Tag: satellite communications
-
Ground Stations Face Military Targeting Risk as Space War Doctrine Evolves
Are satellite ground stations becoming military targets? Ground stations worldwide are increasingly viewed as legitimate military targets, with recent strikes on cloud facilities and satellite ground infrastructure demonstrating a fundamental shift in modern warfare doctrine. These terrestrial assets, responsible for commanding satellites worth hundreds of billions of dollars and handling critical data flows for both…
-
Iridium Reports 2% Revenue Growth Despite IoT Market Challenges
How is Iridium performing against growing NTN competition? Iridium reported a modest 2% year-over-year revenue increase in Q1 2026, continuing its steady IoT subscriber growth despite intensifying competition from non-terrestrial network (NTN) providers targeting Direct-to-Device (D2D) services. CEO Matt Desch addressed mounting pressures from emerging competitors during the earnings call, particularly around spectrum allocation and…
-
Pentagon Drone Tests Hit by Starlink Outage Shows DoD SpaceX Risk
Pentagon Drone Operations Face Critical Risk from SpaceX Dependency A recent Starlink service disruption directly impacted Pentagon drone testing operations, underscoring the Department of Defense’s deepening reliance on SpaceX’s commercial satellite network for critical military communications. The outage affected unmanned aerial vehicle trials that depend on Starlink’s satellite constellation for beyond-line-of-sight command and control links.…
-
NASA Seeks Commercial Providers to Replace $5B TDRSS Network
Will NASA’s $5 billion TDRSS network finally go commercial? NASA issued a draft solicitation April 10 for Project NEXUS, marking the agency’s most serious attempt to transition from its aging Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) to commercial communications services. The initiative, valued at potentially billions over the coming decade, requires backward compatibility with…