Advanced Television

Thales

Indonesia wins ITU launch extension

Indonesia’s Satria communications satellite was officially licensed – and obliged – to be in orbit and on station by March 2023. That has now been extended. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is tough on its requirements for launch dates to be met, and satellites ‘brought into use’. The rules were designed to eliminate what the […]

April 8, 2021

Who is behind Project Kraken?

Space Florida, a State-backed unit designed to build on Florida’s already hugely successful space-related activity, is in contact with Project Kraken – a mystery space business that could be looking to locate in or near Florida’s famous Space Coast. Amazon has confirmed that its Project Kuiper mega-constellation of 3,200 satellites have anything to do with […]

March 22, 2021

Bank reviews Eutelsat vs SES

Analysts at Berenberg Bank have compared and contrasted Europe’s two satellite giants SES and Eutelsat in a detailed report. SES has a balance sheet that is in good shape says Berenberg but, despite its larger size, will generate much less cash flow than Eutelsat in 2021 and 2022, and, given uncertainty about the long-term future […]

March 18, 2021

Thales wins Galileo contract

Thales Alenia Space has won a $930 million-value contract (€772m) from the European Commission (EC) and issued via the European Space Agency to build six ‘next generation’ Galileo satellites. However, the contract is reportedly funded at 9.6 per cent higher than the main rival bid from Airbus, which is also seeking a contract to build […]

March 4, 2021By Chris Forrester

Telesat commits to LEO Lightspeed fleet

Ottawa-based Telesat has committed to its own mega-constellation of Low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites. Telesat needed to put its own financial affairs in order first as well as review its potential suppliers. Thales Alenia Space gets the prime contract for the LEO fleet which is called Lightspeed. The fleet would comprise 298 satellites with services […]

February 10, 2021By Chris Forrester

European Court suspends Galileo contract signings

The European Court has suspended a massive $1.8 billion (€1.47bn) manufacturing contract with Airbus and Thales Alenia for production of Galileo sat-nav satellites. The Court is looking at allegations of trade secret thefts. An objection to the Court from Germany-based satellite builder OHB-System which had pitched with the UK’s Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) on construction […]

February 8, 2021By Chris Forrester