SpaceNews : Hubble Network raises $70 million to accelerate 60-satellite Bluetooth constellation
[[{“value”:” TAMPA, Fla. — Hubble Network has secured $70 million in Series B funding to help deploy a 60-satellite constellation capable of connecting up to a billion Bluetooth devices worldwide by 2028. The Seattle-based venture announced the funding Sept. 17, bringing its total raised to $100 million since it was founded in 2021. “The plan […]
SpaceNews : Educating customers may be half the battle for nascent hyperspectral sector
[[{“value”:” PARIS – A significant challenge for hyperspectral satellite operators is alerting potential customers to promising applications, according to speakers at the Summit on Earth Observation Business here. Hyperspectral datasets can reveal atmospheric greenhouse gases, identify stores of lithium and other high-value minerals, measure nitrogen in agricultural fields, and pinpoint the telltale signs of biological, […]
SpaceNews : Blue Origin retires New Shepard capsule after payload flight
[[{“value”:” PARIS — Blue Origin is retiring a New Shepard capsule that flew a dozen uncrewed missions over nearly eight years. The capsule, RSS H.G. Wells, launched atop its booster at 9 a.m. Eastern Sept. 19 from the company’s Launch Site One in West Texas. The NS-35 mission carried dozens of research payloads, but no […]
SpaceNews : New military satcom services program to focus on ‘maneuverable’ small GEO satellites
[[{“value”:” WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force is moving ahead with plans to tap commercial geostationary small-satellite constellations to bolster military communications, issuing a revised request for information on Sept. 15 for its Maneuverable Geosynchronous Orbit (MGEO) Commercial Satellite-Based Services program. The effort, now in its second round of industry outreach, underscores the Pentagon’s growing […]
SpaceNews : AI, sovereignty and the next generation of satellites
[[{“value”:” [embedded content] In this week’s special CEO Series edition of Space Minds, we’re at the World Space Business Week in Paris. In today’s episode, SpaceNews editor Mike Gruss talks with Brian O’Toole, CEO of BlackSky. The conversation dives into BlackSky’s latest contract win with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the growing role of AI in […]
SpaceNews : Stratospheric pseudo-satellites nearing commercial role in hybrid space networks
[[{“value”:” TAMPA, Fla. — Stratospheric pseudo-satellites are shedding their reputation as fringe experiments as governments and industry step up demand, according to executives closing in on commercial services for their high-altitude platform stations (HAPS). Aalto of the U.K. and U.S.-based Sceye and Aerostar are now regularly flying HAPS test missions in the stratosphere following years […]
SpaceNews : Lone Star space: How Texas can revitalize its galactic industry
[[{“value”:” In 1970, the crew aboard Apollo 13 called back to Earth to report the catastrophic failure of its oxygen supply. Their famous phrase “Houston, we have a problem” and the subsequent solution piqued the national imagination, representing the indomitable resolve and ingenuity of America’s space program. Since then, the public appetite for space has […]
SpaceNews : Cygnus arrives at ISS after thruster glitch
[[{“value”:” PARIS — A Cygnus cargo spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station Sept. 19 after a one-day delay caused by a thruster issue. The station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm grappled the Northrop Grumman-built Cygnus XL spacecraft at 7:24 a.m. Eastern after the spacecraft arrived its designated capture point near the station. The arm will then […]
SpaceNews : Defense and security agencies propel demand for Earth-observation data
[[{“value”:” PARIS – Defense and security applications provided almost half of the revenue generated by Earth-observation satellites in 2024, Novaspace principal Annekatrien Debien said at the Summit on Earth Observation Business. While commercial and civil demand for satellite data continues to expand, “the main catalyst remains rising geopolitical tension, which has revealed the strategic importance […]
SpaceNews : Astra plans mid-2026 first launch of Rocket 4
[[{“value”:” PARIS — Astra is targeting next summer for the first flight of its Rocket 4 vehicle as the company prepares to reenter the launch market. In a presentation at the World Space Business Week conference here Sept. 17, Chris Kemp, chief executive of Astra, said the company was on track for a first launch […]