Satellite Programs & Technology News

Via Satellite • Rachel Jewett

SpaceX Launches Third Project Kuiper Mission, Deploys 24 Amazon Broadband Smallsats

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral SLC-40, deploying 24 Amazon Project Kuiper smallsats in its KF-01 mission. This third Kuiper launch advances Amazon’s planned 3,236-satellite LEO broadband constellation and marked the debut flight of the mission’s booster first stage.

2025-07-16T13:35:43.593753-07:00

satnews

SpaceX Falcon 9 to launch third batch of 24 Amazon Project Kuiper satellites July 16

2025-07-14T20:05:01.214993-07:00

Wall Street Journal

SpaceX Commits $2 Billion to xAI, Bolstering Musk’s AI Ecosystem

2025-07-12T15:35:23.188378-07:00

Via Satellite

ESA establishes Europe’s first deep-space optical laser link with NASA’s Psyche spacecraft

2025-07-11T11:24:00.769322-07:00

Satellite Programs & Technology News Timeline

Space Intel Report

Gravity-Space 1 Cubesat Probes GEO Drift Limits in 90-Day Slot Qualification Gravity-Space 1, a 25-kg cubesat, is conducting a 90-day geostationary drift test to qualify for its assigned satellite slot. Launched from La Plata, Maryland, the mission is assessing permissible drift limits for small platforms in GEO, informing future station-keeping standards during slot allocation processes.

2025-07-18T04:11:43.768315-07:00

Gravity-Space 1 Cubesat Probes GEO Drift Limits in 90-Day Slot Qualification

Aviation Week

Carriers Bet on Starlink to Transform In-Flight Connectivity Airlines anticipate that SpaceX’s Starlink will deliver fast, reliable inflight Wi-Fi, enhancing passenger experience and enabling new retail and operational use cases as the IFC market heats up.

2025-07-17T13:32:19.578541-07:00

Carriers Bet on Starlink to Transform In-Flight Connectivity

Via Satellite

Globalstar Launches Global Ground Station Expansion to Support Third-Generation C-3 Constellation Globalstar has kicked off construction of a new gateway in Bihoro, Japan, complemented by recent network upgrades in Spain and Texas, as it builds a global ground infrastructure ahead of its next-generation C-3 satellite deployments.

2025-07-17T12:52:05.325824-07:00

Globalstar Launches Global Ground Station Expansion to Support Third-Generation C-3 Constellation

Breaking Defense

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Space Force Accepts RTX’s Next-Gen GPS Ground Control Network After Decade of Delays The U.S. Space Force has formally accepted RTX’s Next Generation Operational Control System, a $7.6 billion ground control network for the GPS III and Follow-On satellite constellations, after more than ten years of development, schedule slippages and cost overruns. Government-led testing now begins, with no new operational acceptance date set.

2025-07-17T09:44:54.918315-07:00

Space Force Accepts RTX’s Next-Gen GPS Ground Control Network After Decade of Delays

Payload

SpaceWERX Awards $3M to Develop $150K Space Tug Engines SpaceWERX, the US Space Force’s innovation arm, has granted $3 million to develop radioisotope-powered space tug engines priced at $150,000 apiece—an unprecedented cost reduction. The investment aims to accelerate low-cost on-orbit maneuverability for satellite servicing and debris mitigation in contested space environments.

2025-07-17T06:08:01.604168-07:00

SpaceWERX Awards $3M to Develop $150K Space Tug Engines

SpaceNews.com

SES completes $3.1 B Intelsat acquisition, forging 120-satellite multi-orbit network SES has finalized its $3.1 B acquisition of Intelsat after securing US FCC approval, retaining its Luxembourg HQ and US presence. The deal expands SES’s footprint to 120 GEO and MEO satellites, accelerating its medium Earth orbit network rollout.

2025-07-16T22:31:06.444108-07:00

SES completes $3.1 B Intelsat acquisition, forging 120-satellite multi-orbit network

IEEE

Construction Begins on ESA’s LISA: First Space-Based Gravitational Wave Observatory ESA has started building the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), a three-satellite constellation that will measure picometer-scale distance shifts via laser interferometry to detect low-frequency gravitational waves from massive cosmic mergers.

2025-07-16T20:49:16.747590-07:00

Construction Begins on ESA’s LISA: First Space-Based Gravitational Wave Observatory

Via Satellite

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SpaceX Launches Third Project Kuiper Mission, Deploys 24 Amazon Broadband Smallsats SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral SLC-40, deploying 24 Amazon Project Kuiper smallsats in its KF-01 mission. This third Kuiper launch advances Amazon’s planned 3,236-satellite LEO broadband constellation and marked the debut flight of the mission’s booster first stage.

2025-07-16T13:35:43.593753-07:00

SpaceX Launches Third Project Kuiper Mission, Deploys 24 Amazon Broadband Smallsats

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