| | | | Steely Newsletter Issue #019 |
| Read all about the epic fall of the Aeolus wind satellite, Viasat suffering a massive drop in stock price after a satellite malfunctions, Space Force's Foo Fighter satellites that can track hypersonic missiles and much more! |
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| | SciTechDaily | 07-13-2023 The European Space Agency's Aeolus wind satellite is returning to Earth after exceeding its planned lifespan. The satellite is currently falling at a rate of 1 kilometer per day, and its descent is accelerating. ESA's spacecraft operators will soon attempt to guide Aeolus in a first-of-its-kind assisted reentry. ESA is doing this because they want to ensure that Aeolus burns up completely in the atmosphere and minimizes the risk of any debris reaching Earth's surface. This is an important step in the fight against space debris, which is a growing problem as the number of satellites in orbit increases. |
| CNBC | Michael Sheetz | 07-12-2023 Viasat's stock plummeted after the company disclosed that its most recently launched communications satellite suffered a malfunction. The malfunction occurred while deploying the reflector of one of the Viasat-3 Americas satellites. This may have materially impacted the satellite's performance. Shares of Viasat fell 28.5% this past Thursday to close at $30.74 a share, its biggest one-day loss since going public in December 1996. Despite the incident, Viasat has emphasized that "there is no disruption" in service for existing customers as there are 12 other fully operational satellites in orbit. |
| Space.com | Brett Tingley | 07-12-2023 The Space Development Agency (SDA) is developing a satellite constellation called FOO Fighter to help detect and track hypersonic missiles. A contract opportunity posted on July 7, describes the constellation will consist of 8 satellites equipped with infrared and optical sensors that can "accelerate the ability to provide fire-control in support of global detection, warning and precision tracking of advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems." The SDA aims to launch the prototype FOO Fighter constellation in 2026. |
| Space News | Jason Rainbow | 07-11-2023 Astranis has sold a small broadband satellite to Orbits Corp, a satellite services arm of Philippine internet service provider HTechCorp. The satellite will launch to geostationary orbit next year and is expected to connect up to two million people across 5,000 remote and rural communities in the Philippines. The satellite is one of five that Astranis plans to launch in 2024, and it is the first dedicated to providing internet services to the Philippines. |
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🛡️Satellite Cybersecurity News |
| Cybersecurity Dive | Matt Kapko | 07-13-2023 The Biden administration released its implementation plan for the national cybersecurity strategy this past Thursday. The plan calls for the majority of the cyber initiatives to be completed before the end of fiscal year 2024, but 11 are slated to be done in FY23. A core tenet of the national cybersecurity strategy calls for the technology sector to assume greater responsibility for security on software, hardware and platforms. This will be an effort to scale public-private collaboration and drive the development and adoption of secure-by-design and secure-by-default technologies. |
| Cyberscoop | Christian Vasquez | 07-11-2023 As critical infrastructure organizations grow increasingly reliant on satellite communication, the need to secure these space systems has never been more paramount. Groups such as the Cyberspace Solarium Commission are calling for the space tech sector to be designated as "critical infrastructure". This is because many systems that require additional attention and resources only receive said resources with this designation. Experts mention that as the sector becomes more privatized, issues such as supply chain security are becoming an increasing concern. |
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🏛️US Government Satellite News |
| C4ISRNET | Courtney Albon | 07-12-2023 The Space Force plans to make cuts to the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) satellite program, which is designed to provide missile warning capabilities from space. The Space Force originally planned to build three GEO-based and two polar-orbiting spacecraft, but its fiscal 2024 budget would remove one geosynchronous, or GEO, satellite from the constellation. Lawmakers in both the Senate and the House have raised concerns about the potential implications of this decision, calling for more details on the risks posed by launching just two GEO satellites. |
| Fed Tech Communication | Peter Dunn | 07-11-2023 The Department of Defense is modernizing its satellite communications (satcom) infrastructure to improve battlefield situational awareness and minimize service disruptions. The satcom modernization plan is a phased approach, with Space Command serving as global operations manager and the Space Force serving as the design architect. The first phase of the plan is establishing initial standards and governance, which the DOD should spend identifying where the satcom needs of each branch and warfighters and tactics align. Industry partnerships will be necessary to ensure that the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) effort remains relevant over the next decade by innovating where the DOD is itself limited while still meeting its policy requirements. |
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