Satellite Programs & Technology News

Reuters • Tim Hepher

Thales denies deal as Airbus and Leonardo continue talks to form European satellite manufacturer

Airbus, Thales and Italy's Leonardo are still negotiating a tie‑up to create a pan‑European satellite manufacturer. Thales said on Thursday no agreement has been reached and work remains ongoing, contradicting media reports that an agreement in principle or imminent signing had been secured.

2025-10-16T03:48:09.285995-07:00

Associated Press

SpaceX completes final Version 2 Starship test — 11th flight deploys test satellites and returns largely intact

2025-10-13T17:07:45.617123-07:00

Boeing

Boeing and Virgin Atlantic to Upgrade In‑Flight Connectivity Across 787 Fleet

2025-10-15T12:04:38.084034-07:00

Via Satellite

ESA selects Kongsberg NanoAvionics to build large multi‑payload cubesat for EU IOD/IOV programme

2025-10-15T13:06:13.169843-07:00

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Space.com

Mauve, the first private space telescope, will assess stellar environments for habitable exoplanets Mauve, billed as the world’s first private space telescope, will survey nearby stars to assess their environments and flag stellar activity that could rule out habitability for orbiting exoplanets. Its team says Mauve will identify which stars are most likely to produce life‑damaging conditions and prioritise targets for follow-up.

2025-10-17T07:08:24.721965-07:00

Mauve, the first private space telescope, will assess stellar environments for habitable exoplanets

Payload

Viridian wins $1.7M DoD Phase II SBIR to advance air‑breathing propulsion for VLEO satellites Viridian Space Corporation has secured a $1.7 million Department of Defense Phase II SBIR to advance air‑breathing propulsion for very low Earth orbit (VLEO) satellites. The award will fund maturation of propulsion hardware and testing aimed at countering VLEO’s atmospheric drag to enable longer on‑orbit operations.

2025-10-17T06:04:05.706254-07:00

Viridian wins $1.7M DoD Phase II SBIR to advance air‑breathing propulsion for VLEO satellites

SpaceNews.com

Arianespace pushes Ariane 64 maiden into 2026; Ariane 6 limited to four launches in 2025 Arianespace confirmed the first flight of the heavier Ariane 64 has slipped into 2026, trimming Ariane 6's 2025 campaign to four launches instead of six. The fourth 2025 mission (VA266) will place two Galileo satellites on an Ariane 62; the Kuiper flight (VA267) is now slated as Ariane 64's debut.

2025-10-17T04:14:46.030643-07:00

Arianespace pushes Ariane 64 maiden into 2026; Ariane 6 limited to four launches in 2025

European Spaceflight

Open Cosmos wins contract to build Spain’s eight-satellite contribution to the Atlantic Constellation Spain’s space agency and ESA have selected Open Cosmos over Deimos to build Spain’s eight-satellite contribution to the Atlantic Constellation, with deliveries scheduled by 2027. The award embeds a Spain‑built smallsat package into a wider Atlantic constellation effort and advances national LEO capability.

2025-10-17T01:41:46.724330-07:00

Open Cosmos wins contract to build Spain’s eight-satellite contribution to the Atlantic Constellation

Payload

UK small‑launcher Astron Systems books flights through 2030 Astron Systems, a UK startup developing low‑cost, reusable small‑lift rockets, has booked launch flights through 2030, locking in customer missions across the remainder of the decade. The commitments signal continued commercial demand for dedicated small‑sat access and predictable ride availability.

2025-10-16T21:49:18.423609-07:00

UK small‑launcher Astron Systems books flights through 2030

SpaceNews.com

Viasat targets U.S. military satellite market, signaling push into defense procurement Viasat is targeting the U.S. military satellite market, signaling a strategic push into defense space procurement. The move positions the satellite operator to compete for government contracts and expand its role in secure, military-grade communications, systems integration and on-orbit capabilities.

2025-10-16T15:57:55.033305-07:00

Viasat targets U.S. military satellite market, signaling push into defense procurement

Space Intel Report

Reznikov assesses Western commercial geospatial imaging satellites' role in Ukraine war Former Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov, speaking in La Plata, Maryland, assessed Western providers' commercial geospatial imaging satellites and their operational use in Ukraine's war effort, outlining the strategic and operational implications of commercial ISR on targeting, transparency and battlefield decision‑making.

2025-10-16T13:35:08.072235-07:00

Reznikov assesses Western commercial geospatial imaging satellites' role in Ukraine war

Via Satellite

SoftBank-led consortium to demo bidirectional optical LEO-to-HAPS links A Japanese consortium led by SoftBank, with ArkEdge Space, Kiyohara Optics and NICT, will demonstrate bidirectional optical communications between LEO smallsats and high‑altitude platforms in the stratosphere. The tests aim to validate high‑bandwidth, low‑latency laser links to bridge satellite and HAPS networks.

2025-10-16T12:38:37.980329-07:00

SoftBank-led consortium to demo bidirectional optical LEO-to-HAPS links

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