JAXA Awards Rakuten Mobile $71.9 Million to Advance Satellite-Terrestrial 5G Integration
Japan’s aerospace agency JAXA has awarded Rakuten Mobile and the University of Tokyo up to 11 billion yen (about $71.9 million) to develop AI‑enhanced satellite‑terrestrial 5G integration. The five‑year project, running from 2026 to 2031, will create protocols for dynamic frequency sharing, real‑time interference mitigation, and seamless handover between ground towers and LEO satellites. It builds on Rakuten’s prior work with AST SpaceMobile and its Open Innovation Lab. The goal is to deliver 100 % coverage, including disaster‑resilient service, using unmodified smartphones.
LMT Group and Sateliot Partner with ESA to Advance Dual-Mode 5G Satellite IoT
LMT Group and Sateliot have launched a 12‑month partnership with ESA to create a universal dual‑mode 5G IoT module that can switch between terrestrial cellular networks and Sateliot’s LEO satellite constellation. The module follows 3GPP Release 17 NB‑IoT NTN standards and...
Space as a Sanctions Workaround: Financial Engineering & Shadow Procurement Networks
Iran’s civil space program is now a conduit for evading UN sanctions, channeling billions through a shadow banking network to acquire dual‑use microelectronics. FinCEN estimates the covert financial system handles over $9 billion annually, laundering oil revenues via Hong Kong, UAE and...
High-Revisit CubeSats Drive Shift From Raw Imagery to Actionable Insights in 2026
The 2026 Earth Observation market is rapidly shifting from costly, large satellites to high‑revisit CubeSat constellations that deliver real‑time, actionable insights. 3U and 6U nanosatellites now provide sub‑daily coverage for weather, agriculture and maritime logistics, enabled by falling launch costs...
D2D’s Hype Hangover: The Physics Finally Bite Back
The SmallSat Symposium highlighted that direct‑to‑device (D2D) satellite connectivity, once touted as a breakthrough, is now confronting hard limits of physics, spectrum allocation, and regulatory hurdles. Panelists warned that consumer phones lack the antenna gain and power to reliably link...
The New Space Playbook Faces a Physics Cliff at the Moon
The SmallSat Symposium highlighted a looming “physics cliff” as commercial space shifts from LEO to lunar operations. Engineers warned that the fail‑operational models and automotive‑grade components that powered mega‑constellations cannot survive the intense radiation of deep space, especially during Solar...
The Golden Dome Grinds Into Gear: SDA Acting Chief Sovereign over the Supply Chain
At the SmallSat Symposium, Space Development Agency Acting Director Dr. GP Sandhoo admitted that commercial satellite buses are not the commoditized components the agency had assumed, causing delays in Tranche 0 and pushing stricter validation for Tranche 1. He outlined a $3.5 billion...
KSAT Launches Hyperion Demonstration for In-Orbit Data Relay
At the SmallSat Symposium, KSAT unveiled Hyperion, a demonstration mission to transition its HYPER in‑orbit relay concept into operation. The 300 kg LEO satellites will act as “orbiting ground stations,” using S‑band TT&C and Ka‑band high‑throughput links to provide near‑real‑time data...
IDirect Government Validates Live Over-the-Air (OTA) Point-to-Point Test on DVB-S2X Standard
iDirect Government demonstrated a live over‑the‑air point‑to‑point test that validates the DVB‑S2X standard on its 450 Software‑Defined Modem (SDM). The test used the company’s Virtualized Waveform Core (WCore) to run a 200 Mbps × 200 Mbps Ka‑band link, confirming stability across GEO, MEO, LEO...
Untrusted Satcom: Dangers for Indian Tele-Education
The Observer Research Foundation warned that India’s push to use foreign low‑Earth‑orbit constellations such as Starlink for tele‑education creates strategic and cyber vulnerabilities. Untrusted satellite devices could be denied, jammed, or used to inject false content, especially in remote border...
ELCOME Brings Amazon LEO Satellite Connectivity to Maritime Operations
Maritime technology firm ELCOME has signed an authorized reseller agreement with Amazon’s LEO satellite network, formerly Project Kuiper. The deal adds two Amazon‑Leo terminals – the 400 Mbps Leo Pro and the gigabit‑class Leo Ultra – to ELCOME’s portfolio serving over...
Teledyne Advances U.S. National Defense with SDA’s Tranche 3 Tracking Layer Program
Teledyne Technologies announced multiple contract awards from the U.S. Space Development Agency to supply infrared focal‑plane modules for the SDA’s Tranche 3 Tracking Layer. The sensors will augment the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, providing low‑Earth‑orbit coverage against hypersonic glide vehicles and...
Kepler Communications’ Next-Generation Optical Data Relay Constellation Launched
Kepler Communications has launched the first operational tranche of its next‑generation optical data relay constellation, deploying ten 300‑kg satellites into a Sun‑Synchronous orbit via a SpaceX Falcon 9 "Twilight" rideshare. The Aether series carries SDA‑compatible laser terminals, multi‑GPU compute modules and...
CMA CGM Group, Marlink, and Eutelsat Partnership
CMA CGM, Marlink, and Eutelsat have signed a multi‑year partnership to equip over 300 CMA CGM vessels with OneWeb LEO satellite connectivity. The rollout will be completed within nine months, using a hybrid LEO/GEO architecture via Marlink’s XChange NextGen edge...