US pay-radio operator SiriusXM has brought into use its latest satellite SXM-9. The craft was built by Maxar Space System at its Palo Alto facility. SXM-9 has completed its orbital testing phase after being launched on December 5 2024. “SiriusXM is committed to cutting-edge technology and enhancing the proprietary satellite delivery systems that help power […]

ABS, formerly known as Asia Broadcast Satellite, has a recently appointed new CEO Mark Rigolle (who was previously CFO at SES and CEO at O3b) and announced some valuable new contracts over the past year. However, the headline numbers for the year to September 30th 2024 showed a fall of 4 per cent under what […]

Eutelsat Group and Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) have announced a multi-year, multi-million-dollar partnership to deliver low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite services in Nigeria. This strategic agreement positions NIGCOMSAT as Nigeria’s leading satellite service provider by leveraging the OneWeb LEO network to deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity. The services will cater to a wide range of sectors, […]

Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales (67 per cent) and Leonardo (33 per cent), and Hispasat, Redeia’s satellite services operator, have announced the start of the development, manufacturing, verification, and validation phase of the QKD-GEO prototype, Spain’s quantum key distribution system from geostationary orbit. With a budget of €103.5 million, the QKD-GEO mission […]

Investment bank BNP Paribas, in a major study of Europe’s media and media-related activity, has also looked at the wider satellite sector. Analyst Sami Kassab said that satellite operators’ shares had a mixed performance in 2024. That comment might be seen as an understatement. “Incumbent satellite operators (Viasat, Eutelsat, SES, Iridium) have continued to see […]

A takeover bid for satellite operator Thaicom has been made by Gulf Edge, Gulf Energy and Intouch Holdings. Gulf Edge already owns 41.14 per cent of Thaicom and if successful with its bid says that it will maintain the current business plan and the business will stay listed on the Thai stock exchange. Thaicom, and […]

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has granted a vertical launch licence to Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), a German rocket company to use the SaxaVord launch site in Scotland. “This is a new era for aerospace and granting the first vertical launch licence from UK soil builds towards a historic milestone for the nation,” the […]

Analysts at Barclays have joined a growing number of researchers favouring AST SpaceMobile (AST). A report from the bank explains to investors the background to AST’s recent agreement with Ligado Networks, and says the additional L-band spectrum acquired by AST to be meaningful. The bank says that while the agreement, permitting access by AST to […]

Italy’s Telecom Italia (TIM) is to withdraw its premium satellite service on January 19th. Local reports suggest that TIM failed to agree a new pricing structure with Eutelsat. One report said: “This decision follows Eutelsat’s unilateral move to cease providing the satellite connectivity that powers the service.” The service commenced in 2020 and designed to […]

The authoritative McKinsey satellite market projections have seen significant developments and deviations based on the trends up to 2024 as the number of active satellites exceeded 9,100, growing faster than anticipated. Launch volumes are now trending toward the higher end of 3,500–4,500 annually, already approaching the projected 2030 ‘maintenance demand’ range. The McKinsey study looked […]