Via Satellite
• Rachel Jewett
Planet’s revenue increased nearly 60% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, while the satellite-imagery company narrowed its net loss. The results point to growing momentum in sovereign agreements with governments worldwide and continued demand for commercial Earth-observation services.
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ST Engineering iDirect demonstrated a pilot version of its INT3000 multi-waveform 5G New Radio Non-Terrestrial Network user equipment modem at the European Space Agency’s 5G NTN Forum. The company says the technology provides a foundation for extending its satellite networking capabilities into the broader 5G ecosystem.
Planet’s revenue increased nearly 60% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, while the satellite-imagery company narrowed its net loss. The results point to growing momentum in sovereign agreements with governments worldwide and continued demand for commercial Earth-observation services.
Sparkle and Hellas Sat have demonstrated a quantum-safe satellite connection linking Greece and Cyprus, extending their earlier work securing a terrestrial connection between two Greek data centers. The test highlights efforts to protect satellite-enabled communications against future quantum-computing threats.
Chinese reconnaissance satellite Yaogan-50 (02), launched into an unusual retrograde orbit earlier this year, has apparently fragmented, creating a field of orbital debris. The event adds a new object and debris-generation incident to an increasingly complex space environment, although the cause and full extent of the breakup remain unclear.
A private spacecraft came within nine miles of NASA’s Swift Observatory, an aging mission described as doomed, and captured images during an attempt to assess or enable a rescue. The close approach marks a rare effort to intervene with an operational scientific spacecraft in distress.
High activity
The U.S. does not have enough engineers, technicians and assemblers to rapidly rebuild military satellites and other space assets destroyed in a conflict with China or Russia, according to a RAND report, highlighting a workforce constraint in national space resilience.
The U.S. Army’s desert trial of Starlink is highlighting both the potential and limits of commercial satellite technology for military use. Brig. Gen. Shane Taylor said the service is examining whether commercial options can meet requirements before committing to bespoke systems costing as much as four times more.
Munich-based startup Project-S has emerged from stealth after announcing a multi-million-euro funding round. The company is developing capabilities in space situational awareness, a growing area focused on monitoring and understanding activity in orbit.
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