Government/Military

On Tuesday, the Senate voted to confirm the controversial nomination of Republican Nathan Simington to the Federal Communications Commission, despite pleas from Democrats and advocacy groups to hold off on a vote until next year. By confirming Simington, the Republican-led Senate will be handing the incoming Joe Biden administration a deadlocked FCC. In November, current...

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is serious about its partnership with the satellite industry, investing in the industry, and attracting the best in commercial satellite technology, Katie Arrington, chief information security officer for Acquisition and Sustainment, said Tuesday during a keynote of Via Satellite’s MilSatCom Digital Week. Arrington teased a major announcement in the...

The FCC began its 5G spectrum auction of the C-band on Dec. 8, auctioning off C-band spectrum that satellite operators are working to vacate. Up for grabs is spectrum in the 3.7–3.98 GHz band, prime spectrum for 5G services because of its geographic coverage and capacity. The FCC is auctioning 5,684 new flexible-use overlay licenses...

The final Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military satellite, which was launched in March, is now under the control of Space Operations Command. The U.S. Space Force Space and Missile Systems Center announced Dec. 4 that its production corps successfully transferred satellite control authority of AEHF Space Vehicle 6 (SV-06) on Oct. 29. Operational Acceptance...

Several Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) companies revealed Dec. 3 the formation of a coalition called the Open PNT Industry Alliance, which includes Iridium Communications, infiniDome, Jackson Labs Technologies, NAVSYS Corporation, NextNav, OPNT, Orolia, Qulsar, Satelles, and Seven Solutions. This coalition will support government efforts to accelerate the implementation of backup PNT capabilities for critical...

A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft autonomously docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday afternoon at about 1:40 p.m. ET. Dragon carried with it the first commercially owned and operated airlock on the space station, the Nanoracks Bishop Airlock. Bishop can deploy free-flying payloads such as cubesats and externally-mounted payloads, and host small payloads for...

SpaceX is one of the top recipients of funds in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), the FCC’s reverse auction working to bridge the digital divide, marking a win for its Starlink satellite constellation. SpaceX will receive $885.5 million in support over ten years to connect 642,925 sites in 35 states — more states than...

According to data pulled from the U.S. Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) online database, a solid majority — roughly 75% — of individual donations to politicians from employees working at U.S.-based commercial satellite companies went to Democratic Party candidates between January 1, 2019 and November 3, 2020. ActBlue, an organization that distributes funds to Democratic political...

Lockheed Martin revealed Wednesday that the fifth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (SBIRS GEO-5) satellite is complete and ready for launch in 2021, as determined by the U.S. Space Force. SBIRS GEO-5 is the first military space satellite built on Lockheed Martin’s LM 2100 combat bus. The SBIRS GEO-6 satellite is also being...

The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force plan to end Launch Services Agreement (LSA) funding for Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin by the end of this year, the Air Force said on Nov. 30. “The government sent letters in October to notify Northrop Grumman Space Systems and Blue Origin of the intent to end the LSAs,” the...