Author: Sam Michaelson
A recent Starlink outage caused U.S. Navy drone tests to fail, underscoring the Pentagon’s growing reliance on SpaceX’s satellite network. According to U.S. officials, a nearly hour‑long loss of connectivity left drone vessels without guidance, highlighting vulnerabilities in mission‑critical systems that depend on commercial providers. The disruption follows a similar global outage in July 2025 that affected tens of thousands of users worldwide for over two hours due to an internal software failure. Despite these incidents, the military continues to turn to Starlink because it offers high‑speed, low‑cost connectivity that legacy systems can’t match. Experts warn that overreliance on a single…
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is acquiring Globalstar in a move that signals a deeper push into satellite connectivity, positioning the company against SpaceX and its Starlink network. Globalstar generates roughly $150M–$250M annually and operates a low Earth orbit satellite network used for narrowband communications, including emergency satellite services on iPhones via Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). The deal underscores growing strategic interest in spectrum as a scarce infrastructure asset. Sources https://www.reuters.com/technology/amazon-globalstar-deal https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/amazon-satellite-strategy-kuiper.html https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/7/23339754/apple-iphone-14-satellite-emergency-sos-globalstar Key Takeaways In-Depth Amazon’s move to acquire Globalstar is less about immediate scale and more about Amazon’s long-term positioning in the race to control global connectivity. Globalstar operates in the…
NASA’s Artemis II mission has successfully completed its journey with a Pacific Ocean splashdown, marking the first crewed lunar flyby since the Apollo era and validating the systems needed for sustained deep space exploration; the mission demonstrated Orion’s ability to safely transport astronauts beyond low Earth orbit and return them at high speeds, while also reinforcing the growing role of commercial partnerships in accelerating space capabilities and setting the stage for future lunar landings and long-term infrastructure that could eventually expand access to space beyond government astronauts. Key Takeaways Orion’s successful return confirms modern spacecraft can handle deep space conditions.…