By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: SpaceX buys more EchoStar spectrum, the FAA puts a temporary curfew on commercial launches, BlackSky and SES feel effects of government spending reductions and more.
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Top Stories
EchoStar is selling more spectrum to SpaceX for $2.6 billion. EchoStar announced Thursday it would sell 15 megahertz of nationwide, unpaired AWS-3 uplink spectrum licenses to SpaceX. The spectrum would improve SpaceX direct-to-device services in the United States. EchoStar sold a larger block of spectrum to SpaceX in September for $17 billion in cash and stock; SpaceX will pay for the new spectrum in stock. EchoStar announced a new division Thursday called EchoStar Capital, which will hold its equity in SpaceX and be responsible for investing in complementary growth opportunities as an "asset-light" company. [SpaceNews]
A slowdown in U.S. government spending hit the bottom line of BlackSky. The satellite imagery company said third quarter revenues of $19.6 million fell short of analyst expectations because of projected reductions in the NRO's Electro-Optical Commercial Layer (EOCL) program used by the agency to buy commercial satellite imagery. The company noted that Congress could restore EOCL funding in final fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills. Despite the domestic headwinds, BlackSky is seeing a sharp uptick in overseas business. The company said international sales now account for about half of total revenue, up from 40% a year ago. The surge in foreign demand is being driven by interest in BlackSky's new Gen-3 satellites, which offer high-resolution as well as infrared imagery. [SpaceNews]
The FAA is temporarily limiting the hours commercial launches can take place because of the effects of the government shutdown. In an order Thursday, the FAA said that, effective Monday morning, commercial launches can only take place between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time. The restriction is intended to reduce strain on the air traffic control system as controllers, unpaid since early October, fail to report for work. The order also requires airlines to reduce flight operations at 40 major airports nationwide by 10%. The order could affect several Falcon 9 launches next week, as well as Blue Origin's second New Glenn launch if it slips from Sunday. [SpaceNews]
An FCC commissioner said declining American "soft power" could make it difficult to win support for key satellite spectrum priorities at international meetings. Speaking by video at the Economist Space Summit Thursday, Anna Gomez said she was concerned that moves like the elimination of USAID could affect American influence with other nations when it comes time to seek their support at the next World Radiocommunication Conference in 2027. Much of the agenda of that meeting is focused on satellite spectrum issues, and she said other countries could take advantage of any decline in American influence to block U.S. priorities at the conference. Gomez said that, domestically, she supported FCC efforts to streamline satellite licensing processed but wanted to ensure the FCC maintained a "pro-competitive system." [SpaceNews]
An In-Q-Tel investment in commercial space station developer Vast is not necessarily a sign of military interest in human spaceflight. Vast announced last week that In-Q-Tel, a fund affiliated with the U.S. national security community, made an investment of undisclosed size in Vast and would become a board observer. An In-Q-Tel partner said at the Economist Space Summit that the investment did not mean it saw dual-use applications for commercial stations, noting that many investments by the fund "are purely for insight, to understand how markets are evolving." Vast, which hosted Space Force procurement chief Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy earlier this year, has previously said it could see roles for Space Force personnel in space. [SpaceNews]
The challenge of monitoring satellites and debris in orbit is less about collecting data than analyzing it. Growing demand to monitor space objects has created a crowded, fragmented market of space domain awareness platforms built on different sensors, catalogs and analytics. That results in overlapping data streams and inconsistent alerts that risk confusing operators rather than clarifying decisions. Rather than another proprietary map, space trackers increasingly see the way forward as some kind of air traffic control for space, built on shared data standards, interoperable systems and federated networks that would respect national sovereignty while enabling real-time coordination. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites Thursday from California. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 4:13 p.m. Eastern carrying 28 Starlink satellites. This was the 61th launch so far this year of missiles or orbital rockets from Vandenberg, with Falcon 9 accounting for all but six of the launches. [Noozhawk]
For the second day in a row, a valve problem scrubbed an Atlas 5 launch. United Launch Alliance called off the launch of the ViaSat-3 F2 satellite, scheduled for 10:16 p.m. Eastern Thursday from Cape Canaveral, after a liquid oxygen valve problem that scrubbed Wednesday's launch reoccurred. ULA did not immediately reschedule the launch, saying it would first evaluate hardware. [Spaceflight Now]
SES reported a loss in the first quarter after completing its acquisition of Intelsat. The company reported Thursday a loss of 69 million euros ($79.8 million) in the third quarter on revenues of 769 million euros. SES blamed the loss in part on delays with U.S. government contracts caused by the reassessments of those contracts, exacerbated by the government shutdown. SES shares, which had rebounded from all-time lows last December, fell sharply Thursday. [Luxembourg Times]
D-Orbit and a cybersecurity company sponsored a "capture the flag" competition involving spacecraft. The final of the CTRL+Space competition by D-Orbit and Italian group mhackeroni this week involved five teams of hackers who tried to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in computer systems in D-Orbit's ION Satellite Carrier. Teams captured digital "flags" when they succeeded in breaching security systems. Cybersecurity researchers said the competition helps them understand how conventional computer system vulnerabilities translate to the space environment. [SpaceNews]
Sceye, a company building stratospheric platforms, won a NASA award to test Earth observations of the system. Sceye announced Thursday that it and remote sensing company Spectral Sciences, Inc., won a $850,000 Phase 2 SBIR from NASA to fly Spectral Sciences' hyperspectral sensor on Sceye's vehicle in late 2026 ot 2027. The Sceye high-altitude platform system (HAPS) is able to operate in the stratosphere and hold position over a location for an extended period. Sceye is developing the HAPS for telecommunications purposes, bridging gaps between terrestrial towers and satellites, but sees Earth observations as one of several additional potential uses of the vehicle. [SpaceNews]
Rick Hauck, the NASA astronaut who commanded the shuttle's return to flight mission after Challenger, has died. Hauck became a NASA astronaut as part of the famous 35-person class in 1978. He was pilot on STS-7 in 1983, a mission whose crew included the first American woman in space, Sally Ride, and also commanded STS-51A in 1984. He is best known as commander of STS-26, the first shuttle mission after the Challenger accident. He left NASA after that 1988 mission and later worked in industry, including as CEO of space insurer AXA Space. Hauck was 84. [collectSPACE]
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Principal Uncertainty
| "We are just launching two optical stations, one in Chile and one in Australia, to tap into quantum technology, which, I'm sorry, I don't understand all the details of that."
"No one does."
| – Linda Lyckman of the Swedish Space Corporation and Julie Kearney of DLA Piper during a panel discussion on satellite communications at the Economist Space Summit Thursday.
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