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Diverging priorities shape opening day of ESA Ministerial 2025

BREMEN, Germany –  As the 23 member states of the European Space Agency meet this week to decide its budget for the next three years, its three major contributors – Germany, France and Italy – are signaling they will heavily support the agency. Yet even as ESA leaders push for unity, officials from those countries […]

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Lithuanian space company Astrolight launches Greenland optical ground station project

Lithuanian space startup Astrolight has begun to build its first optical ground station (OGS) in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, which will be based on laser technology. Credit: Astrolight.

WARSAW, Poland — The European Space Agency and Lithuanian space startup Astrolight are building the first optical ground station (OGS) in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland as a way to bolster ground communications and to help protect against signal interference or piracy. Based on laser technology, the station is to provide greater space-to-ground connectivity than radio frequency (RF), […]

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Making COMSATCOM accessible for large-scale defense requirements 

An illustration of the Golden Dome. Credit: Arcfield

The rise of peer adversaries and new offensive weapons is changing communications requirements from military command headquarters to the warfighting edge. That brings an increased need for secure, reliable networking capacity to meet real-time response demands of modern battlefield situations. Rapid communications will also be integral to achieving the vision of the Golden Dome multi-layer […]

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Oman brings GEO orders level with 2024 as larger spacecraft regain traction

An order for Oman’s first geostationary communications satellite has lifted the global tally for this year to six, matching all of 2024 with a month still to go but still well below the industry’s former double-digit annual pace.

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Star Wars redux: the false promise of space-based missile defense

Star Wars is back in vogue with President Trump’s executive order to establish the “Golden Dome” missile defense shield. It will feature an ambitious space-based boost-phase interceptor program in addition to terrestrial systems. While admittedly the holy grail of defense against ballistic missiles, the obstacles that plagued its discontinued predecessor, “Brilliant Pebble,” under the Strategic […]

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Finland’s Iceye secures Japanese contract as it advances international expansion, new satellite ranges

As Finnish SAR constellation operator Iceye continues to develop its synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite offer and seek new international business, the company is readying to expand its portfolio with electro-optical Earth-observation satellites and SIGINT satellites. Credit: Iceye.

WARSAW, Poland — Finnish SAR constellation operator Iceye and Japan’s aerospace and defense company IHI Corporation recently signed a deal to develop an Earth observation satellite constellation for security, civilian and commercial use.  Under the latest deal, IHI Corporation ordered four satellites and an associated image acquisition system from Iceye, with the option to purchase […]

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ESA unveils Thales Alenia Space-led consortium for its Argonaut lunar lander

An illustration of ESA's Argonaut lunar lander. Credit: ESA - P. Carril

MILAN — The European Space Agency has tapped a consortium led by Thales Alenia Space Italy to develop its Argonaut lunar lander and has outlined a division of labor for the program across several European firms. Thales Alenia Space Italy will act as the Lunar Design Element (LDE) prime contractor and ensure that all subsystems […]

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