10 Oct 24. ViaSat-3 F1 Begins Delivering Service for Government Customers.
- Viasat is now delivering service to the U.S. Marine Corps through the ViaSat-3 network
Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global leader in satellite communications, today announced that it is now delivering ViaSat-3 F1 (VS3 F1) service to the U.S. Marine Corps, marking the first use of the ViaSat-3 network by a government customer. This follows the VS3 F1 satellite recently beginning to deliver services for commercial airline customers operating over North America.
The Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38 (MWCS-38) and the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment are the first military operational units to leverage service from the ViaSat-3 F1 satellite. The MWCS-38, which provides expeditionary communications support to the Aviation Combat Element (ACE) inside the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF), is using existing Multi-Mission Terminals (MMT) to access VS3 F1 service. The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, based out of the Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, is also using VS3 F1 services to support mission and reconnaissance operation communications.
The ViaSat-3 constellation, which will include two additional satellites, is designed to deliver high-throughput, flexible broadband connectivity that can meet (or exceed) performance, security and resilience requirements for U.S. and global coalition mission operations.
“This is an important milestone for our government services and solutions team and U.S. Department of Defense and global government customers,” said Susan Miller, President of Viasat Government. “The ViaSat-3 satellite network was designed with government missions in mind, offering greater capacity and the flexibility to dynamically shift bandwidth where it’s needed most. The use of small beams, beam shaping, encryption and ViaSat-3’s unique anti-jam capabilities are designed to provide secure and reliable connectivity to support the most critical government missions.”
“It’s exciting to see both government and commercial customers beginning to leverage this next-generation network. The two additional ViaSat-3 satellites are currently in the late stages of production and testing, including the successful completion of thermal vacuum testing on ViaSat-3 F3 recently and the successful completion of mechanical environmental testing on ViaSat-3 F2,” said Craig Miller, President of Global Space Networks, Viasat.
ViaSat-3 F1 experienced an antenna deployment anomaly following its launch in April 2023. However, extensive in-orbit testing demonstrated that all other systems on the satellite were operating at or beyond expectations. This deployment anomaly resulted in a significant reduction in overall capacity, but the resiliency and high-performance specifications of the satellite still allow it to support high-speed broadband services for government and commercial customers over North America, where the satellite is currently deployed. (Source: ASD Network)
16 Oct 24. Goonhilly to boost deep space communications capacity. Goonhilly will provide deep space communications services to the UK Space Agency and international partners from Cornwall, under a new contract.
Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd (Goonhilly) will provide deep space communications services to the UK Space Agency and international partners from its satellite Earth station in Cornwall, under a new contract announced today (16 October) during the International Astronautical Congress in Milan.
Space agencies and companies use a global network of large antennas to communicate with, and transfer data between, their spacecraft and controllers on Earth. As the numbers of space missions beyond Earth orbit – to destinations including the Moon – increase, the capacity of these existing services is reaching their limit.
Several of the world’s space agencies already share resources to cope with high demand, but this issue is predicted to deteriorate with the increase in robotic and human activity around the Moon.
The UK is in a unique position to provide increased capacity through facilities like Goonhilly, which is the world’s most experienced provider of commercial lunar and deep space communications services. Since 2021, Goonhilly has supported over 17 spacecraft beyond geostationary orbit, including CubeSats deployed on the Artemis-I mission. Goonhilly has also provided services for international organisations, including ESA, ISRO, and Intuitive Machines.
Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms, Sir Chris Bryant, said:
Just as digital infrastructure helps us stay connected here on Earth, this government-backed contract will play a vital role in supporting humanity’s next steps to the Moon and beyond.
The UK has a real competitive advantage in space and I want to exploit that to its full potential, using innovative commercial models such as those demonstrated by Goonhilly and the UK Space Agency to attract more investment, generate high-quality jobs and support our international partners.
This new agreement between the UK Space Agency and Goonhilly will help expand existing UK capabilities, unlock new and emerging markets and support the growth of the fledgling lunar economy. It will support Goonhilly to provide more services to international agencies and companies to help them cope with the increasing global demand for deep space communications. The contract is task-based and worth up to an initial £2 m this financial year.
Dr Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said:
Our work with Goonhilly is a great example of how the UK can benefit from the commercial opportunities associated with developing the nascent lunar and deep space economy. This contract award signals a step change in how we use different tools as a government agency to support the growing space sector and strengthen international partnerships.
Earth ground stations will play an increasingly important role in every part of the sector, from supporting major UK-led missions such as TRUTHS and Moonlight to enabling the next generation of broadband connectivity in low Earth orbit. Developing this critical capability will help meet both our national and international ambitions in space.
Goonhilly Earth Station.
With the rapid rise in lunar missions, including upcoming examples like Intuitive Machines’ IM-2, Astrobotic’s Griffin Mission One, and NASA’s Artemis-II, the UK Space Agency recognises the potential for Goonhilly’s advanced capabilities to ensure that deep space networks are able to support increasing demand for communications services.
The UK Space Agency and Goonhilly will work with new international partners to showcase the quality of Goonhilly’s state-of-the-art assets, robust processes, and expert team, initially demonstrating downlink telemetry and navigation services, with a long-term goal of providing uplink services to control spacecraft in flight – services Goonhilly has already successfully provided for a number of high profile missions.
Executive Director of UKspace, Colin Baldwin, said:
Goonhilly Earth Station has pioneered commercial deep space communications capabilities in the UK. This agreement will put the UK at the heart of international missions to the Moon and Mars, and will continue to give us a seat at the top table of space faring nations.
As a founding member of the European Space Agency with strong international ties beyond Europe, the UK wants to play a leading role in addressing this issue facing the global space sector, while supporting the development of new commercial models and national capabilities, and attracting more investment into the growing sector.
Matthew Cosby, CTO, Goonhilly Earth Station:
Goonhilly is at the forefront of commercial lunar and deep space communication services, providing vital infrastructure and expertise that supports international missions to the Moon and beyond.
As the demand for deep space communications continues to grow, this new contract enables us to expand our capacity, support more missions, and play a key role in the next chapter of space exploration. We are excited to be contributing to the global space ecosystem and strengthening the UK’s leadership in this critical area.
Goonhilly is at the heart of a growing cluster of 300 space organisations in Cornwall and the South West of England, which generate an annual income of £600m and employ 3,200 people. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
17 Oct 24. UK and New Zealand agree blueprint for satellite removal and servicing missions.
The UK and New Zealand space agencies have signed a blueprint for the removal and servicing of operational satellites that are very close together or making contact with one another.
Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data, processed by ESA
The arrangement, signed at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, is designed to support missions in the fast-growing areas of in-orbit servicing, space debris removal and satellite refuelling, known as ‘rendezvous and proximity’ operations.
Modern society is increasingly reliant on satellite technology and the Earth’s orbits are more crowded than ever before. There is an urgent need to invest in new technologies that can help remove debris from space and keep satellites operating for longer.
However, these complex missions involve moving spacecraft close to one another, and the novel nature of these missions raises difficult questions around the application of international rules and guidelines, particularly if launched and operated by more than one nation. Given the importance of improving space sustainability, New Zealand and the UK have been exploring ways to reduce the legal, policy, and regulatory barriers, and uncertainty associated with multistate rendezvous and proximity missions.
The work between the UK and New Zealand is designed to demonstrate how international corporation in this area can keep space sustainable for current and future generations. It provides a set of principles for allocating liability between different states involved in the different stages of these missions. It does this within the framework set out in the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (the ‘Liability Convention’), as well as principles around licensing and information sharing.
As the Liability Convention was established in 1972, when most space missions were led by governments rather than companies, the UK and New Zealand are hoping to make its application to the current space age easier to navigate, reducing barriers for industry to carry out these important mission types.
UK Space Agency sign the arrangement at IAC 2024 in Milan.
The principles and guidance we have developed could apply more broadly to other states, and like the UK, we hope this work can serve as a blueprint to enable these important activities internationally as we look to address the challenges posed by orbital debris.
New Zealand is home to the world’s first private spaceport which has conducted 49 launches to date. The UK is due to host its first vertical orbital launches from spaceports in Scotland in 2025, following the first horizontal launch attempt from Spaceport Cornwall last year.
Independent research published in 2022 estimates the global market for In-Orbit Services and Manufacturing to be $14.3 bn. A 2023 report from the UKspace trade association puts the opportunity for the UK at £2.7 bn. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
13 Oct. 24. Private investments in space are essential, head of Italian space agency says, Private investment in the space sector is essential for its growth and must not be demonised, but needs to be regulated, the chief of Italian Space Agency ASI said on Sunday ahead of a conference on the industry in Milan.
“We must not demonise the arrival of private companies (in the sector),” ASI President Teodoro Valente told Reuters ahead of the International Astronautical Congress, which starts on Oct. 14. “All the estimates about exponential growth of the space economy are hardly achievable if there was no substantial entry of private companies.”
Valente added that “private input is essential because public resources (can then) be used as a multiplier”.
The global space economy is seen soaring to $1.8 trillion by 2035, up from $630 bn in 2023, growing at an average of 9% per year or almost twice the rate of projected growth in global GDP, a report by the World Economic Forum and McKinsey has estimated.
Investment from the private sector reached an all-time high of more than $70 bn in 2021 and 2022, the report added.
Valente said, however, that the entrance of private companies in space operations required clear legislation, identifying roles, responsibilities and also looking at the sector’s long-term sustainability.
He said these rules were needed to “address a series of solvable issues”, pointing to Italy’s recently-announced framework legislation for the space sector as an example. (Source: Reuters)
13 Oct. 24. SpaceX catches giant Starship booster in fifth flight test.
SpaceX in its fifth Starship test flight on Sunday returned the rocket’s towering first stage booster back to its Texas launch pad for the first time using giant mechanical arms, achieving another novel engineering feat in the company’s push to build a reusable moon and Mars vehicle.
The rocket’s first stage “Super Heavy” booster lifted off at 7:25 a.m. CT (1225 GMT) from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas launch facilities, sending the Starship second stage rocket toward space before separating at an altitude of roughly 70 km (40 miles) to begin its return to land – the most daring part of the test flight.
The Super Heavy booster re-lit three of its 33 Raptor engines to slow its speedy descent back to SpaceX’s launch site, as it targeted the launch pad and tower it had blasted off from. The tower, taller than the Statue of Liberty at over 400 feet, is fitted with two large metal arms at the top.
With its engines roaring, the 233 foot (71 metres)-tall Super Heavy booster fell into the launch tower’s enclosing arms, hooking itself in place by tiny, protruding bars under the four forward grid fins it had used to steer itself through the air.
“The tower has caught the rocket!!” CEO Elon Musk wrote on X after the catch attempt. SpaceX engineers watching the company’s live stream roared in applause.
The novel catch-landing method marked the latest advance in SpaceX’s test-to-failure development campaign for a fully reusable rocket designed to loft more cargo into orbit, ferry humans to the moon for NASA and eventually reach Mars – the ultimate destination envisioned by Musk.
Meanwhile Starship, the rocket system’s second stage or top half, cruised at roughly 17,000 miles per hour 89 miles up in space, heading for the Indian Ocean near western Australia to demonstrate about 90 minutes into flight a controlled splashdown.
As Starship reentered Earth’s atmosphere horizontally, onboard cameras showed a smooth, pinkish-purple hue of superhot plasma blanketing the ship’s Earth-facing side and its two steering flaps, intense hypersonic friction displayed in a glowing aura.
The ship’s hot side is coated with 18,000 heat-shielding tiles that were improved since SpaceX’s last test in June, when Starship completed its first full test flight to the Indian Ocean but suffered tile damage that made its reentry difficult.
Starship this time appeared more intact upon re-igniting one of its six Raptor engines to position itself upright for the simulated ocean landing.
The SpaceX live stream showed the rocket touching down in the nighttime waters far off Australia’s coast, then toppling on its side, concluding its test mission.
A separate camera view from a vessel near the touchdown site then showed the ship exploding into a vast fireball, as SpaceX engineers could be heard on the live stream screaming in celebration. It was unclear whether the explosion was a controlled detonation or the result of a fuel leak.
Musk said the ship landed “precisely on target!”
Starship, first unveiled by Musk in 2017, has exploded several times in various stages of testing on past flights, but successfully completed a full flight in June for the first time.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday approved SpaceX’s launch license for the fifth test, following weeks of tension between the company and its regulator over the pace of launch approvals and fines related to SpaceX’s workhorse rocket, the Falcon 9. (Source: Reuters)
07 Oct. 24. SpaceX sends off ESA’s Hera planetary defense mission to study NASA’s astroid redirection. Florida’s weather held steady on Monday, October 7, enabling SpaceX to launch the ESA Hera mission to interplanetary transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
This was the 23rd and final launch for this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously launched Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, Transporter-4, Transporter-5, Globalstar FM15, ISI EROS C-3, Korea 425, Maxar 1, ASBM, and 10 Starlink missions.
Hera is a planetary defense mission that will study the impact NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission spacecraft had on the Dimorphos asteroid, which Falcon 9 launched in November 2021. Hera will provide valuable data for future asteroid deflection missions and science to help humanity’s understanding of asteroid geophysics as well as solar system formation and evolutionary processes.
SpaceX to launch ESA’s Hera to study Didymos asteroid on Monday, weather permitting
This artist’s concept shows ESA’s Hera spacecraft and its CubeSats in orbit around the Dimorphos moonlet. NASA has selected 12 participating scientists to join the Hera mission.
On Monday, October 7th, at 7:52 AM – 8:27 AM PDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, SpaceX plans to launch Hera, for the European Space Agency, on a space mission in its Space Safety program. The weather could present a challenge.
Its primary objective is to study the Didymos binary asteroid system that was impacted by DART and contribute to validation of the kinetic impact method to deviate a near-Earth asteroid in a colliding trajectory with Earth. It will measure the size and the morphology of the crater created by and momentum transferred by an artificial projectile impacting an asteroid, which will allow measuring the efficiency of the deflection produced by the impact. It will also analyze the expanding debris cloud caused by the impact.
According to weather officials, there’s a 15% chance of favorable weather conditions at the time of the launch. The forecast calls for a temperature of 75°F, moderate rain, 100% cloud cover, a wind speed of 16mph and 2.56in of rain. (Source: Satnews)
13 Oct. 24. infiniDome launches their new GPSdome-SunStone anti-jamming solution. has launched GPSdome-SunStone — this state-of-the-art anti-jamming module marks a significant milestone in the company’s journey of delivering next-generation navigation resiliency solutions to the defense and commercial sectors. The company’s solutions have been deployed across multiple industries, including defense, autonomous applications, and maritime, where the reliability of navigation systems is paramount. infiniDome’s technology, including the GPSdome series, has been rigorously tested in real-world environments, earning the trust of military forces and commercial sectors alike. Now, with the upcoming launch of GPSdome-SunStone, the company is once again setting the standard for secure, resilient GNSS protection.
GPSdome-SunStone sets a new standard for GNSS resilience by offering advanced features tailored to meet the increasingly complex demands of modern navigation systems, designed for ultimate performance and compatibility.
infiniDome’s commitment to providing industry-leading, battle-tested GNSS protection solutions is at the heart of SunStone’s development. As threats to GNSS reliability continue to evolve in the form of highly contested and a rapidly changing RF spectrum, GPSdome-SunStone offers the most advanced solution available to date. The SunStone delivers comprehensive protection based on infiniDome’s “future-proof” SW-defined anti-jamming core optimized to face the most current threats in the battlefield today and field upgradeable to meet future threats tomorrow.
The company will be ready for customer evaluations as soon as November 2024 with select customers in the defense space and will officially announce the general availability before the end of the year. This strategic timeline allows infiniDome to meet the high demand for optimized anti-jamming solutions to be able to face the rapidly growing threats in and around conflict zones for multiple GNSS-dependent industries. (Source: Satnews)
12 Oct. 24. NSA issues updated guidance on Russian SVR cyber ops. The National Security Agency (NSA) joins the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States Cyber Command’s Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF), and the United Kingdom National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to warn network defenders about ongoing Russian Federation Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) cyber threats and to recommend rapid countermeasures for security patching and mitigating systems.
According to the CSA, SVR cyber actors are using a range of tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) including, but not limited to, spearphishing, password spraying, abuse of supply chain and trusted relationships, custom and bespoke malware, cloud exploitation, and living off the land techniques. They gain initial access, escalate privileges, move laterally, maintain persistence in victim networks and cloud environments, and exfiltrate information. They often conceal their activity using Tor, leased and compromised infrastructure, and proxies.
To disrupt this activity, the report’s authors recommend baselining authorized devices and scrutinizing systems accessing their networks that do not adhere to the baseline, among other mitigations.
Since 2021, the SVR actors – also tracked as APT29, Midnight Blizzard (formerly Nobelium), the Dukes, and Cozy Bear – have consistently targeted U.S., European, and global entities in the defense, technology, and finance sectors. Their intent is to collect foreign intelligence and enable future cyber operations, including in support of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
A CSA published in April 2021, “Russian SVR Targets U.S. and Allied Networks,” highlighted the SVR’s exploitation of CVEs for initial access. Since then, SVR cyber actors have exploited vulnerabilities at a mass scale to target victims worldwide across many sectors. A CSA released in February 2024, “SVR Cyber Actors Adapt Tactics for Initial Cloud Access,” highlighted additional information on the exploitation of cloud environments and the use of proxies.
The joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), “Update on SVR Cyber Operations and Vulnerability Exploitation,” highlights how Russian SVR cyber actors are currently exploiting a set of software vulnerabilities and have intentions to exploit additional vulnerabilities. It provides a detailed list of publicly disclosed common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) and a list of mitigations to improve cybersecurity posture based on the SVR cyber actors’ operations.
“This activity is a global threat to the government and private sectors and requires thorough review of security controls, including prioritizing patches and keeping software up to date,” said Dave Luber, NSA’s Cybersecurity Director. “Our updated guidance will help network defenders detect these intrusions and ensure they are taking steps to secure their systems.” (Source: Satnews)
13 Oct. 24. Microsatellite project to monitor objects in space over Canada + the South Pole. The University of Manitoba (UM) and Magellan Aerospace (Magellan), in collaboration with Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) science and technology organization, Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), and the United Kingdom’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), are working together to to monitor and protect the Earth’s orbital environment.
Magellan and UM, both based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, are currently partnered on the DND-funded Redwing space domain awareness (SDA) microsatellite project. Redwing is a research and development (R&D) microsatellite valued at $15.8 m that is being designed, built, and operated in Canada.
Redwing will monitor objects orbiting Earth to help reduce future risks to Canada’s space infrastructure from space debris or human-caused interference. Magellan is responsible for designing, building, and testing the Redwing spacecraft as well as for mission operations. Other Redwing mission partners include ABB Inc. (main optical payload), C-CORE (operations support), as well as York University and UM (R&D support).
Building the Redwing smallsat, photo courtesy of Magellan Aerospace.
In April 2024, Canada’s DND signed a contract option with Magellan for $900,000 to add a companion nanosatellite to the Redwing mission. The nanosatellite, known as Little Innovator in Space Situational Awareness (LISSA), will be integrated with the Redwing satellite and will be deployed from Redwing sometime after launch once the two spacecraft have achieved an orbit at the designated altitude.
Leveraging the expertise provided by Ferguson and UM’s STARLab, Magellan is contracting the design and build of LISSA with UM. LISSA will follow in the same orbit as Redwing, operating some distance from it in a tandem in-track formation. In addition to performing its own observations, LISSA will serve as a convenient nearby object with which to exercise Redwing’s own monitoring and imaging capabilities.
LISSA will focus on observing satellites as they pass over the Earth’s South Pole, a region that is not well-covered by ground-based space surveillance sensors. Reflected light from ice and clouds during the Antarctic summer presents a significant technical challenge when imaging other space objects in visible light. For this reason, the UK’s Dstl is providing a short-wave infrared camera to be hosted on the LISSA nanosatellite, which will be less impacted by light scattered from the ice sheet. Also, many satellite materials are more reflective in the short-wave infrared increasing the likelihood of detecting them.
Both Redwing and LISSA are expected to launch in 2027. Both satellites will be operated by Magellan with support from UM’s STARLab, communicating through ground antenna stations owned by C-CORE in Inuvik, Northwest Territories and Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador. Mission data will be analyzed by DRDC and Dstl.
“Collaborations between industry, academia, and government are the foundation of innovation in the space sector. These partnerships merge cutting-edge research with industry expertise, accelerating advancements that will shape the future of space exploration and will cultivate the next generation of space professionals. By working together on LISSA and Redwing, we can yield superior results in space domain awareness that would be impossible in isolation,” said Corey Mack, Magellan’s Director of Engineering and Space Systems.
“With new launch companies providing unprecedented access to space, we need to research and develop new ways of monitoring space objects from small spacecraft to prevent collisions and to maintain space sustainability for the entire planet. This is a challenge of global scale, requiring international collaboration between industry and academia,” said Philip Ferguson, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and lead of UM’s Space Technology and Advanced Research Laboratory (STARLab). “Research partnerships are critical to the future of the global space industry. This project between the UM, Magellan, DND, and Dstl will create sustainable technologies for the next generation of satellite missions.”
“The space domain continues to change and evolve and requires space faring nations to innovate to keep informed of the security situation in the space domain. DRDC is thrilled to have Dstl participate in the Redwing mission to help grow both nations’ defence space programs,” said Scott McLelland, DRDC Director of R&D for the Defend North America strategic focus area.
“The collaboration with our Canadian partners will enable us to improve the characterisation of objects and maintain security in space to protect our mutual interests,” said Dr. Gemma Bagheri, Dstl Space Research and Development Program Manager. (Source: Satnews)