SpaceWatch Global
• Joshua Faleti
Viasat and Space42 committed up to $1 billion to establish Equatys for mobile satellite services, while Telesat selected SatPort Infrastructure to expand its Lightspeed ground network. Northwood Space also unveiled a new antenna, and Involve Space secured ESA funding for its StratoSAR radar platform.
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The U.S. Space Force will let SpaceX determine the number and configuration of spacecraft for a new $2.3 billion low-Earth-orbit satellite network, specifying required performance rather than prescribing the system’s architecture. The approach gives the contractor greater flexibility in designing the military constellation.
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Viasat and Space42 committed up to $1 billion to establish Equatys for mobile satellite services, while Telesat selected SatPort Infrastructure to expand its Lightspeed ground network. Northwood Space also unveiled a new antenna, and Involve Space secured ESA funding for its StratoSAR radar platform.
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A Vega-C rocket launched Europe’s FLEX and Copernicus-3C—also identified in coverage as Sentinel-3C—spacecraft from Kourou on Sept. 14. The mission adds new European capabilities for monitoring plant health, ocean conditions and broader Earth-system changes amid a busy global launch schedule.
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The economics of low Earth orbit constellations may hinge less on launch prices than on custom silicon and shared terminal architectures. The design choices could shape cost, scalability and competitiveness across networks ranging from Starlink to Europe’s planned IRIS² constellation.
Eutelsat has signed agreements to replenish and expand its OneWeb low-Earth-orbit network while supporting the LEO segment of Europe’s forthcoming sovereign IRIS² multi-orbit constellation. The commitments connect commercial broadband service continuity with Europe’s emerging secure-connectivity infrastructure.
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Korean Air and Asiana Airlines plan to begin offering free Starlink inflight connectivity on selected services from Sept. 15, 2026. Korean Air’s initial rollout covers three Airbus A350-900s and one Boeing 777-300ER, with broader plans to equip the Hanjin Group airlines’ fleets.
A €3 billion raise by Mistral, Isar Aerospace’s first orbital success, Eutelsat’s expanded LEO data-downlink partnership with Skynopy and Aerospacelab’s €2.4 billion IRIS² satellite contract underscore Europe’s push to control critical AI, launch, connectivity and secure-communications infrastructure.
Eutelsat will expand and replenish its OneWeb low Earth orbit constellation through 2034 under a deal with Airbus worth about €1 billion. Separately, the UK acknowledged nearly $40 million in spending on SpaceX’s Starshield, becoming the first country outside the US to publicly confirm its use for military and intelligence missions.
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