SpaceNews.com
• Sandra Erwin
An increasingly competitive market is forming around in-orbit propulsion, a capability military satellites have historically used sparingly. Growing defense demand is creating new commercial opportunities for propulsion technologies that can extend satellite maneuverability and expand the operational utility of space assets after launch.
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An increasingly competitive market is forming around in-orbit propulsion, a capability military satellites have historically used sparingly. Growing defense demand is creating new commercial opportunities for propulsion technologies that can extend satellite maneuverability and expand the operational utility of space assets after launch.
Telesat will provide secure Military Ka-band connectivity across Canada’s Arctic to the Canadian Armed Forces under the Enhanced Satellite Communications Project–Polar program. The contract, the largest in Telesat’s six-decade history, expands the Lightspeed constellation to 225 satellites and includes 27 additional MDA Space-built AURORA satellites valued at C$474 million.
Kreios Space will use a Kongsberg NanoAvionics microsatellite bus to demonstrate air-breathing electric propulsion in very low Earth orbit in 2028, targeting sustained operations despite atmospheric drag. Separately, Rubicon Space Systems completed hot-fire testing of its 5-newton ASCENT monopropellant thruster ahead of planned 2027 on-orbit operations.
High activity
SpaceX’s first earnings report as a public company will provide investors with new visibility into Starlink’s growth, AI and Starship spending, financial guidance and the impact of a major share unlock. The coverage also highlights launch capacity reserved for Starlink and complications surrounding a possible Tesla merger.
High activity
The first full week of August features six missions on the global launch calendar, with activity spanning Asia and the United States. SpaceX accounts for three Falcon 9 flights—two Starlink missions and one deploying satellites for AST SpaceMobile—alongside multiple Chinese missions.
ETL Systems has acquired Amphinicy Technologies, a developer of software for satellite communications and Earth-observation markets. The deal is intended to help ETL address more complex ground-segment requirements and broaden its end-to-end offering; financial terms were not disclosed.
K2 has been selected to test satellite-to-satellite optical communications for the U.S. Space Force, a technology central to planned missile-warning and tracking networks. The capability is also expected to support the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile-defense architecture.
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