Low earth orbit satellite has a "slim but strategically meaningful portion" of BEAD awards, Quilty Space analyst Kimberly Siversen Burke wrote Friday. SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon Leo combined account for slightly less than 5% of all awarded dollars, or roughly $1 billion, but they cover about 20% of total BEAD locations, she said. It's a mistake to tally BEAD awards by technology "as if they were interchangeable solutions."

Red flags raised about SpaceX's planned direct-to-device mega constellation (see 2601050028) are mostly "rehashes of old and incorrect arguments, mixed with vague and unsubstantiated allegations," the company said in a response posted Friday (docket 25-340). None of the calls to deny SpaceX's application or for conditions could show any harm that those recommendations were supposed to fix, it argued. That's unsurprising, as approval "will have no meaningful effect other than to accelerate processing of this application and delivery of service to American consumers." SpaceX said it's engaged in coordination to protect radio astronomy service and earth exploration satellite service.

AST SpaceMobile is turning out six satellites a month from its Texas manufacturing facilities and plans four more launches this quarter as it looks to have 45-60 satellites in low earth orbit by year-end, it said in an FCC filing Friday (docket 25-201). The company is seeking the agency's authorization to operate its full 248-satellite constellation (see 2506200061).

SpaceX revenue likely reached $15 billion in 2025, including $10.4 billion from Starlink operations and $4.4 billion from launch services, said Jack Kuhr, Payload's space industry research director, in a social media post Thursday.

Astranis Space Technologies is seeking FCC Space Bureau approval to launch and operate a geostationary orbit satellite at 131 degrees west. In an application posted Wednesday, Astranis said the satellite would provide Ku- and Ka-band connectivity to consumers, governments and enterprises in North America.

At least two dozen companies are in various stages of in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM) operations, but spectrum access represents a severe bottleneck that prevents them from launching and operating missions to their fullest potential, Stellar Frequencies said in an FCC filing posted Thursday. Stellar CEO Peter Dohm met with Space Bureau staffers and advised that NTIA should declare ISAM activity a space research service until ITU determines a new service definition for such activities. The company also said ISAM should have primary rights to the 13.25-13.4 GHz space research band, allowing for downlinks of spacecraft telemetry and mission payload data. In addition, Stellar called for greater access to the 2360-2390 MHz band, which is currently authorized for commercial space launch service to uplink telecommand operations.

Defense contractor L3Harris' announcement that it plans to spin off its rocket motor missile business may prompt Viasat to pursue doing the same with its defense and advanced technologies business, William Blair's Louie DiPalma wrote investors Tuesday. Investors see Viasat as having opportunities to unlock value through its defense tech division and its L-band spectrum assets, DiPalma said. The company's L-band spectrum sets are worth an estimated $5 billion, he noted, while its satellite communications business is worth at least $4 billion.

Eutelsat said Monday that it signed a contract with Airbus to build 340 OneWeb low earth orbit satellites, which will be used to replace older satellites in the 600-satellite constellation. Delivery is to start in late 2026, Eutelsat said, adding that new technology on the satellites will let the company look at opportunities for new business cases.

SES continues to lobby FCC leadership to keep the existing equivalent power flux density (EPFD) power limits on non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites. In a filing posted Friday in docket 25-157 to recap a meeting with FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty, SES reiterated its arguments that its EPFD concerns "are not hypothetical" (see 2511210024), as it took more than a year to isolate and resolve harmful interference from an NGSO system operating well in excess of the EPFD limits.

Argo Space is aiming to launch its Navigator reusable spacecraft in March, according to an FCC Space Bureau application Friday. The California-based startup asked for authorization for a prototype mission intended to verify Navigator's performance in low earth orbit and conduct maneuvers in medium earth orbit. Navigator is designed for in-space transportation and will use S-band frequencies for telemetry, tracking and control, Argo added.