eVTOL Insights
• Thomas Sleightholm
DARPA awarded Redwire $20 million for a second very-low-Earth-orbit satellite experiment, while Hydrosat announced its Nyktōs tactical ISR program and MDA Space won a role on Europe’s IRIS² communications network. Separately, Safran and MSI-Defence Systems plan counter-drone systems, and MBDA and Terma are developing a containerized air-defense system.
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A European lawmaker says a cutoff of Starlink service led to deaths and has called for Europe to stop using U.S. technology. The available report does not identify when or where the cutoff occurred or provide further details about the alleged consequences.
A Russian military satellite that approached a Western commercial spacecraft last month may have been rehearsing an attack, a military space specialist said. Two related Russian craft are now heading toward another Western satellite, renewing concern over the potential threat to commercial spacecraft in orbit.
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DARPA awarded Redwire $20 million for a second very-low-Earth-orbit satellite experiment, while Hydrosat announced its Nyktōs tactical ISR program and MDA Space won a role on Europe’s IRIS² communications network. Separately, Safran and MSI-Defence Systems plan counter-drone systems, and MBDA and Terma are developing a containerized air-defense system.
Redwire has secured a $20 million contract from DARPA under its Otter program, which funds air-breathing electric propulsion. The award supports a second demonstration of the technology for very-low-Earth orbit, where propulsion systems must operate in the sparse atmosphere.
On Nov. 4, 2015, the experimental Super Strypi rocket failed shortly after liftoff from Hawaii on its first launch. The rail-launched vehicle was carrying 13 small satellites, making the mission an unsuccessful test of a new approach to placing payloads in orbit.
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Goldman Sachs and Apollo Global Management are in talks with investors to sell portions of a roughly $40 billion financing deal tied to SpaceX’s chip needs. The firms are reportedly offering slices of up to $500 million ahead of formal syndication.
The Pentagon has committed $150 million in financing to support LeoLabs’ radar expansion. The announcement identifies a substantial defense-backed investment in the company’s space radar infrastructure, though the available report provides no details on the expansion’s scope, locations or schedule.
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NASA selected Viasat, SES and Astranis to develop Ka-band relay concepts that can serve existing spacecraft without onboard modifications, while SES reported a two-way optical link demonstration between ground and space. Separately, SSC Space and ArkEdge agreed on ground services, and ITU rulings addressed deadline extensions for satellite programs in Korea, Thailand and Oman.
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