The Defense Department has made progress on upgrading GPS with a military-specific signal -- M-code -- that resists interference and jamming, but it still faces challenges in developing the needed ground, space and user equipment, GAO said Monday. The ground segment modernization needs more testing and demonstration, and the Air Force's development of receivers that process M-code has been delayed, GAO said. It added that delays in satellite delivery raise the possibility of DOD's goal of having M-code-capable satellites in continuous operation being pushed back by years.

Albedo Space is eyeing February for the launch of its initial commercial earth exploration satellite service satellite. It plans having a 24-satellite constellation in orbit by April 2031, it told the FCC Space Bureau in an application posted Monday. It said the constellation, capturing visible and thermal imaging, will operate in very low earth orbit of 320 km.

With the satellite industry rapidly becoming more competitive, SES hopes it can close its proposed purchase of Intelsat by June, the companies told FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, according to a docket 24-267 filing posted Monday. Since the spring announcement of the deal (see 2404300048), nearly 700 satellites have been launched and hundreds more are expected before the commission completes its review, they said.

Satellite-based maritime connectivity revenue reached $2.1 billion in 2023, up from $1.8 billion the year prior, Valour Consultancy said Thursday. A big driver was increased spending on SpaceX's Starlink maritime low earth orbit service, as well as some vessels using Eutelsat's OneWeb LEO service, it said. More than 20,000 vessels used Starlink by the end of 2023, and the L-band maritime mobile satellite service market saw revenue of $470 million, down slightly from 2022, said Valour: As of 2023, there were roughly 116,000 active MSS terminals worldwide subscribing to the legacy maritime satellite services. Inmarsat and Iridium have notable subscriber bases there, though the geostationary orbit very-small aperture terminal marketplace has leveled off at around 42,000 vessels globally, it said: It's likely GEO service will become a backup to LEO, similar to MSS. Valour said that 2023's dip in GEO VSAT revenue is expected to continue into this year and that the number of vessels subscribing to LEO service will likely surpass GEO VSAT sometime in 2026.

SpaceX continues lobbying the FCC's 10th floor about how to assess short-term interference among non-geostationary orbit satellite systems. In a docket 21-456 filing Friday, it recapped a meeting with the office of Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel where it argued its technical study of spectrum sharing among NGSO systems justified using an absolute change in link availability as the interference metric. The meeting covered much of the same ground as sessions the company has had with multiple regular commissioners (see 2408150034).

A SES purchase of Intelsat will let the combined companies better compete with the "robust and growing competition" they face, particularly from non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite entrants but also terrestrial connectivity, SES and Intelsat said in a docket 24-267 filing posted Friday. SES is seeking approval of license transfers as part of its proposed $3.1 billion purchase of Intelsat (see 2405310004). Combining SES' multi-orbit constellation with Intelsat's complementary suite of geostationary orbit assets and extensive ground network will give New SES a multi-band GSO fleet, a stronger medium orbit system (MEO) and a cloud-based open network architecture, they said. New SES will be better positioned to make long-term investments in satellite capacity, they said. Currently each operator on its own might have difficulty closing the business case to invest in a replacement satellite because of fragmented demand; however, New SES will have the resources, cost structure and better business case for investing in its satellite fleet. The deal also would make investment in a next-generation MEO system more likely, they said. New SES will boast a GSO/MEO constellation "with the necessary throughput, capacity, range, and latency characteristics to enable the combined company to more vigorously compete, including with well-financed [low earth orbit] competitors," they said. They said New SES can be more efficient with satellite capacity use, freeing more usable, contiguous band spectrum to provide other services. They said that since both count the U.S. government as a customer, New SES "will support national security by creating an even more reliable partner and supplier that offers a resilient, secure, highly capable, and seamless satellite network operating in multiple orbits and frequency bands."

Comments are due Sept. 30, replies Oct. 15 on the transfer of Intelsat's FCC licenses and authorizations to SES, said a public notice Thursday in docket 24-267. Responses to replies are due Oct. 25, the FCC Space Bureau, Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology notice said. The license transfers are part of SES' proposed $3.1 billion purchase of Intelsat (see 2405310004).

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group launched an online letter-writing campaign urging that the FCC require environmental reviews for proposed satellites and constellations. Pointing to greater amounts of debris expected in the atmosphere from planned mega constellations, PIRG said the FCC should temporarily halt additional satellite low earth orbit launches until after it conducts environmental reviews for mega constellations and ends its categorical exclusion for satellites. Under the National Environmental Policy Act's categorical exclusion, an environmental assessment is needed only if the FCC determines the license could have a significant environmental impact. "The new space race doesn’t need to create massive space waste," PIRG said.

With the demand for laser-based satellite communications taking off, vendors should make scalability and terminal interoperability priorities, ABI Research blogged Wednesday. They also must try to partner with other ecosystem players to attract governments and commercial operations, it said. Satellite deployments with laser payloads in orbit are expected to grow from slightly more than 4,000 this year to 12,600 by 2027, ABI said.

SpaceX's Starlink will provide free, emergency messaging to all smartphones worldwide, CEO Elon Musk posted on X this week. He said the offer would apply except where a nation's regulation precluded it. "Can’t have a situation where someone dies because they forgot or were unable to pay for it," he said.