The European Union's European Investment Bank is giving SES a $322.5 million loan for three satellites to provide broadcast and broadband services in Western Europe, Africa and the Middle East, EIB said Wednesday. The three are to launch in 2024, it said. EIB said the deal is part of the European Commission's Gigabit Society target that all European households have at least 100 Mbps internet connectivity by 2025.
Citing concerns about possible harmful interference from frequency use that doesn't comply with ITU regulations, Germany’s BNetzA emailed us it's requiring AST SpaceMobile to shut off operations when its satellite is within radio visibility of the country. It didn't say when the shut-off requirement became effective. AST didn't comment.
The FCC commissioners approved an order on circulation revamping the International Bureau into a Space Bureau and an Office of International Affairs, an agency official told us. We were told the order was unchanged from the draft. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel unveiled the Space Bureau plan in November (see 2211030032) and the draft order went on circulation last month (see 2212120051).
The FCC needs to get input from the space community about proper thresholds for collision risk metrics such as the object-years approach it took with its partial approval of SpaceX's second-generation constellation (see 2212010052), LeoLabs Senior Technical Fellow Darren McKnight said Monday in docket 18-313. Repeating what he told us (see 2301040007), McKnight said LeoLabs' object-years proposal as a way to measure risk "was only provided as a foundation" for the concept of object-kilogram-years.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory opposes SpaceX’s petition seeking U.S. market access for a direct-to-cellular payload operating in the mobile satellite service (see 2212070005). In an FCC International Bureau filing last week, NRAO said the opposition is similar to red flags it raised about other satellite-delivered mobile service proposals from AST and Lynk Global. It said a T-Mobile phone operating in the National Radio Quiet Zone not served by the carrier will result in a satellite downlink beam that "bath[es] the NRQZ at harmfully-interfering levels in the hopes of serving that phone." NRAO said its sister Green Bank Observatory shared in the opposition. SpaceX didn't comment Monday.
Expect 2023 to have a challenging space economy and be a big year for space tourism and travel, while satellite-to-handset service will continue its march toward becoming the industry's largest opportunity, Northern Sky Research analysts predicted for 2023. In part because of big IoT competition making it tougher to recoup the costs, at least one planned constellation of dedicated satellites for IoT services will be scrapped, they said Wednesday. That competition will continue to drive a price war for IoT connectivity, NSR said. It said whoever is first to offer lunar surface connectivity will reap big government and commercial contracts.
Viasat finalized the $1.96 billion sale of its Link 16 Tactical Data Links business, which is part of its Government Systems segment, to defense contractor L3Harris Technologies, Viasat said Tuesday. The deal was announced in October (see 2210030002)
With all its second-phase C-band relocation obligations done, Eutelsat is again pressing the FCC Wireless Bureau to issue the preferred format for filing its second-phase certification of accelerated relocation (see 2202230041). Eutelsat said Tuesday (docket 18-122) it did extensive outreach to earth station operators and, as part of the C-band relocation, voluntarily relocated and claimed 28 extra earth stations designated by the relocation coordinator as “rovers,” though there was no evidence they were associated with Eutelsat.
With SpaceX accounting for 77% of U.S. launches in 2022, and doing more than all Chinese launches combined, "this is what domination of the world launch market looks like," National Space Society Policy Committee Chairman Dale Skran blogged Monday. He said SpaceX benefited from world customers not using Russian rockets due to the Ukraine war, but even without that boost SpaceX "would still be strongly leading." SpaceX did 61 Falcon 9 flights and one Falcon Heavy launch in 2022, vs. 31 launches in 2021, he said. Of 2022's launches, 34 were for its Starlink broadband constellation and another 13 had commercial payloads, he said. He said since SpaceX plans to mass-launch its second-generation Starlinks using its Starship super heavy-lift launch rocket, "things may look different."
Low earth orbit satellite startup E-Space closed on its $14.5 million purchase of RF and wireless component company Wireless Telecom Group's CommAgility radio, baseband and software business, WTG said Friday.