U.K.-based air traffic control services provider NATS has made a $69 million equity investment in Aireon in order to help speed up the development of technologies for aviation surveillance. NATS said Wednesday its decision to buy a 10 percent equity stake in Aireon comes as the latter prepares to offer a space-based service – Aireon […] More

Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium Communications, has said coordination between the private and public sectors is needed to resolve the current space debris problem, USA Today reported Monday. Desch believes the U.S. should lead efforts in space activities, especially in manufacturing satellites, as start-ups have started designing and launching satellites at low cost, making them […] More

A SpaceX-made spacecraft took off Monday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to bring more than 5,800 pounds of crew supplies and research investigations to the International Space Station. NASA said Tuesday the Dragon spacecraft’s launch marks the 14th ISS cargo delivery mission under the Commercial Resupply Services contract. Dragon is […] More

NASA will launch the Airbus-built replacement satellites for the U.S.-German Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellite duo aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the first quarter of 2018, Space Flight Now reported Tuesday. The space agency inked a shared launch agreement with Iridium and the Helmholtz Center-Potsdam German Research Center for Geosciences called GFZ to launch the […] More

Canada-based exactEarth has teamed up with Harris to bring into service five additional satellites as part of the former’s automatic identification system satellite constellation designed to support the delivery of a real-time ship tracking service to the maritime market. The addition of five more exactEarth satellites brings the total number of operational systems in the […] More

Globecomm has expanded the coverage of its Ku-band very small aperture terminal network services to shipping vessels traversing the South Indian Ocean. The company said Thursday the South Indian Ocean serves as a shipping route between Australia and the southern end of Africa. Globecomm’s Ku-band VSAT network currently provides broadband communications services to vessel operators […] More

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell has said the company plans a two- to three-week interval for its Falcon 9 rocket launches once a new launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida enters service next week, Reuters reported Tuesday. Shotwell told Reuters Monday in an interview that launch pad repairs at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station […] More

Tresys Technology has named federal sales professional Jackson Kemper III as senior vice president of business development and sales. Kemper will lead a team of sales directors to drive commercial and federal sales activity, Tresys said Thursday. “Jackson’s sales knowledge and network of government customer relationships will be a great asset to our customers as well as to our organization,” said Tresys CEO […] More

Iridium Communications, CEO Matt Desch has called on the Federal Aviation Administration to transition to a new aircraft surveillance system by the end of this calendar year in an interview with Reuters posted Tuesday. Desch told Reuters’ Andrea Shalal at the Satellite 2016 conference the agency needs to make a decision ahead of the scheduled 2018 date for […] More

Six companies will participate in a public-private sector partnership initiative launched by U.S. Strategic Command to monitor satellite launches and daily operations in an effort to build up collaboration in space programs, Air Force Times reported Wednesday. Phillip Swarts writes Inmarsat, SES Government Solutions, Intelsat, Eutelsat, DigitalGlobe and Iridium Communications will work at the Joint Space Operations Center […] More

Thales‘ in-flight entertainment and connectivity business and others in the aviation industry are eyeing broadband pipes for the transmission of non-safety Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System operational data, Runway Girl Network reported Thursday. Seth Miller writes that the transfer of ACARS data over broadband could present a potential threat to the in-flight connectivity system’s security. Dominique Giannoi, […] More

Cobham, International Communications Group, Iridium Communications, L-3 Communications and Rockwell Collins have partnered to develop and distribute products that are built to work with Iridium’s new broadband service. The industry partners will design and manufacture broadband terminals to be compatible with Iridium Certus, Iridium said Thursday. Iridium expects the products from its partners to be available in late 2016 after the release of […] More