SpaceX has sent and received the first text messages through its supplemental coverage from space (SCS) satellites, it posted on X Wednesday. It said it plans to "rapidly launch a constellation of hundreds of satellites to enable text service in 2024" followed by voice, data and IoT services in 2025. SpaceX launched its first batch of SCS Starlinks last week (see 2401030032).
Airbus and commercial space station startup Voyager Space finalized a joint venture agreement that would see them collaborate on design, construction and operation of the Starlab commercial space station, Voyager said Tuesday.
The Peregrine lunar lander leaked too much propellant to be able to land softly on the moon, Astrobotic posted Tuesday on X. The robotic lander was launched Monday but developed a propellant leak (see 2401080072). The company said it continues to receive data from Peregrine and is "proving spaceflight operations for components and software" for its next lunar lander mission.
SpaceX so dominated in successful orbital launches, satellite deployments and total mass to orbit per launch vehicle in 2023 that the space activities of other companies, nations and organizations "were just background noise," analyst John Holst blogged for space consultancy Astralytical. "It was SpaceX’s world in 2023. 2024 looks to be more so," he said Monday. U.S. companies successfully launched 110 rockets in 2023, up from 85 in 2022, and SpaceX accounted for 96 of those 110, Holst said. Its 2023 launch total was an increase from 2022's 61. China conducted 66 launches in 2023, up from 62 the year before, he said. Holst said second in the U.S. behind SpaceX was Rocket Lab, which conducted eight launches in 2023, down from nine the year before. United Launch Alliance conducted three launches in 2023, he said. Holst said that while China's launch services use a variety of rockets, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology’s CZ-2D was its most active, with 13 launches. He said of the 2,850 total satellites deployed in 2023, SpaceX was responsible for nearly 70%. More than 99% of those 1,986 satellites SpaceX deployed were its own Starlink line. Of an estimated 1.5 million kg of spacecraft mass deployed last year, SpaceX launched about 87%, or nearly 1.3 million kg. That's about double what it delivered into space last year, he said. Even subtracting Starlink deployments, SpaceX lifted an estimated 186,000 kg into orbit, he said.
United Launch Alliance successfully launched its first Vulcan rocket Monday from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. However, one of the two payloads on the flight, Astrobotic's first Peregrine Lunar Lander, suffered a propulsion system failure, the company said in a series of postings on X. As a result, ULA said it was prioritizing capturing as much science and data as possible. ULA said it has sold more than 70 Vulcan launches, including 38 for placing Amazon's Kuiper broadband satellites into space (see 2204050003).
Lynk's Tower 5 and Tower 6 satellites were supposed to launch in November, but damage during transit delayed that launch, the satellite operator told the FCC Space Bureau last week as it requested an extension in the deadline for posting its surety bond. Lynk said the satellites are now set for launch on a March 1 SpaceX mission, with the remaining 5 satellites in the constellation launching by April. In 2022, the International Bureau granted Lynk a 10-satellite license for a direct-to-standard-mobile-phone service (see 2209160067). Lynk said Towers 1, 3 and 4 are in orbit and operational.
Satellite operator Skylo and IoT services firm FocusPoint will partner on a satellite-delivered IoT monitoring and alerting service targeting such industries as agriculture, energy, transportation and utilities, Skylo said Friday.
The limited intent of the FCC Space Bureau grant allowing SpaceX to conduct supplemental coverage from space (SCS) operations over the G block (see 2312050029) is gutted by the thousands of SpaceX satellites involved, Dish Network said in a docket 23-135 reconsideration petition posted Wednesday. "At 10 days for each satellite, the authorization would be for the equivalent of centuries," Dish said, adding that the intended limits don't place meaningful boundaries on SpaceX's operations. It urged the grant be deferred or discontinued or limited to a sample of 10 SpaceX satellites. In a separate filing in the docket, Dish and new parent EchoStar (see 2401020003) called Omnispace's interference analysis of the 990-1995 MHz band (see 2310230035) "worthy of study." SpaceX launched its first batch of SCS-dedicated satellites this week (see 2401030032). It didn't comment Thursday on Dish's petition.
Denying SpaceX participation in the rural digital opportunity fund (see 2312130004) effectively denied thousands of Virginians USF-funded internet access, a Virginia resident and retired E-rate consultant said in a docket 19-126 reconsideration petition posted Wednesday. Petitioner Greg Weisiger said many rural and insular locations, such as his home outside Richmond, are far from USF-funded roads or rights of way and thus burdened with high connection costs. Satellite installation costs are relatively low, he said.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launch late Tuesday included an initial six Starlink satellites dedicated to SpaceX's supplemental coverage from space service partnership with mobile carriers, including T-Mobile, the space company posted on X Wednesday. T-Mobile said field-testing of the direct-to-device service would follow soon. The FCC Space Bureau last month authorized SCS testing by SpaceX (see 2312050029).