Satellites

Even phantom vessels emit signals that satellites can detect.

The Torrance, California-based company specializes in robotic arms for in-space servicing and lunar rovers.

Lockheed Martin is preparing to ship its newly completed Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft to Kennedy Space Center for its planned launch next month to map water deposits on the Moon.

ESA scientists say liquid water may not yet have been discovered on another planet because observation has not focused long enough on a given star.

The agency released a draft solicitation dated Jan. 22 related to the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

Rocket Lab is to carry the satellites on a dedicated Electron launch within four months.

Satellite maker OHB says it is targeting a jump in bookings as it set a financial target of securing “sustainable” order intake of over €2 billion in 2026.

“It’s time to be able to move through space at will and to be able to defend ourselves when we are attacked,” ULA CEO Tory Bruno says.

The company, which specializes in on-orbit servicing, said the latest effort will draw on its Rendezvous and Proximity Operations technology.

The company, which has its origins in India, says its hyperspectral Earth observation satellites will have a 5-m resolution.

Thales Alenia Space and Hispasat have linked up to develop a payload that can enable more secure ways to pass data using quantum key distribution.

Led by France’s Tikehau Capital, the late-stage funding round was also joined by a trio of other venture capital (VC) firms.

The connection took place Dec. 18 and is the only optical link attempted thus far, an SDA spokesperson said in a Jan. 15 email.

NROL-153 was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 10:53 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex-4 East.

Septentrio, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, specializes in high-precision GNSS receivers featuring anti-jamming and anti-spoofing technology.

NEON is to succeed the current Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) programs.

Iran plans to complete two space launches in the coming months, the head of the country’s Space Agency Hassan Salariyeh said.

The companies have developed prototypes for the Space Force’s Protected Tactical Satcom program under a 2020 contract award.

As part of the agreement, AST SpaceMobile will provide Ligado Networks with $113 million of AST SpaceMobile warrants and usage rights payments.

Turion is a non-Earth imaging and in-space mobility company headquartered in Irvine, California.

ULA flew two flights for its Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle in 2024, on Jan. 8 and Oct. 4.

The rocket, also known as Kinetica-1, took off Dec. 27 at around 9:03 a.m. Beijing time.

Poland is buying four microsatellites as it looks to build out its space-based reconnaissance capabilities, with the constellation set to be deployed in 2027.

The Pentagon’s five-year-old space agency will face its biggest test when it launches its first operational spacecraft in the spring of 2025.

It is not quite Starlink, but Europe aims to have its own commercial satellite communication mega-ish constellation ready starting in 2030.