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• Jeff Foust
Reflect Orbital, whose proposal to direct reflected sunlight to specific locations on the ground has drawn both interest and controversy, has raised $73.5 million. The announcement adds substantial financing to a commercial space concept whose intended application is sunlight delivery from orbit.
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Reflect Orbital, whose proposal to direct reflected sunlight to specific locations on the ground has drawn both interest and controversy, has raised $73.5 million. The announcement adds substantial financing to a commercial space concept whose intended application is sunlight delivery from orbit.
AST SpaceMobile has disclosed that it is involved in a U.S. Space Force program focused on airborne tracking. The available report does not specify the company’s contribution, the program’s capabilities or schedule, or the value of its role.
Qatar satellite operator Es’hailSat has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Qatar Mobility Innovations Center, a research and innovation center owned by Qatar University, to explore collaboration opportunities in artificial intelligence and related technologies. Es’hailSat announced the agreement Nov. 9.
The European satellite spent four years in orbit measuring Earth’s gravity field before falling back to Earth on Nov. 10, 2013. Its mission made gravity mapping the central purpose of a dedicated spacecraft, earning GOCE the nickname “Ferrari of space.”
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Firefly Aerospace has agreed to launch up to 20 of Japan’s Synspective’s StriX radar satellites on as many as 10 Alpha flights through 2030. The company says Alpha Block II can carry 1 ton and offers responsive launch capability; the deal adds to a separate, reported $1.3 billion engine-supply agreement with AST SpaceMobile.
Iridium is promoting new satellite services while awaiting renewal of a Pentagon contract. The article’s available information does not specify the proposed services, contract value or renewal timeline, leaving the scope of the offering and the stakes of the pending decision unclear.
The defense technology company says it has tested all three systems in orbit. One is an infrared sensor designed to track spacecraft while they pass through Earth’s shadow, extending the company’s announced space-surveillance payload portfolio.
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