SpaceWatch Global
• Joshua Faleti
Spain plans to invest €1.6 billion to €2 billion in a national military communications constellation that could integrate with IRIS², while Airbus won the SpainSat NG-III contract. Leonardo’s space business reported first-half growth, and new payload work spans direct-to-device, broadband and defense satellite architectures.
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Spain plans to invest €1.6 billion to €2 billion in a national military communications constellation that could integrate with IRIS², while Airbus won the SpainSat NG-III contract. Leonardo’s space business reported first-half growth, and new payload work spans direct-to-device, broadband and defense satellite architectures.
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BAE Systems is expanding its industrial presence in India as New Delhi pursues defense self-reliance, while New Zealand begins acquiring a long-range surveillance UAV. In the UK, TEKEVER and iCOMAT are scaling collaboration around AR5 production, underscoring the growing emphasis on sovereign supply chains and indigenous aerospace technologies.
As companies develop plans for data centers in orbit, experts are urging the industry to establish safety practices early. The emerging constellations raise unresolved questions about orbital coordination, traffic management and the long-term effects of adding significant infrastructure to an already contested space environment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked U.S. President Donald Trump to enable Starlink support for operations targeting ballistic-missile launchers inside Russia. The request would expand the role of commercial satellite connectivity in Ukraine’s military targeting and strike activities.
Satellite imagery has reportedly detected fresh burn scars and active fires at Amazon data centers and at a Saudi oil refinery, indicating continued strikes affecting critical energy and cloud infrastructure. The observations add to the growing body of satellite-based assessments of wartime damage in the region.
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K2 Space has secured $500 million in Series D funding at a $6.8 billion valuation, more than doubling its value in seven months. The California-based satellite manufacturer plans to scale production, accelerate next-generation spacecraft development and move from orbital demonstrations toward larger commercial and military orders.
The Scottish Government has signed a one-year, seven-figure contract with Planet Labs for agricultural imagery data, sourced through Computacenter as a reseller. The deal expands the use of commercial Earth observation data to support regional agricultural-related decision-making and monitoring.
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SES will provide LATAM’s multi-orbit, electronically steerable antenna inflight-connectivity solution across more than 60 Airbus and Embraer twinjets, including its future E195-E2 fleet. The agreement comes as SES reports declining first-half revenue and adjusted EBITDA, while saying its Iris² deal is days from completion.
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