Technology

AvL Technologies has appointed Jerry Ivester as its new Chief Commercial Officer, the company announced Dec. 8. He replaces Tony Wilkey who is retiring after 15 years with AvL. Ivester brings to AvL 22+ years of military experience and 12 years of business development and strategy experience in the satellite communications industry, most recently as...

Scottish space software technology provider Bright Ascension appointed Patricia Druken as its new COO and Laura Calder as its new CFO as it is getting set to launch its end-to-end HELIX suite of software products. The newly formed leadership team will focus on maximizing business growth opportunities and strengthening Bright Ascension’s position in global markets....

Gilat Satellite Networks has won a U.S. military contract worth $20 million through its U.S.-based subsidiary, Wavestream. The company announced the deal, Dec. 4. It has won a contract with the U.S. Army to provide additional 50W Ka-band BUCs for long-term sustainment of thousands of mobile Satellite Transportable Terminals (STTs), an extension of an existing...

LeoLabs and Aalyria announced a new partnership to work together on contract opportunities dealing with space awareness. Aalyria plans to integrate LeoLabs’ space traffic database into its network orchestration platform, according to the Monday announcement.  LeoLabs offers space operations software to track missions in Low-Earth Orbit, and has a network of ground radars. Aalyria offers...

Tesat delivered the first optical communications terminals to Lockheed Martin for the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer, the company announced Dec. 1. Lockheed will integrate the Tesat terminals on 42 small satellites that the company is building for the SDA’s data transport layer.  These terminals recently completed ground interoperability tests for the SDA...

The Space Development Agency (SDA) has successfully demonstrated what it claims is the first-ever Link 16 demonstration in space. The demonstrations took place over the last two weeks with three Tranche 0 Transport Layer satellites provided by York Space Systems, demonstrating network entry through space to ground connection from Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) to a series...

The GX LITE terminal is now available as a portable terminal for Global Xpress (GX) service, Viasat announced Wednesday. GX is now part of Viasat after the company acquired Inmarsat. Manufacturing partner Get SAT was part of the terminal development.  The GX LITE terminal is designed for land expeditionary users, to be easily transportable. It...

Laser communications terminals provide increased data rates, which means they are able to send and receive more information in a single transmission compared to systems based on radio frequency. Future technologies will target scalability and the establishment of a mesh network of interoperable, multi-domain, multi-orbit laser communications. Laser communications have come a long way since...

Commercial space station company Axiom Space is migrating its terrestrial IT infrastructure to AWS, the company announced Monday. The company said that deepening its partnership with AWS will provide the cloud infrastructure on Earth to develop its next-generation space station, Axiom Station.  Axiom Space worked with AWS in April 2022 to install an AWS Snowcone...

From geopolitical events, to improved manufacturing techniques, to direct-to-cell efforts, here are the technology trends that will drive the satellite industry over the next year. As we enter 2024, the opportunities for satellite technology development seem as vast and unending as outer space itself. Certain technology trends remain powerful drivers across the space domain year...