Author: starpathwp-production
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Airbus and CNES Complete TELEO Optical Link Demonstration
Airbus and the French Space Agency CNES have completed the TELEO mission demonstrating very high throughput laser communications between Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Earth. TELEO is an optical communications payload hosted onboard the Arabsat Badr-8 telecommunications satellite that launched in 2023. According to CNES, TELEOS demonstrated reliable links to the prototype ground station called FrOGS…
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ThinKom Antenna Supports Satcom for Recent Rapcon-X ISR Flight
A ThinKom ThinAir antenna was the primary communications technology onboard the Rapcon-X aircraft’s recent inaugural flight. Rapcon-X is an aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (A-ISR) solution by Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) that uses a Bombardier Global 6500 jet for its base configuration. In November, Sierra Nevada announced the aircraft’s first successful flight from Hagerstown, Maryland. …
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Trending Satellite Deployers in 2024
Satellite Deployers are specialized systems designed for space missions to launch satellites efficiently and reliably into their designated orbits. These critical devices ensure the safe deployment of satellites during launch missions, protecting them from mechanical stresses and environmental conditions until they reach their intended destination. These systems may utilize mechanisms like springs, hinges, and pyrotechnics…
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Report: Elon Musk failed to report movement required by security clearance
A new investigation from The New York Times suggests that SpaceX founder Elon Musk has not been reporting his travel activities and other information to the Department of Defense as required by his top-secret clearance. According to the newspaper, concerns about Musk’s reporting practices have led to reviews by three different bodies within the military;…
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Chang Zheng 12, ZhuQue-2E fly maiden missions; Hainan spaceport and mega constellations expand
In late November, two new Chinese rockets took their maiden flights within four days of each other, with the Chang Zheng 12 and Landspace’s enhanced ZhuQue-2E successfully completing their missions. This week saw the first launch of the Chang Zheng 5B heavy-lift vehicle in over two years, carrying an initial batch of satellites for another…
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Rocket Lab Completes and Delivers Pioneer Spacecraft for Varda Space Industries
Rocket Lab USA, a global company in launch services and space systems, has successfully delivered its second Pioneer spacecraft to Vandenberg Space Force Base and completed production and testing of a third for Varda Space Industries (Varda), the world’s first orbital pharmaceutical processing and hypersonic Earth re-entry logistics company. The two spacecraft are part of…
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SDA Expands SpiderOak Funding Under SBIR Contract
The Space Development Agency (SDA) awarded additional funding to SpiderOak to demonstrate integrating the U.S. Space Force’s identity and access management software within the company’s platform. SpiderOak announced the addition to its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract on Dec. 17. SpiderOak said the company can help the SDA address the cybersecurity challenges of the…
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Iceye Raises $65M in Additional Funding
Iceye closed $65 million in extension funding, taking the company’s total raised in 2024 to $158 million. The funding round extension included participation from funds managed by Finnish sovereign wealth fund Solidium Oy, BlackRock, Seraphim, Plio Limited, and Christo Georgiev. The financing announced Dec. 18 consists of a mix of debt and equity instruments. Iceye…
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SES Successfully Launches Seventh and Eighth O3b mPOWER Satellites with SpaceX Falcon 9
SES announced that its latest pair of O3b mPOWER satellites was successfully launched into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States, at 5:26 pm local time. Both satellites will join the first six O3b mPOWER spacecraft already operating at medium Earth orbit (MEO), adding incremental capacity to the…
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Russian space chief says country will fly on space station until 2030
In a wide-ranging interview with a Russian television station, the chief executive of Russia’s main space corporation said the country is now planning to participate in the International Space Station project all the way to NASA’s desired goal of 2030. “In coordination with our American colleagues, we plan to de-orbit the station sometime around the…