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Business space isn’t any longer the only domain of satellite telecommunications. Nearly every sector of the space enterprise is opening as much as business providers.
Two of our three finalists for this yr’s Business Space Achievement award represent longstanding business pillars of the space industry: launch and satellite communications.
The third is a pioneer in one of the vital daunting space sectors to commercialize: human spaceflight.
The SpaceNews editorial team chosen the three achievements below as a few of this yr’s biggest. The winner of this category, chosen with precious input from previous recipients of a SpaceNews award, will likely be revealed during our annual awards celebration.
Tickets are on sale now for the SpaceNews 2023 Icon Awards, being held Tuesday, Dec. 5, on the InterContinental Washington D.C. – The Wharf.
Let’s take a more in-depth have a look at this yr’s honorees, one among which will likely be named 2023’s Civil Space Achievement:
Intelsat and SES earn billions by meeting C-band clearing deadlines
Intelsat and SES are due a combined $7 billion windfall for returning publicly owned C-band to the FCC, on top of the $2 billion already received for helping make the spectrum available for U.S. telecom networks.
SpaceX launch tempo
SpaceX has already exceeded its record-setting launch rate for all of 2022, with 80 launches and counting performed for the reason that start of 2023 . Not even China (government and business launches combined) is launching as often as SpaceX.
Virgin Galactic’s first business SpaceShipTwo flights
After years of development delays, including a fatal accident in a 2014 test flight, Virgin Galactic began business flights in June, continuing them on a monthly basis since then. This enables the corporate to finally serve customers who, in some cases, bought tickets greater than 15 years ago while working on a brand new generation of vehicles that promise more frequent and cheaper suborbital flights.