Latest News

Ground segment service provider Leaf Space raised 20 million euros ($22 million) in a Series B round announced July 25. The company also took on a 15 million euro ($17 million) loan from the European Investment Bank of venture debt.  CDP Venture Capital Sgr (through Fondo Evoluzione) and Neva Sgr led the round, with participation...

Radio frequency (RF) data provider Kleos Space is preparing to file for bankruptcy, announcing July 26 that it is unable to meet its financial obligations.  The company said in a July 26 statement that its mandated broker was unable to achieve commitments to progress a converting note facility, and there is “no prospect of viable...

SpaceX subsidiary Swarm has ended new IoT device sales. TechCrunch first reported the news, and Swarm posted an FAQ on its website explaining that SpaceX’s future direct-to-cell offering will support commercial off the shelf IoT applications. Via Satellite reached out to a Swarm representative and was directed to the FAQ that confirms the end of...

Losses on several defense and space programs combined with a wider loss in the commercial airplane building segment led Boeing on Wednesday to report a net loss in income despite strong sales growth in the airplane manufacturing and services businesses. The Defense, Space & Security segment had a $527 million operating loss versus $71 million in...

Under a Proliferated Low-Earth Orbit (PLEO) Satellite-Based Services program that may be worth $900 million, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) have awarded 16 companies five-year contracts to establish commercial communications for military use. The July 18 DISA contract awards came via SSC’s Commercial Satellite Communications...

Indian hyperspectral earth-imaging technology firm Pixxel won a grant under the Indian Air Force‘s iDEX Prime program to manufacture miniaturized multi-payload satellites, the company announced Tuesday. Pixxel will to develop small satellites of up to 150 kgs for electro-optical, infrared, synthetic aperture radar and hyperspectral applications. The award was part of a SPARK grant program...

Quantic X-Microwave confirmed Wednesday that it was contracted by satellite communications systems developer SatixFy to provide up/down converters for the fully regenerative digital processed payload it installed on-board “JoeySat,” one of 16 satellites that SpaceX successfully launched in May for OneWeb and the European Space Agency (ESA). SatixFy utilized Quantic X-Microwave’s modular RF & microwave...

Space data and analytics provider Spire Global launched a new weather monitoring and alerting platform on Wednesday that it hopes will “revolutionize global weather awareness for the energy, supply chain and logistics industries.” The platform, “DeepVision,” includes space-driven weather forecast data, proprietary global modeling, shipment monitoring, interactive maps, and machine learning. Spire said that the...

Lynk Global released a video on Tuesday demonstrating two-way voice calls over satellite. In the video, Lynk’s team makes voice calls using unmodified phones, connected via its satellites in orbit.  The company completed the voice call trials earlier this year, showing calls in the video between its team members in Virginia, and in the United...

The European Space Agency (ESA) awarded Spire Global a contract to design an aircraft surveillance system. It is a 16 million euro phased contract for a project called EURIALO, which is mainly funded by the German Space Agency, DLR.  Spire will design a satellite constellation in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) that would track aircraft by determining...