Washington Post
• Meryl Kornfield
Trump officials said Elon Musk’s company donated Starlink satellite internet service. Records show the company also received nearly $1.2 million in Pentagon awards, complicating the characterization of the service as a gift and raising questions about the relationship between the donation and federal payments.
Satellite
Latest source-backed stories
NASA has selected three companies to advance to the next phase of an effort to develop a commercial replacement for its aging Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System constellation. The selection marks a step toward shifting a critical space communications service to commercial providers.
Trump officials said Elon Musk’s company donated Starlink satellite internet service. Records show the company also received nearly $1.2 million in Pentagon awards, complicating the characterization of the service as a gift and raising questions about the relationship between the donation and federal payments.
AST SpaceMobile will support STR under a U.S. Space Force program focused on advancing space-based sensing. The effort will use commercially developed satellite technology, bringing a commercial provider into work on sensing capabilities for the military space domain.
PAVE Space plans to launch a demonstration mission of IBEX, a highly maneuverable spacecraft platform designed to carry commercial and defense payloads. The mission will provide an in-space demonstration of the platform; the announcement did not specify a launch date or payload details.
Viasat is looking to its Viasat-3 satellites to energize its broadband markets, while its Equatys direct-to-device joint venture remains pending regulatory review. The update links the company’s satellite broadband ambitions with a separate venture whose progress depends on regulatory clearance.
CesiumAstro closed a $730 million Series D led by Janus Henderson, valuing the space and defense communications company at more than $4.5 billion. The financing announcement follows what the company called a fully successful Element-1 mission and the unveiling of its Synchronicity satellite constellation.
Create a free account to see more recent Satellite stories and keep bookmarks in one place.
