Runway Girl
• Mary Kirby
Viasat says its ViaSat-3 F3 satellite has entered commercial service, making additional connectivity capacity available across the Asia-Pacific region. The capacity will support airline customers including Delta Air Lines and Qantas, expanding the satellite operator’s network resources for in-flight connectivity.
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Viasat says its ViaSat-3 F3 satellite has entered commercial service, making additional connectivity capacity available across the Asia-Pacific region. The capacity will support airline customers including Delta Air Lines and Qantas, expanding the satellite operator’s network resources for in-flight connectivity.
Diffraqtion has raised $10 million to develop quantum imaging technology for space cameras, aiming to resolve details that conventional imaging systems cannot. The funding will support the startup’s efforts to advance higher-resolution capabilities for space-based observation and sensing applications.
Consolidation, shifting business models, sovereign space ambitions and a tougher investment environment are reshaping the global space sector. Industry leaders meeting in Paris are confronting increasingly interconnected pressures across commercial space, national capabilities and capital markets.
The Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office says the Space Force needs tighter coordination between acquisition staff and operators to make better use of commercial space data. Col. Tim Trimailo’s comments point to an organizational challenge in turning privately provided capabilities into operational value.
High activity
China says it has completed an Earth–Moon laser communications demonstration, verifying two-way, high-speed optical links across more than 400,000 km. The milestone highlights progress in lunar communications technology as China expands its ambitions for sustained activity and infrastructure around the Moon.
High activity
SES has selected Germany’s OHB to develop and build 18 medium-Earth-orbit satellites for the European Union’s IRIS² secure communications constellation under a contract valued at nearly €1 billion ($1.16 billion). Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2029, advancing the long-awaited constellation into implementation.
High activity
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched Sunday on its mission to Lagrange Point 2, beginning a commissioning period months ahead of schedule. The Hubble-class observatory will deliver wide-field, high-resolution views to investigate dark energy and dark matter while searching for Earthlike planets around other stars.
NASA and Katalyst Space will attempt rendezvous and proximity operations between Katalyst’s LINK spacecraft and NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, following an ongoing commercial spacecraft attitude-control issue. The maneuver is intended to demonstrate capabilities that could support future on-orbit servicing and space exploration missions.
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