SpaceWatch Global
• Joshua Faleti
Exolaunch will manage the deployment of 68 client payloads across SpaceX’s upcoming Transporter-18 and Bandwagon-5 rideshare missions, underscoring the scale of its role in arranging access to orbit for satellite operators and other commercial space customers.
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Japan’s Astroscale is maintaining an investment strategy focused on securing an early lead in satellite debris removal, rendezvous and proximity operations, and other in-orbit services. The approach may come at the expense of profitability over the next one to two years as the company builds positions in emerging markets.
Japan’s Astroscale is maintaining an investment-heavy strategy in satellite debris removal, rendezvous and proximity operations, accepting that it may forgo profitability over the next one to two years. The company is pursuing first-mover advantage as commercial demand for in-orbit servicing and space sustainability develops.
High activity
Exolaunch will manage the deployment of 68 client payloads across SpaceX’s upcoming Transporter-18 and Bandwagon-5 rideshare missions, underscoring the scale of its role in arranging access to orbit for satellite operators and other commercial space customers.
ICEYE has opened three international offices in a single week, establishing new operations in the Netherlands, South Korea and India. The expansion positions the synthetic-aperture radar satellite company closer to customers in markets where demand for SAR-based Earth observation is increasing.
Singapore-based Astrum Space plans to merge with a publicly listed blank-check company in a transaction valuing the direct-to-device satellite venture at about $1 billion. The deal places Astrum among space startups using public-market combinations to fund connectivity ambitions and potentially expand investor access.
Lite Coms’ Lite Sat 1.3A terminal, paired with Comtech’s GTC Type 2-certified SLM-5650B modem, is now available in a validated remote-terminal configuration for SES O3b mPOWER Sovereign Services and Hybrid Sovereign Gateway architectures, expanding a certified option for government and defense SATCOM users.
Kepler Communications will combine its optical data relay infrastructure with NorthStar’s space domain awareness services under a strategic partnership. The agreement also includes a hosted payload arrangement, linking high-speed space-based communications infrastructure with capabilities for monitoring and characterizing objects in orbit.
A new Government Accountability Office audit details the U.S. Space Force’s expanding use of privately collected space data and analytics, including nearly $124 million in purchases through its commercial data marketplace over less than three years. The findings highlight growing government demand for commercial space-derived intelligence.
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