Finance

Geospatial intelligence solutions startup Ursa Space Systems received $5.7 million in new venture funding, led by RRE Ventures, with participation from S&P Global and Paladin Capital Group. The funding follows the global expansion of Ursa’s oil storage product and the launch of a new commercial partnership with S&P Global Platts, a division of S&P Global....

Australia and Singapore rocket company Gilmour Space Technologies has appointed two high profile women to its advisory board. Col. Pamela Melroy and Dava Newman will join its advisory board, as it prepares to the enter the global small launch market in 2020. Pamela Melroy is a retired colonel of the U.S. Air Force, a test...

BlackSky, a division of Spaceflight Industries, selected satellite communications provider Atlas Space Operations to provide telemetry, commanding, and data support for its high-revisit, Earth imaging satellite constellation. Atlas will be offering support via new ground station sites in Guam and Japan. The Atlas ground network consists of 17 operational and planned antennas, using its Freedom...

Goonhilly Earth Station, a U.K. space company, announced the appointment of Bob Gough as Australia and Asia-Pacific head of business development. Based in Australia, Gough will spearhead commercial expansion for Goonhilly across the region. Gough brings expertise from working on earth stations, traffic stations operating in various satellite communication bands, and satellite in-orbit testing stations....

Northrop Grumman Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Wes Bush announced today that he is leaving the company in 2019. Northrop Grumman’s board of directors has already elected President and Chief Operations Officer (COO) Kathy Warden to replace him. Bush’s decision surprised analysts and traders, as Northrop Grumman shares dropped about 1.5 percent in early...

Following the rejection of a $3.2 billion takeover bid from EchoStar, U.K. satellite operator Inmarsat is now under pressure to show its vision of the future, said Berenberg satellite equity analyst Sarah Simon in a July 12 research note. EchoStar has made two bids to acquire Inmarsat, but has been met with stiff resistance. The $3.2...

If predictions from recent analyst reports are correct, CubeSat builders are about to enter a five-year period of intense growth as the commercial space industry  transitions to small-satellite-centric business models in order to meet demand for new applications and increased access to space. But, the size of the growth spike will be dependent on the...

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are joining forces to boost the European space sector in Europe. Ambroise Fayolle, vice president of the EIB, and Jan Wörner, director general of ESA, signed a joint statement which will see the two organizations cooperate on supporting increased investment in the European space...

U.K. satellite operator Avanti Communications is set to receive more than $20 million from the Indonesia government in August as the result of a legal action it brought against the nation in the London Court of International Arbitration. The legal dispute concerned orbital slot rights for an L-band satellite that Avanti had leased to the...

The combination of Hispasat and SkyPerfect JSAT as strategic investors could be “a marriage made in heaven” for LeoSat, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Rigolle said during an exclusive talk with Via Satellite about the July 10 announcement of the Spanish operator becoming a second major strategic investor in the Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) operator. Rigolle...