Satellite 2017 | Trump sends mixed signals to satellite builders

View this email in your browser News from Satellite 2017 SpaceNews is providing daily coverage of Satellite 2017 this week  with support from Cobham and China Great Wall Industry Corp. Thursday, March 9 News from the Show Blue Origin signs OneWeb as second customer for New Glenn Caleb Henry — OneWeb has signed on as Blue Origin's second customer for its New Glenn orbital launch vehicle, both companies announced March 8. In a tweet Wednesday morning, Blue Origin Founder Jeff Bezos said OneWeb has reserved five launches using the rocket, bringing to six the number of missions in the New Glenn manifest. The deal is an MOU, not a contract, according to a OneWeb spokesman. Trump sends mixed signals to satellite builders Caleb Henry — President Trump campaigned on reenergizing the U.S. industrial base, which already has more satellite manufacturers than any other country in the world. Boosting defense spending, as Trump has promised, would also stand to benefit U.S. satellite manufacturers, many of which are part of larger companies that do the bulk of their business with the Pentagon. But Trump has also advocated protectionist policies that worry satellite builders competing and cooperating in a global market.   Boeing sees soft market for GEO comsat Debra Werner — The commercial market for geostationary communications satellites shows no signs of rebound, according to Boeing executives who attribute lackluster demand to the rapid pace of innovation in the satellite market, few launch opportunities and the inability of the U.S. Export Import Bank to finance large transactions. Advertise with Us NGA using commercial data to monitor Arctic maritime traffic Debra Werner — The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is using satellite data provided by Spire Global and Ball Aerospace to monitor maritime traffic in the Arctic, a region where the changing climate is having a dramatic impact on trade routes, The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is using satellite data provided by Spire Global and Ball Aerospace to monitor maritime traffic in the Arctic, a region where the changing climate is having a dramatic impact on trade routes, Peter Platzer, Spire chief executive, said March 6 during a Satellite 2017 panel here., Spire chief executive, said March 6 during a Satellite 2017 panel here.   USAF ready to enlist commercial operators for WGS help Phillip Swarts — U.S. Air Force Space Command is looking to increase its partnership with industry, even preparing to bring in commercial operators to help run the Wideband Global Satcom constellation, the AFSC vice commander said March 8. "We have an initiative underway today. It's focused on Wideband Global Satcom. We are about completed with our development of the [request for proposal] and are ready to field it to industry," Maj. Gen. David Thompson said during a keynote address at the Satellite 2017 conference here. 3D printing saving satellite builders time and money Debra Werner — Satellite manufacturers are turning increasingly to additive manufacturing to reduce the cost and time required to design and build spacecraft. Space Systems Loral announced March 7 that its most complex additively manufactured part, an antenna tower with 37 printed titanium nodes and more than 80 graphite struts, is performing as intended in orbit on SKY Perfect JSAT's JCSAT-110A satellite launched in December. In Brief International Launch Services is making changes to its lineup of Proton vehicles. The company announced this week that they are developing a five-meter payload fairing that will be available starting in 2020. The company is also making changes to the design of lighter versions of the Proton it announced last year, including putting work on the smaller of the two, the Proton Light, on hold. The company is proceeding with the Proton Medium, which will be ready for launch in late 2018. Satellite communications components provider Orbital Research Ltd. is being sold to its senior employees. Ian McEachern, Orbital's vice president of engineering, will become the majority shareholder and will assume the role of president and CEO. Mike Stevens, the company's founder, is staying on as an adviser during the transition.   FIRST UP Satcom is a free weekly newsletter published every Wednesday by SpaceNews Subscribe Thursday's Best Bets The final day of Satellite 2017 is a half day, so our best bets are pretty much your only bets. Planet co-founder Robbie Schingler delivers the keynote in Room 202 at 9:30 a.m. We'd like him to talk about Planet's announced acquisition of Terra Bella and how he sees the commercial remote-sensing industry's ongoing consolidation wave playing out. But his talk is billed as a discussion of "how sensors could usher in a new era of planetary awareness and transparency." At 10 a.m., also in Room 202, top executives from Asia Broadcast Satellite, CNES, Dynamic Spectrum Alliance, iDirect, Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Russian Satellite Communications Co."share their thoughts on the future development of commercial space." If crystal-ball gazing is not your thing, DLR's Bernd Sommer is discussing on-orbit satellite servicing at 10:30 a.m. in Room 201. We'd rather hear from Space Systems Loral and Orbital ATK. But since they're involved in a lawsuit over DARPA's Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites program, that's probably not going to happen.  Follow SpaceNews Advertise with Us SN FIRST UP Satcom is sent out every Wednesday by SpaceNews Staff Writer Caleb Henry and SpaceNews Editor-in-Chief Brian Berger. Copyright © 2017 SPACENEWS, All rights reserved.