SSI News
UK Gov orders LEO sat to evaluate optical communications for military purposes
The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has contracted for an optical communications satellite to help facilitate its adoption among the UK Armed Forces. The contract was awarded on 9 August and went to UK-based In-Space Missions. The satellite is to be known as Titania, and...
UK Govt orders LEO sat to evaluate optical communications for military purposes
The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has contracted for an optical communications satellite to help facilitate its adoption among the UK Armed Forces. The contract was awarded on 9 August and went to UK-based In-Space Missions. The satellite is to be known as Titania, and...
Is unbelievable space adventure Moonraker the most influential James Bond adventure? Well maybe…on the rocket ignition front
An article by Tom Fordy in the Daily Telegraph declared the James Bond space-plotted movie Moonraker (1979) as the most influential of 007's adventures, both to other movie makers (yes some scenes from it have been stolen by others), but also because its deranged...
SpaceX proposes to buy CubeSat constellation builder Swarm Technologies
It appears that on 16 July SpaceX approached Swarm Technologies with a purchase offer that would see it become a "direct wholly-owned subsidiary" of SpaceX. The deal was revealed in a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing concerning the transfer of ownership...
Virgin Galactic reopens space tourist ticket sales with upped price but delays start of service until next year
Fresh from the success of its first air-launched "passenger" suborbital SpaceShipTwo test flight to the edge of space on 11 July, Virgin Galactic has just announced that it is reopening its ticket facility and with increased ticket prices. While would-be space...
China launches GEO comms sat with suspected military applications
A GEO communications satellite was successfully launched by a Long March 3B/G3 (CZ-3B/G3) vehicle from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China, at 1630 GMT on 5 August. The vehicle was carrying the Chinasat 2E satellite which officially is intended to provide...
Maxar receives contract for SXM-7 replacement satellite SXM-9
Having been mentioned in its recent Q2 2021 earnings call Sirius XM has ordered a new GEO satellite to replace SXM-7, which has been declared a total loss following a payload anomaly detected a month after its launch. The order for the new SXM-9 has gone to US...
Maxar to build two new GEO sats for Sirius XM, SXM-9 a replacement unit and SXM-10 (Updated)
As mentioned in its Q2 2021 earnings call, Sirius XM has ordered a new GEO satellite to replace SXM-7, which has been declared a total loss following a payload anomaly detected a month after its launch. The order for the new SXM-9 has gone to US manufacturer Maxar...
Surprise Chinese launch sends two communications satellites into orbit for Chinese/German venture
China successfully launched a Long March 6 rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China, at 1101 GMT on 4 August. The vehicle was carrying the KL-BETA-A and KL-BETA-B satellites which were built by the Shanghai Institute for Microsatellite Innovation of the...
Analysis: The Great Space Race…USA still leads but China waits in wings should Artemis lunar plan falter
Some years ago this column started its annual analysis called “The Great Space Race”. The idea was that while the original "Moon race" ended in 1969 when the USA beat the Soviet Union onto the lunar surface with its Apollo 11 human landing, a new one has started - and...
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