Runway Girl
• Mary Kirby
Telesat will expand its planned low Earth orbit Lightspeed network to 225 satellites, restoring the 25% of commercial capacity previously diverted to defense customers. The change increases the capacity available for commercial services while preserving the constellation’s role in supporting defense requirements.
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Telesat will expand its planned low Earth orbit Lightspeed network to 225 satellites, restoring the 25% of commercial capacity previously diverted to defense customers. The change increases the capacity available for commercial services while preserving the constellation’s role in supporting defense requirements.
The inaugural International Space Summit in Paris produced 51 announcements, including the first detailed look at the IRIS² low-Earth-orbit architecture. Former ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet was also named commander of Vast’s PAM-6 commercial mission to the International Space Station.
Two Belarusian nationals and a Lithuanian company they controlled were convicted of fraudulently obtaining European Union funding to develop high-precision satellite-navigation receivers. The case highlights legal and oversight risks surrounding publicly funded European space-technology development and procurement.
The Arctic security debate is expanding beyond bases, ships and submarines as space infrastructure becomes part of the region’s strategic competition. The shift highlights the growing importance of northern approaches to space-enabled security and defense planning.
SpaceX has doubled the price of its unlimited worldwide Starlink coverage, while OpsGroup details newly established regional service areas. The changes indicate a shift in how Starlink’s global and regional connectivity offerings are structured and priced.
High activity
NASA has added Relativity Space’s Terran R to its NLS II launch-services contract, while Amazon ordered six additional Ariane 6 launches and ICEYE signed an agreement to evaluate Ariane 6 for sovereign synthetic-aperture-radar missions. The announcements underscore growing commercial and institutional competition among launch providers.
High activity
Cailabs is introducing shared optical ground-station infrastructure, while ICEYE and Arianespace assess Ariane 6 for sovereign SAR missions. Poland’s EYCORE has released initial imagery from its first radar satellite, and BAE Systems and the U.S. Space Force completed a design review for Epoch 2 missile-warning satellites.
High activity
European governments and space-industry leaders are meeting in Paris to strengthen the continent’s position in a market dominated by the United States. The two-day summit focuses on launch autonomy, orbital sustainability and security, while the absence of SpaceX and Blue Origin underscores Europe’s competitive challenge.
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