5 stories
SES picks Lyntris as payload integrator for Space Force PTS-G satellites
SES has chosen Lyntris to integrate and test the payload for its Space Force PTS-G satellites. Duncan Aviation has signed for 40 Gogo Galileo HDX systems, Gogo's largest single MRO order this year. The in-space mirror startup bought one launch on Vikram-1 and one on Vikram-1U, without disclosing prices or dates.
- 01ContractsSES picks Lyntris as payload integrator for Space Force PTS-G satellites
- 02Comms-EODuncan Aviation orders 40 Gogo Galileo HDX systems in Gogo's biggest MRO deal this year
- 03ContractsReflect Orbital buys two launches from India's Skyroot Aerospace
- 04BusinessIn Orbit Aerospace drops re-entry vehicles for spacecraft autonomy software
- 05ScienceStudy finds highly magnetised white dwarfs could exceed the Chandrasekhar limit
SES picks Lyntris as payload integrator for Space Force PTS-G satellites
SES has selected Lyntris as the payload integrator for its work on the US Space Force's Protected Tactical Satellite-Global (PTS-G) program. The subcontract was announced on 13 October.
Lyntris will provide the radio frequency (RF) payload architecture, precision pointing systems, and antenna technologies. It will integrate and test the full PTS-G payload at its facility in Longmont, Colorado.
Space Systems Command contracted SES and Viasat in May to build the first two operational PTS-G satellites, which will provide anti-jam satellite communications. Initial operational capability is targeted for fiscal year 2029.
David Broadbent, president and CEO of SES Space & Defense, commented that the Lyntris resilient payload architecture design, along with its integrated antenna and motion systems, "are central to our ability to compete for this role."
Sourcesatellitetoday.com
Duncan Aviation orders 40 Gogo Galileo HDX systems in Gogo's biggest MRO deal this year
Duncan Aviation, one of the world's largest privately-owned business jet service providers, has agreed to buy 40 Gogo Galileo HDX systems. Gogo said it is the company's largest single maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) order this year. The companies announced the deal on 13 October.
Gogo Galileo runs on Eutelsat OneWeb's low Earth orbit network. The HDX is an electronically steered antenna that Gogo says is compact, lightweight and low power, and can be installed on light jets and turboprops as well as larger-cabin aircraft.
Gogo said it has prioritised a reliable supply chain so Galileo is available for customers planning installations.
Michael Skou Christensen, Gogo chief revenue officer, said Duncan Aviation understands what owners and operators need from their connectivity, and Gogo is pleased to support its team as it brings the high-performance Gogo Galileo to more aircraft.
Sourcesatellitetoday.com
Reflect Orbital buys two launches from India's Skyroot Aerospace
Reflect Orbital, the startup planning to provide sunlight on demand with in-space mirrors, has bought two launches from Indian launch company Skyroot Aerospace. It announced the purchase on 14 October.
The deal covers one launch on Skyroot's Vikram-1, which debuted in July and can carry about 350kg to low Earth orbit. It also includes one launch on the upgraded Vikram-1U, which is expected to fly its first mission in the first quarter of 2027 and can carry about 550kg to low Earth orbit.
Reflect Orbital did not disclose the cost of each launch or when the missions would fly. A company spokesperson said Reflect Orbital "is the primary and only payload at this time."
The purchase comes as SpaceX has stopped accepting reservations after 2029 for its Transporter rideshare program. In July, Reflect Orbital received FCC approval to fly its first mirror satellite, Eärendil-1. The company's larger plan is a constellation of about 50,000 mirrors.
Sourcepayloadspace.com
In Orbit Aerospace drops re-entry vehicles for spacecraft autonomy software
In Orbit Aerospace has swapped re-entry vehicles for autonomy software, with NASA and the Space Force funding the shift. The Torrance, California, startup has won new government contracts for its onboard system, which the company says can run a spacecraft's operations without waiting on ground control.
The company was founded in 2020 as an in-space logistics business building re-entry vehicles. CEO and cofounder Ryan Elliott said the team found a handful of companies already working on the return route from space. "We were just slightly too late," he said.
Its software, called INTELLACT, targets a different re-entry problem. Plasma around a returning vehicle can cut off GPS and communications, so no one on the ground can react if something goes wrong mid-descent. CTO and cofounder Ishaan Patel said the aim is to move operators from "in the loop" to "on the loop."
The latest awards are a NASA Phase I SBIR for spacecraft swarms and a SpaceWERX Phase I STTR focused on low Earth orbit constellations. The SpaceWERX award came through the Space Force's Adaptive and Intelligent Space Challenge, where In Orbit's proposal was one of about 29 selected from more than 300 submissions this summer.
Sourcepayloadspace.com
Study finds highly magnetised white dwarfs could exceed the Chandrasekhar limit
A new study in The Astrophysical Journal Letters shows how highly magnetised white dwarfs could overcome the Chandrasekhar limit, and how such super-Chandrasekhar white dwarfs could form.
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar showed in the 1930s that a white dwarf could not have a mass greater than 1.44 suns. In 2003, the Supernova Legacy Survey observed a supernova that appeared to defy that limit, and similar events have been seen since.
The study focuses on magnetic fields. In a highly magnetised white dwarf, electrons interact with the field in a way that lets them push back more easily against gravity. In theory, such a star could reach nearly 3 solar masses before collapsing.
The open question is whether a Sun-like star could have such a strong field and still collapse into a white dwarf. To test it, the team ran simulations using a modified version of the STARS stellar evolution code.
Sourceuniversetoday.com