Bloomberg
• Carmen Arroyo
Goldman Sachs and Apollo Global Management are discussing sales of portions of a roughly $40 billion financing deal tied to SpaceX’s AI chips, with investor slices reportedly as large as $500 million offered ahead of formal syndication. The reports describe a financing effort, not a completed sale.
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Goldman Sachs and Apollo Global Management are discussing sales of portions of a roughly $40 billion financing deal tied to SpaceX’s AI chips, with investor slices reportedly as large as $500 million offered ahead of formal syndication. The reports describe a financing effort, not a completed sale.
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NASA selected Viasat, SES and Astranis to develop Ka-band relay concepts that can serve existing spacecraft without onboard modifications, while SES reported a two-way optical link demonstration between ground and space. Separately, SSC Space and ArkEdge agreed on ground services, and ITU rulings addressed deadline extensions for satellite programs in Korea, Thailand and Oman.
The UK Space Agency has launched a research competition focused on in-orbit manufacturing, while Italy’s Space Industries has inaugurated a €20 million satellite production and environmental qualification center near Turin. Orbital Matter and EnduroSat also plan a 2028 mission to demonstrate a 5 kW solar array using in-space 3D printing.
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Under a multiyear agreement, Qualcomm will provide radio equipment, baseband units and software for ground sites supporting SpaceX’s planned nationwide U.S. 5G network. The deal adds terrestrial infrastructure to Starlink Mobile’s buildout as SpaceX moves to compete in the U.S. wireless market.
SpaceX will use Qualcomm base-station technology to build out Starlink Mobile’s U.S. 5G network under a multiyear deal, with deployments planned at tens of thousands of sites beginning in 2027. Qualcomm expects revenue from the agreement near the end of fiscal 2027, with a fuller contribution in fiscal 2028.
Astrolab is developing systems to provide power and communications for a future moon base, extending the company’s work beyond lunar rovers. The effort positions it to pursue infrastructure needs alongside surface mobility as plans for sustained activity on the Moon develop.
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