The idea of a voluntary moratorium on destructive anti-satellite (ASAT) testing has growing momentum internationally, with 10 nations so far having followed the U.S.' moratorium announced in April (see 2204190057), Secure World Foundation Program Planning Director Brian Weeden said Wednesday. In a webinar, Weeden said that support also was shown in more than 150 nations voting in December at the U.N. General Assembly for a moratorium. One hurdle to adoption by nations like Russia, China and India -- all of which developed and tested destructive ASAT capabilities -- is that they're developing those capabilities for different reasons, so no one argument works for all of them, Weeden said. Another challenge is defining what a space weapon is, since a light-detection and ranging sensor on a satellite for docking purposes also could be employed as a weapon. How to verify compliance with a voluntary moratorium or treaty is also an open question, he said.
Viasat and Inmarsat "remain committed to continuing engagement with the European Commission and are confident the proposed combination will strengthen competition in the growing satellite communications market and enable the combined group to offer innovative new services to its customers in Europe and around the world," the companies emailed us Monday. The European Commission is launching an antitrust investigation of Viasat's proposed Inmarsat takeover (see 2302130038).
Inmarsat's I-6 F2 communications satellite is scheduled to launch Friday from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the company said Tuesday. It follows the I-6 F1 satellite, which launched from Japan in late 2021 and is scheduled to connect its first customers later this year, Inmarsat said. It said I-6 F2 is slated to start providing service to customers in 2024. The two will bring a major upgrade in capacity and capabilities to Inmarsat's two global communications networks, it said.
The number of commercial aircraft equipped with in-flight connectivity topped 10,000 globally in Q4 2022, Valour Consultancy said Tuesday. Intelsat dominates the provider marketplace, with about 3,000 aircraft, it said. Valour said the plan by No. 2 provider Panasonic Avionics to begin supporting aircraft later this year with low earth orbit service provided by OneWeb seems overly optimistic and 2024 is more realistic. It said the ViaSat-3 constellation will boost Viasat's total capacity sixfold and have "a significant impact on the IFC market" by giving Viasat global reach. If Viasat bought Inmarsat, New Viasat would have 34% of the marketplace, supplanting Intelsat as the largest provider, it said. The deal is the subject of a European Commission antitrust investigation (see 2302130038). New geostationary orbit capacity coming online, plus new non-geostationary orbit operators entering the market, should drive the cost of connectivity for airlines down "considerably" over the next five to 10 years, it said.
The European Commission is concerned Viasat's proposed buy of Inmarsat could hurt competition in provision of in-flight connectivity to commercial airlines, it said Monday, announcing an investigation under EU merger regulations. The two geostationary orbit system operators are close competitors in the European Economic Area and globally for supply of in-flight connectivity, and there are few alternative suppliers, it said. The in-flight connectivity market has high technological and regulatory barriers to entry, it said. It said its investigation would look at whether non-geostationary orbit operators are likely to represent enough competitive pressure on New Viasat. It said it has a June 29 deadline for its investigation.
An error prevented some MethaneSAT documentation from being properly attached to its FCC application, the company emailed us Saturday, saying it's reuploading and resubmitting its application. The agency dismissed an earlier application this month (see 2302100042).
SpaceX arguing that conditions put on its second-generation constellation also apply to O3b's pending constellation modification isn't about issues specific to O3b but is a move to convert the SpaceX conditions to rules of general applicability, O3b said Monday in docket 18-313. SpaceX urged the FCC to apply the second-generation constellations to numerous pending applications (see 2301180049). Broad policy changes have to come from a notice-and-comment rulemaking proceeding, O3b said. It said many of the second-gen conditions were in response to specific issues with that constellation "and are not appropriate for broader implementation."
Reusable satellite company Outpost Technologies seeks FCC OK for its non-geostationary orbit cubesat Outpost Mission 0, which could launch as soon as June. In an International Bureau application last week, Outpost said the Mission 0 launch won't test reusability features but instead is for testing flight software, avionics and radiofrequency links.
MethaneSAT's 2022 non-geosationary orbit satellite application lacks sufficient information, said an FCC International Bureau dismissal in Friday's Daily Digest. It said the company can refile. The company didn't comment.
As part of private equity firm Advent International's $6.4 billion buy of Maxar Technologies announced in December (see 2212190010), Maxar and Advent asked the FCC International Bureau to approve transfer of Maxar's FCC licenses to Advent. In an application Wednesday, Maxar and Advent said the deal would let Maxar accelerate investments in next-generation satellite technologies and data insights and go after strategic mergers and acquisitions. They said it also would ensure delivery of Maxar’s Legion satellite constellation.