SpaceNews.com
• Hope Hodge Seck
Amazon wants more than 5,000 satellites in orbit, while Blue Origin has proposed another 5,400. Chinese companies have filed plans for vastly larger numbers, and Elon Musk has discussed a constellation of 1 million, intensifying competition for the resources needed to deploy megaconstellations.
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The Pentagon is funding technology to beam solar power from orbit to Earth, pursuing a potential electricity source for military installations that rely on vulnerable fuel supply lines. The effort positions space-based energy as a possible way to reduce dependence on ground-based fuel deliveries.
York Space Systems will integrate a government space domain awareness payload into a spacecraft bound for geostationary orbit, supporting the Space Force’s Tetra 3 and 4 missions. The work marks the company’s first integration of a satellite for GEO.
Meridian Space and Kongsberg NanoAvionics said Oct. 5 they had successfully activated Meridian’s First Customer Link communications payload in low Earth orbit. The companies aim to begin producing flat broadband spacecraft in mid-2027, following in-orbit antenna tests.
Amazon wants more than 5,000 satellites in orbit, while Blue Origin has proposed another 5,400. Chinese companies have filed plans for vastly larger numbers, and Elon Musk has discussed a constellation of 1 million, intensifying competition for the resources needed to deploy megaconstellations.
Former MDA Director Lt. Gen. (ret.) Trey Obering says on-orbit servicing could enhance orbital resilience. His argument puts logistics and sustainment in space alongside the capabilities needed to make Golden Dome succeed, highlighting the role of maintaining and supporting assets in orbit.
High activity
The UK-based company says more than 50 satellites are complete and plans to place at least 96 in orbit by the end of 2028, building toward global coverage by 2030. The secure connectivity and data-transfer constellation faces a launch shortfall and regulatory deployment deadlines.
Voyager Technologies has received a $22.4 million Pentagon award to develop flight-ready systems for deploying small satellites. The work advances deployment hardware intended to support U.S. satellite operations, though the available report does not specify a schedule or mission application.
High activity
The Oct. 5–11 launch slate includes South Korea’s Nuri carrying Earth-observation satellites, a SpaceX military launch and Starlink deployment, and a Chinese Long March 12 flight. SpaceX also plans launches from California, including the Transporter-18 rideshare mission carrying Star Catcher’s orbital power-beaming demonstrator.
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