Commercial Space

Virgin Orbit is taking a 17.5% stake in partner Hypersat as the companies work to launch a six-satellite constellation to provide hyperspectral imaging from low Earth orbit.

The MU-B200 is a 200-kg (441-lb.) 1.2 kW satellite that aims to provide 5-Gbps (V-band) communications over Southeast Asia.

Two commercial positioning and communication satellites onboard—GeeSAT-1A and 1B—were lost in the Dec. 15 failure.

A growing number of satellite operators are either pursuing a multi-orbit strategy to provide high-capacity, low-latency data services, or are ready to jump on the bandwagon.

Multiple providers and an assortment of vehicles herald a healthy start to commercial passenger spaceflight.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is already seeing MRO graduates being poached by emerging industries such as commercial space.

ArianeGroup's CEO has shared the company's vision based on launchers of different sizes using common technologies.

OneWeb has said there are no plans to close its Merritt Island, Florida, factory, even though the company has disclosed its intention to build its next-generation satellites in the UK.

Companies that can remain nimble or provide niche capabilities will have the advantage.

Next year could see maiden launches of the Ariane 6 and Blue Origin's New Glenn follow the first orbital flight of SpaceX's Starship launcher, which is set for liftoff in January or February.

Roscosmos Space Corp. launched a Proton-M heavy rocket with two Russian communication satellites from Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan at 7:07 a.m. on Dec. 13.

The six-seater New Shepard—flying with a full cabin for the first time—lifted off from Blue Origin’s spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, at 9 a.m. local time.

An additional friction stir welding facility in Thales Alenia Space’s Turin factory is helping meet increased demand from space station operators for pressurized modules.

Tomorrow.io—the former ClimaCell weather services company that rebranded and announced a plan to launch and operate a constellation of relatively small satellites by 2022—will go public via a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

The plan to begin production in the UK would likely mean the closure of OneWeb’s Florida-based facility which used automation to produce its first generation of satellites.

Orbex has commissioned Motive Offshore to fabricate the launchpad at the company’s test site, a former Royal Air Force airfield at Kinloss, Scotland.

The launch from New Zealand marked BlackSky's third launch in 21 days to double the size of its constellation from six spacecraft to 12.

After a successful launch and 7-hr. ride into geosynchronous orbit, a long-awaited optical communications relay experiment, designed and financed by NASA, is in position to begin a technology demonstration in March.

The Series A round will go toward accelerating Israel-based HiSKy’s technology development and market outreach for its satellite terminals aimed at the Internet of Things market.

ArianeGroup will develop a reusable mini-launcher for entry into service in 2026, Bruno Le Maire, French minister of economy and finance, announced Dec. 6.

The company acknowledged it had received a warning of noncompliance from the New York Stock Exchange.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

Listen in as Aviation Week editors unpack the complicated set of problems that have beset the revolutionary aircraft program.

The contracts mark kickoff of two-phase approach to moving from the government-owned ISS to a public-private outpost in low Earth orbit.

As a reusable booster, Neutron is designed to carry 8 tons into low Earth orbit.