| | | | Steely Newsletter Issue #008 |
| SpaceX's first 5G satellite launch, Intellian's new $100M development center, Russian satellites spying on US satellites and so much more! |
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| | | Space.com | Josh Dinner | 04-24-2023 SpaceX launched "The GroundBreaker," a 22-pound (10-kilogram) satellite that operates on the 5G cellular standard, making it the first in low Earth orbit (LEO). This satellite is the first of over 250 to be launched and will connect with cell towers on the ground to improve global data networks. |
| Newsweek | Jess Thomson | 04-28-2023 Shooting stars illuminated the Colorado sky on Thursday night, but it was not caused by a meteor shower. Rather, it was due to a section of a SpaceX craft burning up as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, as captured in a stunning photograph by photographer Mike Lewinski. |
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| 🛡️Satellite Cybersecurity News |
| Gizmodo | Kyle Barr | 04-27-2023 During ESA's CYSAT conference, a team from Thales successfully hacked into an OPS-SAT nanosatellite owned by the European Space Agency. This allowed them to take over the satellite's communication, imaging, and maneuverability systems, as well as access its GPS and attitude control systems. Despite ESA maintaining control of the satellite during the test, the cybersecurity team was able to introduce malicious code into the system through its onboard system and control interface. |
| The Washington Post | Tim Starks | 04-26-2023 The acting national cyber director, Kemba Walden, is meeting with California firms this week to discuss safeguarding satellites against cyberattacks, a topic of growing concern for the U.S. government. The visit to Long Beach is part of the government's efforts to raise awareness of the issue across agencies and in Congress, and to gather industry feedback on policy gaps in space security. The urgency and significance of the matter have escalated since last year's cyberattack on U.S. firm Viasat's European satellite network, allegedly carried out by Russia. |
| Payload Space | Jacqueline Feldscher | 04-21-2023 A "hacking sandbox" satellite called Moonlighter is set to launch this year, giving cyber experts the chance to practice defending assets from cyber attacks in orbit. The project is a collaboration between the Aerospace Corporation, Space Systems Command, and the Air Force Research Laboratory, and aims to bridge the gap between the cyber community and the space community. Moonlighter will be the world's first and only hacking sandbox in space, allowing good guy hackers to find vulnerabilities in satellites and come up with better solutions to harden space assets. |
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| | | Via Satellite | Rachel Jewett | 04-26-2023 Intellian, a satellite terminal manufacturer, has invested $100 million in research and development for satcom technologies and opened a new Advanced Development Center (ADC) in Montgomery County, Maryland. The Maryland site is Intellian's sole U.S. research and development center and will host various engineering teams for product development, integration labs, and will expand the team to over 70 people by Q4 2023. |
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| 🏛️US Government Satellite News |
| Business Insider | Morgan McFall-Johnsen | 04-27-2023 a Russian satellite named Kosmos-2558 and a US military satellite called USA-326 seem to be in a game of pursuit. Launched in August 2022, Kosmos-2558 shares the same orbital plane as USA-326, and has been observed passing close to the American satellite multiple times. The behavior of the Russian satellite, and the absence of an official clarification from Russia, have caused experts to speculate that Kosmos-2558 is following USA-326. |
| Via Satellite | Mark Holmes | 04-24-2023 SES, a company owned by SES Space & Defense, has been awarded a $27.54 million contract by the U.S. military to provide satellite communications services for the U.S. Army's Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WINT-T) training activities. The contract, which will run for five years, will allow the U.S. Army to enhance its combat readiness and support research and development for new mobile mission applications. The services provided by SES will benefit the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) and the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) units. |
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| | | Via Satellite | Christopher Baugh | 04-24-2023 The SATELLITE 2023 conference covered a range of topics from new space ventures, orbital debris, and funding challenges to emerging technologies that are making satellite and space more accessible. The winners of the next phase of growth in the space sector will be those that make using space simple for end-users. The conference also highlighted flat panel antennas, national security, and the threat of new entrants such as Starlink and Kuiper to incumbents. There is no clear business model for direct-to-device yet, and launch remains a bottleneck. Orbital debris is a growing environmental concern, and collaboration is needed across the industry to address it. |
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| | | 11111 Sunset Hills Rd, Reston, VA, 20190 |
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