SpaceX has asked Icasa to resolve the black ownership rules blocking Starlink’s licensing, raising the issue at hearings ostensibly about satellite spectrum fees. Ryan Goodnight, senior director for market access and development at SpaceX, appeared before the the communications regulator on Wednesday to comment on draft amendments to the Radio Frequency Spectrum Regulations, 2015 and…
South Africa could put a satellite into orbit on a locally built rocket by 2030 – if someone finds R3-billion and the team building it grows sixfold. That is the ambition of the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Aerospace Systems Research Institute (ASRI), which is developing the liquid-fuelled Saffire engine and the two-stage commercial launch vehicle (CLV)…
Herotel will introduce Amazon’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband service to South Africa under the brand name Evry, aiming for a commercial launch in 2027. CEO Van Zyl Botha confirmed that Herotel will serve as the importer of record, absorbing foreign currency risks on hardware terminals while maintaining stable retail pricing over an initial three-year…
Satellite operators wanting to launch a constellation-based service such as Starlink in South Africa cannot obtain the necessary network licence from the regulator at present, and their realistic route into the market is to acquire one from an existing licence holder, communications regulator Icasa has said. In a notice (PDF) published in the Government Gazette…
Councillor Thabisa Faye, chairperson of ICASA’s satellite licensing framework committee. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has published draft amendments to the Radio Frequency Spectrum Regulations, 2015, and the Radio Frequency Spectrum Fees Regulations, 2010, in terms of the Electronic Communications Act, 2005. The amendments are open to public comment for a period…
Amazon has announced a strategic merger with satellite communications provider Globalstar Inc. to strengthen its Leo satellite network, a direct competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink. While Globalstar may not be a household name, it is a critical infrastructure player best known for powering Apple’s emergency satellite SOS features on compatible iPhones and Apple Watches. Read: Cape…
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off carrying Amazon’s two prototype relay stations for Project Kuiper, from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2023. Joe Skipper/Reuters Amazon is in talks to buy satellite telecommunications group Globalstar as it ramps up efforts to build its own low-Earth-orbit satellite business…
An imagery of satellite constellation © the Ministry of Defense Axelspace Corporation (“Axelspace”), a leading developer and operator of microsatellites dedicated to realizing its vision of “Space within Your Reach,” announced that, for the purpose of carrying out the Ministry of Defense’s satellite constellation project, it has entered into a contract with Tri-Sat Constellation Co.,…
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, congratulates the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria on the successful launch of the Alsat-3A Earth observation satellite, marking a significant advance in Africa’s space and geospatial capabilities. “This achievement underscores Algeria’s leadership in space science and its commitment to harnessing satellite technologies for sustainable…
Starlink satellites being blasted into space aboard a SpaceX rocket in an undated file photo Starlink will begin a reconfiguration of its satellite constellation by lowering all of its satellites orbiting at around 550km to the lower orbit of 480km over the course of 2026, Michael Nicolls, SpaceX’s vice president of Starlink engineering, said on…
