Payload
• Victoria Woodburn
The Space Development Agency and Defense Innovation Unit selected three companies to develop designs for scalable satellite capabilities covering rendezvous, capture and deorbit operations. The effort points to a defense-led approach for building commercially enabled on-orbit servicing and debris-removal capacity.
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The Space Force has selected five companies for new awards intended to demonstrate how multiple satellite networks can connect to its emerging Space Data Network. The effort focuses on interoperability across diverse networks as the service develops a more integrated space-based communications architecture.
The Space Development Agency and Defense Innovation Unit selected three companies to develop designs for scalable satellite capabilities covering rendezvous, capture and deorbit operations. The effort points to a defense-led approach for building commercially enabled on-orbit servicing and debris-removal capacity.
China launched a new batch of Guowang megaconstellation satellites over the weekend, using a Long March 12 shortly after a Long March 7A failure. A separate Long March 2C mission carried a developmental satellite for the United Arab Emirates, highlighting continued launch activity across multiple vehicle families.
Rapid access to satellite imagery is strengthening Ukraine’s war-drone operations, linking space-based intelligence with unmanned systems on the battlefield. The episode underscores how timely commercial or government satellite data can directly support military decision-making and the effectiveness of drone missions.
High activity
AST SpaceMobile has received temporary authorization from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to test satellite connectivity using spectrum in the 800 MHz band. The approval advances the company’s effort to evaluate satellite-enabled communications in a regulated terrestrial-frequency range.
Lynk Global has completed its merger with Omnispace and rebranded as Elveo Mobile, combining Lynk’s direct-to-device satellite capabilities with globally coordinated S-band spectrum. The company aims to move beyond basic messaging and broaden satellite connectivity for standard mobile devices.
With launch capacity constrained, satellite operators are highlighting signed launch agreements to investors and customers. Securing rides to orbit is becoming a commercial differentiator, linking constellation deployment schedules and customer commitments more directly to launch-provider availability.
Skyband Systems, a Kirkland, Washington-based startup founded by former Starlink Aviation engineers and executives, is developing an aviation-grade positioning, navigation and timing unit that uses low Earth orbit signals to help aircraft detect and mitigate GNSS jamming and spoofing, an increasingly significant operational threat.
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