If you're wondering what's going on with ABL' Flight 2, the team encountered an anomaly during ground testing, TechCrunch learned. Quote from ABL's chief engineer Kevin Sagis:

“There is no significant delay. During ground testing designed to screen the vehicle for

Yank #SpaceX 's licenses, a coalition of Ukranian-American groups urge the #FCC . Communications Daily

After requesting The FCC authorization on 20-FEB-24 to deploy Starlink Gen2 sats into VLEO as part of the intial tranche of 7,500 sats (licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs/downloa…), SpaceX today extended the request to include V-band frequencies (+6.5GHz for users & gateways): licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs/downloa…

NOTAM issued for April 28th for Starlink Group 8-2 from Vandenberg.
According to Michael Nicolls, this launch will increase Direct 2 Cell satellite mix to 13 Direct to Cell payloads along with an undisclosed number of V2.0Mini standard Starlinks. Starlink will have 25 D2C

Seems that Starlink’s growth plans are still being ignored by cable investors…

.@Intelsat's CRJ 700 returned to the skies on Sunday with the production ready-version of the Stellar Blu Sidewinder terminal installed, enabling certification of the kit for access to both GEO and LEO satellite networks.
paxex.aero/intelsat-test-…
#PaxEx #IFEC

More details on fixing the Ukrainian power grid to be resilient in the face of GPS jamming (via Ian Servin || @airplaneian.com on Bluesky ): blog.talosintelligence.com/project-poweru…

So thanks to Aria Alamalhodaei we now also have a peek at the 2018-2019 SpaceX financials. See below my tracking of SpaceX revenues leaked to the press so far. I must add that I find it incredibly frustrating that the press is not disclosing the full documents.

According to the Valour Consultancy IFC tracker, flat panel antenna technology now accounts for approximately 50 percent of the 4,000 aircraft now awaiting installation of new IFC hardware. #IFC interactive.satellitetoday.com/via/april-2024…

Presumably with some quid pro quo in continued IFC sponsorship…

New: Northrop Grumman is working with SpaceX on its secret spy satellite constellation for the National Reconnaissance Office. Early satellites for the network have already yielded test imagery, a first-of-a-kind product for SpaceX. reuters.com/business/aeros…

Mark Rigolle, former CFO of SES, CEO of #LeoSat and then with RivadaSpace, has been named CEO of satellite fleet operator ABS.

.Eutelsat Group reports they have successfully re-orbited EUTELSAT 113 West A following an anomaly 2024 Jan 31: linkedin.com/feed/update/ur…. GP data confirms they have safely placed it in a circular orbit well above GEO graveyard altitude: celestrak.org/NORAD/elements…. Well done!

Scoop - former top SpaceX exec Tom Ochinero is starting a new venture firm, alongside Sequoia finance leader Spencer Hemphill and Achal Upadhyaya, who moved from engineering at SpaceX to investing at Cantos.

techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/for…

Analogies are fun ;) Yes, the mosquitoes all got killed off. But after many years of success, the Panama Canal has run short of water and now there are no good alternatives apart from going back to the old slow way of shipping things…

Goodbye Starlink roaming in South Africa

Starlink will block South African users and people in other countries where it is not officially available at the end of the month.
mybroadband.co.za/news/broadband…

The problem with Tom’s analysis is that he completely fails to engage with the question of demand, he just assumes that if Starlink and Kuiper are investing tens of billions, there must be an enormous revenue opportunity for satellite. But there’s no good reason to believe that

A Poobah at Wold Economic Forum asked a consultant to estimate the future size of 'the global space economy.'

After being asked the question, the consultant stood up, locked the door, closed the shades, and then asked the Poobah, 'How big do you want it to be? I'm guessing.'