U.S. military and allies get a feel for the value of commercial satellite imagery
Original Publication Date: 2023-08-13 13:54
Space Force imagery specialists helped locate illegal fishing boats and track other activities. Exercise showed how unclassified data from commercial satellites can be leveraged for maritime security. DoD has struggled to incorporate these capabilities into military operations. Space Force plans to establish a unit within U.S. Southern Command.
Telesat contracts MDA as Prime for advanced Telesat Lightspeed LEO constellation + now fully funded – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-08-13 00:00
MDA Ltd. (TSX: MDA) will build 198 advanced satellites for the Telesat Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) program. Telesat also announced that Telesat Lightsspeed is now fully funded through global service delivery taking into account the company’s own equity contribution, certain vendor financing, and aggregate funding commitments from its Canadian federal and provincial government partners.
Luna 25: the first Russian spacecraft in 47 years heading to the moon – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-08-13 00:00
Luna-25 is the first lunar lander in 47 years. The uncrewed spacecraft took off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East, aboard a Soyuz-2 Fregat rocket. The lander, roughly the size of a small car, is expected to operate for a year on the moon’s south pole.
Germany’s DCUBED to be the first “disruptive enabling technology” demonstrating in-space manufacturing – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-08-13 00:00
DCUBED, the German NewSpace hardware manufacturer, announced it will demonstrate in-space manufacturing as part of a demonstration mission expected in Q1 2024. This will be the first time ever that a product has been manufactured in free space. The demonstration will see the production of a roughly 30 centimeter high, 3D printed truss structure, and is designed to prove the efficacy of in-space manufacturing.
EnduroSat to build Vyoma’s space situational awareness constellation – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-08-13 00:00
Vyoma will use in-orbit optical telescopes to observe space objects. The first two pilot satellites are to be launched into space from the end of 2024. EnduroSat will design and build the ESPA microsatellites which will be deployed in a low-Earth orbit.
MEASAT providing CONNECTme NOW service in Kuala Lumpur – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-08-13 00:00
MEASAT is partnering with Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad to provide complimentary CONNECTme NOW high-speed broadband services to two Astro Kasih Hostels in East Malaysia. The initiative currently benefits more than 200 primary school students from remote hostels in Sabah and Sarawak. MEASAT is installing CONNECTme NOW satellite broadband with speeds of up to 100Mbps at participating hostels.
China sends world’s first high-orbit SAR satellite into orbit, improving disaster monitoring – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-08-13 00:00
The satellite, L-SAR4 01, was launched at 1:26 a.m. Beijing Time on a Long March-3B carrier rocket. The launch cost is $70,000,000. The newly launched satellite is the world’s first high-orbit SAR satellite that has entered the engineering implementation phase.