Plus Ultra’s lunar comsats to hitch rides on ispace moon landersby Jason Rainbow — January 21, 2022 [SN]
Plus Ultra CEO Carlos Utrilla (left) signs an MoU with Julien-Alexandre Lamamy, managing director of ispace’s European division, to collaborate on lunar missions.TAMPA, Fla. — Spanish-German startup Plus Ultra Space Outposts plans to deploy the bulk of its proposed lunar communications and navigation constellation with ispace, the Japanese lunar transportation venture selling accommodations on its moon-bound landers.
Plus Ultra and ispace announced a collaboration agreement Jan. 20 that includes the transport and deployment of Plus Ultra’s Harmony minisatellites as soon as 2024.
https://spacenews.com/plus-ultras-lunar-comsats-to-hitch-rides-on-ispace-moon-landers/KSAT invests in dedicated lunar communications networkby Debra Werner — March 16, 2022 [SN]
KSAT's global ground station network includes around 100 antennas in Svalbard, Norway. Credit: KSATSAN FRANCISCO – Kongsberg Satellite Services announced plans March 16 to establish a dedicated antenna network for lunar communications.
“Building and operating networks is our core competency,” Arnulf Kjeldsen, KSAT executive vice president for strategy and technology, told SpaceNews. After spending decades operating communications networks for satellites in low, medium and geostationary Earth orbit, supporting lunar communications is a natural next step, he added.
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https://spacenews.com/ksat-invests-in-dedicated-lunar-communications-network/Another startup joins race to provide high-speed lunar communicationsby Jason Rainbow — March 18, 2022 [SN]
The International Space Station is seen in silhouette as it transits the moon March 16, 2019. Credit: NASA/Joel KowskyTAMPA, Fla. — Aquarian Space said March 17 it has raised seed funding to deploy a high-speed communications network for the moon to meet anticipated demand from government and commercial lunar missions.
Silicon Valley venture capital firm Draper Associates, an early SpaceX investor, has injected $650,000 in Aquarian Space to support plans to deploy its first lunar satellite in the first quarter of 2024.
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https://spacenews.com/another-startup-joins-race-to-provide-high-speed-lunar-communications/China to build a lunar communications and navigation constellationby Andrew Jones — April 27, 2022 [SN]
The moon and distant Earth seen from Earth-moon Lagrange point 2 by the Queqiao relay satellite. Credit: Zhejiang UniversityNew satellites would provide services to allow new, more complex activities on the lunar surface.HELSINKI — China plans to set up a constellation around the moon to provide communication and navigation services for future operations on the lunar surface.
China will take the lead in demonstrating a small, lunar relay communication and navigation system, Wu Yanhua, deputy director of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), told Chinese media on April 24.
https://spacenews.com/china-to-build-a-lunar-communications-and-navigation-constellation/