recent years.”
The 2023 edition of the “Space Environment Report” published by the European Space Agency (ESA) shows a gradual adoption of practices including end-of-life disposal of satellites. But it also shows that far too many operators in low Earth orbit — below 2,000 kilometers — are doing either nothing or too little to remove their spacecraft from these increasingly crowded orbital highways.
In a June 20 presentation here to the Seradata Space Conference, a conference in which insurance underwriters and brokers are heavily represented, Benhamou described a situation that has been true for several years. And when he referred to “dependency,” he meant not just satellite owners, but insurers as well.
Indonesia has perhaps the world’s most extensive satellite broadband deployment program and is finding out that even before it’s deployed, it’s not enough. Indonesia’s extensive deployment, with two high-throughput satellites launching this year, goes as far as any nation in pushing connectivity into unserved regions.
Satellite broadband hardware and service provider Viasat Inc.’s purchase of London-based mobile satellite services fleet operator Inmarsat, the biggest satellite communications consolidation in 20 years, was completed May 30 after 18 months of regulatory review.
