E-Space, founded by O3b and OneWeb founder Greg Wyler and with plans for as many as 100,000 communications satellites, said Monday it secured $50 million in seed funding led by Prime Movers Lab. It said the financing funds launch of its test satellites in March and a second test launch later this year, with mass production to start in 2023.
Updates SES sought to the C-band satellite operator consortium agreement in early 2020 reflected changes such as Telesat’s cut of clearing proceeds rather than trying to cement a 50-50 proceeds split with Intelsat, SES CEO Steve Collar testified Tuesday. Trial began Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond regarding SES' suit against Intelsat on the collapse of the consortium (see 2202070031). Collar said in early 2020 SES still believed the 50-50 split governed the handling of Intelsat and SES clearing proceeds. He said he was unaware Intelsat was delaying a consortium update, referring to an internal Intelsat email by Michelle Bryn indicating she “can’t stall on this much longer.” Collar testified he at one point in early 2020 asked Intelsat CEO Steve Spengler directly about the 50-50 split, which Spengler confirmed. Collar said he raised the issue because Intelsat “was under extreme [financial] stress. It was a perfectly reasonable thing to seek assurances.” Collar said he and Intelsat met with White House Chief Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow days before the FCC’s C-band clearing order, not so much because President Donald Trump would necessarily sign off on that order but for him to “be aware of it.” During cross-examination, Kirland and Ellis lawyer Jeff Zeiger, representing Intelsat, walked Collar through a series of internal SES emails, noting they repeatedly didn't say anything about a 50/50 proceeds split with Intelsat.
Dish Network, Viasat and SES/O3b were given access to data files that would let them do equivalent power flux density analysis of SpaceX's planned second-generation constellation, making moot their requests for the second-gen proceeding to be held in abeyance (see 2202020002), SpaceX told the FCC International Bureau Friday. The three companies didn't comment.
The inaugural launch of Viasat's ViaSat-3 high-throughput satellite system will be in late summer, due to supply chain delays, CEO Rick Baldridge said Thursday as Viasat announced Q3 results. He said Viasat's Inmarsat acquisition is progressing, having filed its premerger antitrust notification with DOJ and prepared regulatory filings for jurisdictions around the world. He said close should be by year-end. Baldridge said revenue for the quarter was $720 million, up $144 million year over year, driven by in-flight connectivity growth and its RigNet and EBI acquisitions. Viasat reported 1,800 aircraft receiving the in-flight service, up 53%. Asked during the call with analysts about business enterprise services competition posed by SpaceX, Executive Chairman Mark Dankberg said “it's a very big market” and growing. He said Viasat’s enterprise approach involves more vertical integration beyond just broadband service provision, and Viasat doesn't see material SpaceX competition going forward. Viasat stock closed at $44.02, up 5.6%.
Dish Network's arguments for holding SpaceX's second-generation constellation application in abeyance (see [Ref;2201280005]) are nothing but gamesmanship, SpaceX told the FCC International Bureau Wednesday. It said it wasn't required to make the equivalent power flux density (EPFD) data available, but it voluntarily did so. It was only 20 months later, when SpaceX was close to starting launches of its second-gen constellation, that operators started requesting the data, plus additional data SpaceX wasn't offering, it said. The FCC made clear when adopting EPFD rules that non-geostationary orbit applicants should provide EPFD data as part of the application process, it said. Dish didn't comment Thursday. Viasat and SES/O3b echoed Dish's abeyance request (see 2202020002).
Predicting a booming 2022 for commercial space businesses, speakers Thursday at a Space Foundation webinar also warned that orbital debris is of increased concern. Space junk could be "a real handbrake" to space industry growth, and there needs to be a global plan for addressing it, said Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck. Two of the space insurance industry's biggest worries are increased potential for collisions as space becomes more crowded and higher potential for failures due to proliferation of new satellite and launch technologies, said Chris Kunstadter, AXA XL global space head. He said a better understanding is needed of the risks involved in commercial human spaceflight. The commercial space industry “weathered the [COVID-19] storm … better than most,” said Eric Stallmer, Voyager Space executive vice president-government affairs and public policy. He hopes the stock market slide in the past few weeks doesn’t mean investment drying up. He said commercial orbital debris mitigation and removal deserves more funding. Speakers said workforce issues and competition for employees is a big issue. “Talent is a real throttle for everybody,” Beck said. Spaceflight is in the midst of a several-year transition from being the province of nations' civil space programs to a commercial operation, with a commercially built and operated space station next, said Sierra Space President Janet Kavandi.
SES/O3b is joining Viasat and Dish Network (see 2201310058) in asking that SpaceX's pending second-generation constellation application be held in abeyance until the company updates equivalent power flux density compliance information, said an FCC International Bureau filing Tuesday. SpaceX didn't comment Wednesday.
Kepler Communications' petition for U.S. market access should be denied because the company hasn't received German regulatory OK to operate the 212-satellite constellation for which it seeks FCC approval, Omnispace, Globalstar and EchoStar representatives told an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, per an International Bureau filing Wednesday. They said it also hasn't been submitted to ITU for coordination. They said Globalstar is fully utilizing its mobile satellite spectrum at 1610-1618.725 MHz/2483.5-2500 MHz, and there "clearly is no room" for Kepler's proposed operations within that. Kepler didn't comment. In its application, it said its planned L- and S-band constellation would complement the service being provided to the U.S. through its already authorized Ku-band fixed satellite service system. Kepler emailed that the filing has "a lot of speculation ... rather than facts, and we look forward to addressing comments at the appropriate time and in accordance with FCC procedures."
As part of its planned $7.3 billion purchase of Inmarsat parent Connect Topco (see 2111080038), Viasat asked the FCC International Bureau to allow foreign ownership of Viasat to exceed 25%. In a bureau petition for declaratory ruling Monday, Viasat said the transaction would give CT's four foreign investment fund owners 37.5% of Viasat. It said total foreign ownership of Viasat, including those investment funds, would be around 40%, which would be well within the 49.99% threshold the agency previously allowed for Inmarsat investors and their foreign owners.
Citing SpaceX's criticisms of Dish Network and RS Access opposition to Kepler Communications' application for the 12 GHz band (see 2201310053), RS Access emailed Monday that the FCC declined to authorize earth stations in motion license applications in the 12 GHz band. RS said the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology granted SpaceX's ESIM request only after removing the band from the scope of operations. It said both SpaceX and Kepler "have fallen short of overcoming the FCC's restrictions on ESIM operation in the band as we have stated in multiple filings."