EchoStar has hired Maxar Space Systems to build the EchoStar XXVI geostationary orbit communications satellite, Maxar said Monday. XXVI, which is scheduled for delivery in 2028, will provide Dish Network satellite TV service to the U.S., it said. “Our ongoing investments across the board -- especially with EchoStar XXVI -- will ensure long-term access to our award-winning, satellite entertainment platform," said Gunter Kamper, senior vice president of Dish Technologies.

With its costs ballooning and delays mounting, the EU's proposed IRIS2 constellation appears increasingly at risk of losing government and industrial support, Quilty Space's Caleb Henry wrote Friday. Among its problems, he cited a long list of requirements that add to its complexity. IRIS2 is supposed to be a sovereign alternative to SpaceX yet is smaller and features more expensive user terminals, Henry said. IRIS2 is also seeing less support than anticipated, with partners SES and Eutelsat stretched financially and operationally and Hispasat in the midst of being acquired, he added.

Citing the uncertainty around its spectrum rights because of FCC issues, EchoStar said Friday it had opted to forgo making a $326 million cash interest payment due that day on corporate debt that matures in 2029. In an SEC filing, EchoStar said the nonpayment counts as a default on the 2029 notes, but it pointed out that it has a 30-day grace period to make the payment, giving the FCC time to provide the relief the company requested. If the commission grants EchoStar relief, "we may confidently continue investing in our network buildout and expansion of our Boost business" and mobile satellite service offerings. The company this week asked the FCC to deny VTel Wireless' petition for reconsideration on an extension of EchoStar's 5G network buildout deadlines and to confirm that it has satisfied the 2024 commitments it made for that extension (see 2505280002).

The second batch of Amazon's Kuiper satellites is scheduled to launch June 13, United Launch Alliance said Thursday. They will be launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on an Atlas V 551 rocket, the alliance said. The inaugural batch of Kuipers launched in April (see 2504290001).

Satellite operator Iridium and communications technology company Syniverse are partnering to offer direct-to-device connectivity to mobile network operators. They said Thursday the offering will come through integration of Iridium's NTN Direct service with Syniverse's global platform. The first Iridium NTN Direct connected devices are scheduled to become available in 2026.

The 51.4-52.4 GHz band is currently allocated domestically for fixed and mobile services, but there's robust evidence supporting its use for satellite communications, the FCC said Tuesday as it released the satellite spectrum Further NPRM adopted at its May 22 meeting (see 2505220056). The draft FNPRM was limited to asking about opening the 12.7 and 42 GHz bands to satcom. The adopted version added the 51.4-52.4 GHz, 92-94 GHz, 94.1-100 GHz, 102-109.5 GHz and 111.8-114.25 GHz bands. It also asks about creating a domestic fixed satellite service allocation in the 52.14-52.4 GHz allocation; whether that allocation's use should be limited to non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites; and whether limits on unwanted power emissions could ensure NGSO compatibility with space research operations in the nearby 52.6-54.25 GHz band. In addition, it seeks comment on whether any satellite use of the 92.0-94.0 GHz, 94.1-100 GHz, 102.0-109.5 GHz and 111.8-114.25 GHz bands should be limited to gateway unlinks for NGSO systems, as well as about the possibility of extending the self-coordinated and data-assisted “light-licensing” framework for the 70/80/90 GHz band to those W-band frequencies.

Obtaining and maintaining a satellite license is more expensive in the U.S. than anywhere else, and the FCC should eliminate the surety bond requirement for geostationary orbit (GSO) satellites, Astranis said in a pair of docket 25-133 filings posted Friday. The company recapped meetings with the FCC Space Bureau and Commissioner Nathan Simington's office about the surety bond and the agency's regulatory fees. It said the bond requirement disproportionately affects new entrants because companies without long-term banking relationships or big balance sheets must pay a fee to a bank to issue the bond, as well as set aside substantial collateral.

Ligado has tentatively reached an agreement with Inmarsat settling disputes related to Ligado's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Milbank financial restructuring lawyer Andrew Leblanc, who represents Ligado, said Thursday. In a status conference (docket 25-10006) before U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Thomas Horan, Leblanc said the agreement, also tentatively approved by AST SpaceMobile and two ad hoc creditor groups, would resolve the Inmarsat disputes and allow Ligado's transaction with AST to go through. Ligado has said its AST deal, with AST compensating Ligado for access to the latter's spectrum, is key to its Chapter 11 reorganization (see 2501060026). Leblanc didn't give the court details of the agreement, saying that the parties are still exchanging updated versions of term sheets. The finalized terms would be incorporated into a revised AST order, he said: "Nothing is done until it's done," but a final agreement could be before the court in days.

SpaceX can launch its Starship heavy-lift rocket again, the FAA said Thursday. The agency said SpaceX "has satisfactorily addressed the causes" of its launch mishap March 6, when the Super Heavy booster took off and returned safely but the company lost control of and contact with the Starship rocket.

Coordination with federal spectrum users is the biggest regulatory challenge in the bands where Capella Space operates, the synthetic aperture radar satellite operator told FCC leadership. In a docket 25-133 filing posted Thursday, Capella recapped 10th-floor meetings at which it said coordinating with federal users can take longer than the FCC's licensing process. Other issues cited included the variation in coordination restrictions from license to license based on unpredictable factors and licensees not having the information they need to avoid congested frequencies and locations. Capella asked the FCC to help mitigate the coordination challenges by sending application materials for coordination as early as possible and improving communication with other agencies. The company also urged the agency to reduce its surety bond requirement for some satellite licenses by making it subject to a one-year grace period rather than the 30-day deadline. The Capella staffers met with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington, the offices of Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, and Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz.