space-based Internet

In Space, baby steps and a ponderous ‘pivot’: 2022 in Review

For the newest military arm, this year saw it plant the seeds for important changes in everything from strategy to acquisition.

A Musk monopoly? For now, Ukraine has few options outside Starlink for battlefield satcoms

"I think everyone agrees that if there's a reasonable cost-based argument that paying for use does make sense," industry analyst Tim Farrar said. But "I think Elon has made that more difficult rather than less difficult because you don't normally negotiate your weapons contracts on Twitter."

Into the ‘outernet’: Secure ‘internet in space’ key to future Space Force hybrid architecture

Four Pentagon offices are working together on an ambitious hybrid architecture that spans orbits as well as classification levels, officials told Breaking Defense.

Space Force eyes Iridium in quest for satellite broadband, say top company officials

"We're offering a very specialized services so we're not trying to compete in the general purpose broadband," Iridium CEO Matt Desch told Breaking Defense. "We don't have to be the primary; we may be the emergency or contingency kind of solution."

Viasat to buy Inmarsat, plans for polar sats to expand Arctic coverage

"Viasat has been undergoing an existential crisis as it competes with SpaceX for the satcom market," one industry source said. 

Microsoft Expands Its Space Cloud With New SES-Boeing MEOsats

The full constellation of next-gen O3b mPower satellites is expected to be on-orbit by 2023, said SES CEO Steve Collar.

AFRL, NORTHCOM Eye Commercial Internet Sats For Arctic

"We'll have communications capability up there within the next year or so," said NORTHCOM commander Gen. Glen VanHerck.

Army ‘Leading The Way’ In Commercial SATCOM Buys

Major SATCOM providers -- such as Hughes (a subsidiary of SATCOM giant Echostar), Viasat, Intelsat, Inmarsat, SES and Eutelsat -- argue that this would not only ease problems with service gaps that have long plagued troops in the field, but also be cheaper and allow speedier integration of new technology.

Kratos Targets Ground System ‘Revolution’

"We think that p-LEO is a big deal. And there's got to be a revolution that has to hit the ground segment, says Phil Carrai, president of Kratos's space, training and cyber division.

Blackjack Gets 2021 Budget Boost For Two Sats

SDA says it's still a transition partner for Blackjack, despite no specific funding line in its 2021 budget.

Space Software Startup To Pursue SDA Contracts

NewSpace Networks will bid against Lockheed Martin for bankrupt Vector Launch's GalacticSky software-defined satellite assets, says co-founder Shaun Coleman.

Securing The Space Cloud: It’s Really Hard

"Security in space is different than security on Earth," says Jeb Linton of IBM Watson. "If you lose command and control for even five minutes, your satellite could be completely shut down."