Satellite Programs & Technology News

Payload • Tim Fernholz

India’s GSLV Rocket Successfully Deploys $1.5B NASA-ISRO NISAR Earth Radar Satellite

India’s ISRO placed the NASA-ISRO NISAR Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite into orbit aboard its GSLV rocket, marking the launch of a first-of-its-kind $1.5 billion Earth science mission set to scan the planet twice every 12 days for climate and disaster monitoring.

2025-07-30T05:43:45.505224-07:00

Space Intel Report

EchoStar orders 100 satellites in $1.3B first tranche of $5B S-band D2D constellation

2025-08-01T07:20:49.057122-07:00

Space.com

SpaceX’s 94th Falcon 9 Launch of 2025 Deploys 19 Starlinks from West Coast

2025-07-31T11:53:08.468589-07:00

spaceinsider.tech

NASA and ISRO Set to Launch Most Advanced SAR Satellite NISAR on July 30

2025-07-28T03:19:20.557638-07:00

Satellite Programs & Technology News Timeline

Runway Girl

EchoStar CEO: Hughes wins inflight connectivity contracts with two large airlines On its 2Q 2025 earnings call, EchoStar president and CEO Hamid Akhavan disclosed that Hughes Network Systems has been selected by two large airlines to equip their fleets with its inflight connectivity solutions, underscoring the unit’s ongoing expansion in the competitive IFC market.

2025-08-04T16:12:40.867043-07:00

EchoStar CEO: Hughes wins inflight connectivity contracts with two large airlines

The War Zone

US Space Force Shifts to Ground Moving Target Indicator Satellites Amid E-7 Wedgetail Cut The US Space Force is accelerating launches of ground moving target indicator satellites to track surface threats and fill gaps from a potential E-7 Wedgetail cancellation, collaborating with intelligence agencies to enhance real-time threat detection, even as space-based radar remains years from operational maturity.

2025-08-04T12:10:53.779870-07:00

US Space Force Shifts to Ground Moving Target Indicator Satellites Amid E-7 Wedgetail Cut

Times of India

Dhruva Space to launch LEAP-1 AI and hyperspectral imaging satellites on 2025 Falcon 9 Indian spacetech startup Dhruva Space will launch its first commercial LEAP-1 mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 in 2025, carrying AI and hyperspectral imaging payloads from Australian firms Akula Tech and Esper Satellites on its indigenously developed P-30 platform, space-qualified in January.

2025-08-04T10:52:54.448456-07:00

Dhruva Space to launch LEAP-1 AI and hyperspectral imaging satellites on 2025 Falcon 9

Space.com

Space hurricanes found to disrupt Earth's magnetosphere and scramble satellites Researchers have confirmed the existence of space hurricanes—persistent cyclonic storms of plasma and charged particles in the polar ionosphere—that can shake Earth's magnetic shield and scramble satellite electronics without any preceding solar storm. The phenomenon unveils a hidden threat to LEO operations and adds complexity to space weather forecasting.

2025-08-04T06:01:04.485311-07:00

Space hurricanes found to disrupt Earth's magnetosphere and scramble satellites

Space.com

JUICE Hones Life-Detection Sensors during ‘Earthrise’ Crater Flyby During a rare lunar flyby, ESA’s JUICE spacecraft scanned the famous crater immortalized in the ‘Earthrise’ photo to calibrate its spectrometers and imaging instruments. The maneuver refines the probe’s tools ahead of its search for biosignatures on Jupiter’s icy moons.

2025-08-02T09:01:37.606547-07:00

JUICE Hones Life-Detection Sensors during ‘Earthrise’ Crater Flyby

Space Intel Report

❗️

EchoStar orders 100 satellites in $1.3B first tranche of $5B S-band D2D constellation EchoStar Corp has placed a $1.3 billion order with MDA Space for 100 Aurora-based satellites, the initial tranche of its planned $5 billion low-Earth-orbit S-band direct-to-device connectivity constellation. Deliveries are scheduled from 2028 as the company grapples with financing delays and a 17% share drop amid FCC spectrum scrutiny.

2025-08-01T07:20:49.057122-07:00

EchoStar orders 100 satellites in $1.3B first tranche of $5B S-band D2D constellation

Payload

OroraTech USA and Opterrix Roll Out Near-Real-Time Wildfire Data Feed for Insurers OroraTech USA, the US arm of German infrared Earth observation startup OroraTech, has teamed with risk intelligence platform Opterrix to integrate a near-real-time wildfire data feed into insurers’ risk platforms, launching a pilot with USAA to enhance underwriting and loss modeling.

2025-08-01T05:35:41.047137-07:00

OroraTech USA and Opterrix Roll Out Near-Real-Time Wildfire Data Feed for Insurers

SpaceNews.com

Albedo Secures Stage II NRO Contract to Expand Commercial Imaging Services Albedo has been awarded a Stage II contract by the US National Reconnaissance Office to scale its commercial Earth observation imagery and analytics for national security missions. Building on successful Phase I work, the award funds expanded low-Earth-orbit collection and advanced geospatial intelligence capabilities.

2025-08-01T03:11:44.163507-07:00

Albedo Secures Stage II NRO Contract to Expand Commercial Imaging Services

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