Satellites

Coverage of satellite programs, constellations, on-orbit operations, and orbital network infrastructure.

• MDA Space Prices $600-Million Note Offering to Fund Blue Canyon Acquisition

  July 27, 2026

  MDA Space has priced a $600-million private placement of senior unsecured notes to finance its purchase of U.S. satellite manufacturer Blue Canyon Technologies. The offering caps a month of intensive capital raises tied to two separate acquisitions and completes a dual-track financing strategy designed to fund both without overburdening the company. The debt offering is the second half of a plan built to pay for two distinct deals announced in mid-June and early July. In June, MDA agreed to buy

• Amazon Files for 5,105-Satellite Direct-to-Phone Constellation, Targeting 2028 Launch

  July 27, 2026

  Amazon submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission on Saturday to launch a new low Earth orbit constellation of 5,105 satellites designed to provide direct-to-device service including voice, messaging, data, and emergency services. If approved, Amazon says it will begin deploying the constellation in 2028, marking a significant expansion of its satellite ambitions. The filing builds on Amazon's move earlier this year to acquire Globalstar's satellite network, along with Gl

• NASA Runs Google's Gemma AI in Orbit, Letting a Satellite Analyze Its Own Images

  July 25, 2026

  NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has successfully run Google's Gemma 3 artificial intelligence model aboard a satellite in low Earth orbit, demonstrating a new approach in which spacecraft can analyze what they see before sending data back to Earth. The experiment, called NAVI-Orbital, was conducted aboard Loft Orbital's YAM-9 satellite and achieved its first successful in-orbit demonstration on April 16, 2026. According to the researchers, it represents the first reported demonstration of a vi

• NASA Sends Google's Gemma Language Model Into Orbit Aboard a Satellite

  July 25, 2026

  NASA has placed Google's Gemma large language model on an orbital satellite, marking an early step toward spacecraft capable of reasoning about their own data without waiting for a ground uplink. The deployment was reported on July 24, 2026, by Loft Orbital, a satellite hosting company. The move reflects growing interest in running AI directly onboard spacecraft rather than relying on ground stations to process information after it is transmitted back to Earth. The latency of deep space communi

• China's Shijian-31 Uses a Novel Molniya Orbit to Sweep the Geostationary Belt

  July 23, 2026

  A classified Chinese satellite launched in June is operating in an orbit analysts say they have never seen before, giving it a unique vantage point over the geostationary belt. Shijian-31 is using a modified Molniya type trajectory to loiter over the equator and monitor satellites in geostationary orbit, a novel application of a concept traditionally reserved for the northern hemisphere. Shijian-31 launched on a Long March 3B from Xichang spaceport on June 16. Navigation warnings and the launch

• Poland Backs Europe's IRIS2 With $749 Million, Will Build 12 Satellites

  July 22, 2026

  Poland has committed 656 million euros, roughly $749 million, to IRIS2, Europe's sovereign broadband satellite constellation. Under an agreement signed in Warsaw, Poland will fund nearly 10 percent of the constellation, build 12 of its satellites, and construct a ground station in Warsaw. IRIS2 is framed as Europe's answer to Starlink, a sovereign broadband network intended to reduce European reliance on foreign-owned commercial satellite systems, including SpaceX. Poland's commitment carries w

• Northrop Grumman Launches Robotic Servicing Vehicle Toward Geosynchronous Orbit

  July 21, 2026

  A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday carrying Northrop Grumman's Mission Robotic Vehicle and three Mission Extension Pods, a mission built to prolong the working lives of multiple satellites already in geosynchronous orbit. The launch marks one of the first operational robotic satellite servicing efforts aimed at that altitude, roughly 22,000 miles up. The Mission Robotic Vehicle carries the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites payload, a pa

• Taiwan Moves to Exempt Starlink From Ownership Rules to Shore Up Wartime Connectivity

  July 19, 2026

  Taiwan's parliament is set to amend its telecommunications law to clear a legal path for Elon Musk's Starlink to operate on the island, part of an effort to strengthen communications resilience against the threat of a Chinese blockade or invasion. The self-ruled island has no low Earth orbit satellites of its own and depends on subsea telecoms cables to connect to the rest of the world. Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and has ramped up military pressure in recent years. Taiwan's Chunghwa

• UK Loses 340 Million Pounds on Eutelsat OneWeb Starlink Bet

  July 18, 2026

  British taxpayers have lost 340 million pounds on Eutelsat OneWeb, the government-backed venture positioned as a rival to SpaceX's Starlink. The company has slumped in value after struggling against competitors in the low Earth orbit broadband market. The UK government backed OneWeb as a strategic national asset and a hedge against dependence on Starlink. That bet is now visibly failing in financial terms, arriving in the same week that other governments moved to clear paths for Starlink to ope

• NASA Taps SpaceX Starlink to Beam Artemis III Imagery in 4K

  July 17, 2026

  NASA has awarded SpaceX a contract to deliver laser communications capabilities for the Artemis III mission using Starlink, marking another step in the agency's shift from building its own communications systems to buying commercial relay services. The deal will equip the Orion spacecraft with two Starlink mini laser terminals to supplement its existing communications system, delivering 4K imagery and video to NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston. The award reflects NASA's broader transitio

• AST SpaceMobile Pushes Commercial Satellite-to-Phone Service to Early 2027

  July 16, 2026

  AST SpaceMobile has deferred the commercial launch of its Direct-to-Device service to early 2027, moving away from a previously targeted late-2026 timeline. The company disclosed the revised schedule in a regulatory filing on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, alongside plans to raise up to $1 billion in new financing. The schedule change follows a series of launch vehicle disruptions affecting the Texas-based operator's commercial providers. AST SpaceMobile originally partnered with Blue Origin to laun

• Starship Flight 13 Set to Deploy First V3 Starlink Satellites in Operational Debut

  July 16, 2026

  SpaceX is preparing to launch Starship Flight 13 on Thursday, July 16, from its Starbase test site in Texas, with liftoff targeted for no earlier than 6:45 p.m. EDT. The mission will carry the first generation of V3 Starlink satellites, marking the first time Starship deploys an operational payload rather than flying purely as a test vehicle. Flight 13 is the 13th test launch overall of the Starship megarocket and the second flight this year, following the May 22 launch of Flight 12. It will al