SpaceNews This Week | In buying DigitalGlobe, MDA ensures SSL will build just-disclosed WorldView Legion constellation

February 24, 2017 View this email in your browser In buying DigitalGlobe, MDA ensures SSL will build just-disclosed WorldView Legion constellation Caleb Henry — Before going public with their plans to merge, Canada's MDA Corp. and DigitalGlobe were already working together on a next-generation imaging constellation called WorldView Legion they say will be able to revisit some locations on Earth up to 40 times in a day. OneWeb weighing 2,000 more satellites Tereza Pultarova and Caleb Henry — Satellite telecom startup OneWeb, emboldened by the oversubscribed $1.2 billion Softbank-led investment gained in December, is on the verge of adding another 2,000 satellites to its previously proposed constellation of several hundred satellites. Safety panel raises concerns about crew on first SLS launch Jeff Foust — A NASA independent safety committee wants NASA to provide a "compelling rationale" for putting astronauts on the first flight of the Space Launch System, a proposal NASA is currently studying.ne. SN FIRST UP Satcom is our new, weekly rundown of what's happening in the satellite telecommunications industry. Every Wednesday, you will receive a handpicked selection of news and info that matters to satellite professionals.  Sign up now. ESA deal hinges on what Trump does with NASA's human spaceflight plans Rob Coppinger — A barter agreement the European Space Agency hopes to reach with NASA next year assumes the Trump administration won't drastically change the deep space exploration plans set in motion by the Obama administration. Inmarsat has been secretly testing a satellite data-relay service Debra Werner— For more than a year, mobile satellite services provider Inmarsat has been working with Addvalue Innovation (AVI), a communications technology company based in Singapore, to conduct secret tests of a service that lets operators maintain continuous contact with small satellites in low Earth orbit. Now, the companies are ready to offer the Inter-satellite Data Relay Service (IDRS) to satellite operators. Commercial crew providers remain confident in schedules Jeff Foust — The two companies developing commercial crew vehicles are confident that they will be ready to start carrying astronauts in 2018 despite a recent report that concluded delays into 2019 were likely. Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Advertise with Us | Privacy Policy | Subscribe Copyright © 2017 SpaceNews Inc., All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: SpaceNews Inc. 1414 Prince St, Suite 204 Alexandria, VA 22314