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OpTech expanding Loudoun satellite plant
Optimum Technologies, a Sterling space flight hardware designer and manufacturer, plans to expand its Loudoun County satellite manufacturing plant, a project expected to create 40 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday. Known as OpTech, the company will invest $999,000 in the expansion, according to the governor’s office. OpTech was founded in Virginia in 2015 and […]
Herndon’s Akima wins $480M Space Force contract
The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Five Rivers Analytics, a subsidiary of Herndon-based government contractor Akima, an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract worth up to $480 million over 10 years, Akima announced last week. Based in Colorado, Five Rivers Analytics provides classified IT and mission support services and bills itself as “a small business backed by […]
Intelsat to be acquired by SES for $3.1B
McLean-based satellite services provider Intelsat announced Tuesday that it has made a deal to be acquired by SES, a Luxembourg-based competitor, for $3.1 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close during the second half of 2025, depending on regulatory clearances and other factors, according to a news release. Intelsat CEO David Wajsgras will […]
Intelsat strikes $250M deal with Eutelsat Group
McLean-based satellite services provider Intelsat has committed to secure low-Earth orbit service for six years for $250 million from Paris-based Eutelsat Group’s OneWeb low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation service, with an option for another $250 million, Intelsat announced Tuesday. “We’ve been partnering with Eutelsat for quite some time now, leveraging its OneWeb LEO constellation [...]
Charlottesville’s Astraea acquired by Fla. satellite company
Astraea, a Charlottesville-based geospatial analytics firm, has been acquired by Nuview, a Florida-based company developing a satellite imaging constellation, the companies announced Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not available. Founded as a for-profit benefit corporation in 2016, Astraea applies data science and artificial intelligence to analyze imaging and sensor data gathered from E[...]
HawkEye 360 acquires RF Solutions
Herndon-based HawkEye 360 has acquired RF Solutions from Westminster, Colorado-based Maxar Intelligence, the satellite analytics company announced last week. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. It’s the first acquisition for HawkEye 360 and gives the company ownership of two new satellites, intellectual property and a data archive. The company now has a constellation [&h[...]
Northrop Grumman awarded up to $732M for satellite contract
Fortune 500 Falls Church defense contractor Northrop Grumman will build 38 data transport satellites for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency under a contract valued up to $732 million as the agency builds out a space-based communications network. The work, announced Monday by the agency, falls under Tranche 2 Transport Layer – Alpha, a […]
HawkEye 360 promotes COO to president
HawkEye 360’s chief operating officer has been promoted to president, the Herndon-based satellite analytics company announced Tuesday. Rob Rainhart joined HawkEye 360 as vice president of engineering in 2016, a few months after the company’s 2015 founding, and has served as its chief operating officer since 2019. His new role as president is effective immediately. […]
Telecommunications 2023: MATTHEW J. DESCH
Iridium launched five spare satellites in May, completing its plans to upgrade the resilience of its constellation of communication satellites. It now has 66 operational crosslinked satellites and 14 spares. Iridium’s mobile voice and data satellite communications network is used in ships, planes and land vehicles and for Internet of Things systems. For fiscal year […]
Rocket Lab launches first mission from U.S. soil
After more than a month’s delay, Rocket Lab USA’s first launch from U.S. soil at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Accomack County blasted off Tuesday evening. The mission, “Virginia is for Launch Lovers,” lifted off around 6 p.m. EST from the company’s Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space‘s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within the NASA facility, […[...]
Rocket Lab announces December Va. launch window
Rocket Lab USA Inc. will launch the first U.S. mission for its Electron rocket from a launch pad on NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Accomack County during a 13-day window that opens Dec. 7. The company announced the Wallops launch Thursday. The mission, called “Virginia is for Launch Lovers,” will deploy satellites for Herndon-based HawkEye […]
General Dynamics Missions Systems, Iridium land $324M space contract
Fairfax-based General Dynamics Missions Systems and McLean-based Iridium Communications Inc. have received a $324 million contract to build and provide network operations and support for the National Defense Space Architecture. The award, from the Space Development Agency, includes a $162.9 million base and $161.5 million in options. Under the contract, General Dynamics Missions Systems and [&hell[...]
