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NYSE:GSAT News 4 June 2025 - 22 July 2025

Smartphones vs. Satellite Phones: Are Off-Grid Cell Phones Killing the Satellite Phone?

Smartphones vs. Satellite Phones: Are Off-Grid Cell Phones Killing the Satellite Phone?

Apple launched Emergency SOS via satellite on the iPhone 14 series in late 2022 using Globalstar’s LEO network. Samsung Galaxy S25, launched in 2025, is the first commercially available phone to include Snapdragon Satellite for two-way messaging via Iridium’s LEO constellation, with Android 15 native support. Bullitt Group’s Bullitt Satellite Messenger rolled out in Q1 2023, enabling two-way SMS on the Motorola Defy 2 and CAT S75 via Skylo GEO satellites. Huawei Mate 60 Pro (2023) added two-way satellite texting and satellite voice calling via BeiDou’s Tiantong GEO network, requiring careful skyward pointing and delivering low bandwidth. By the end
Space & Satellite Deep Dive – 8th July 2025: Starlink Expansion, Interstellar Visitor, AI in Orbit & Global Policy Shifts / Updated: 2025, July 8th, 12:00 CET

Space & Satellite Deep Dive – 8th July 2025: Starlink Expansion, Interstellar Visitor, AI in Orbit & Global Policy Shifts / Updated: 2025, July 8th, 12:00 CET

SpaceX’s Starlink 10-28 mission launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on July 8, 2025, deploying 28 broadband Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit and marking the Falcon 9 booster’s 22nd flight, with the booster landing on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas about 8 minutes and 14 seconds after liftoff. The 500th Falcon 9 launch occurred with the Starlink 10-25 mission, deploying 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites and marking booster B1067’s 29th flight. 3I/ATLAS, discovered by NASA’s ATLAS survey in July 2025 in Chile, is about 20 km wide and travels up to 68 km/s, making it the third
China’s Bold Advances: Space-Based AI, Deep Space Ambitions, and Satellite Networks – Space News Roundup (Updated July 8, 2025 0:00 CET)

China’s Bold Advances: Space-Based AI, Deep Space Ambitions, and Satellite Networks – Space News Roundup (Updated July 8, 2025 0:00 CET)

China launched the Three-Body Computing Constellation, with each satellite delivering 744 TOPS and the network targeting 1 EOPS for in-orbit AI and real-time data processing. China proposes a Neptune Orbiter for 2033 powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators to study Neptune, its moon Triton, and deep-space propulsion capabilities. BeiDou-3 has been completed with 30 operational satellites providing global high-precision geolocation services for civil, commercial, and military users. Harbin Institute of Technology’s Gongda Satellite aims to deliver over 20 satellites in 2025, enabling software-defined remote sensing with data turnaround as fast as 8 minutes. Li Deren’s Eastern Eye constellation targets more than
8 July 2025
Space News Roundup: Satellite Internet, Climate Monitoring, and the Expanding Role of Space Technology (June 30, 2025) / Updated: 2025, June 30th, 14:21 CET

Space News Roundup: Satellite Internet, Climate Monitoring, and the Expanding Role of Space Technology (June 30, 2025) / Updated: 2025, June 30th, 14:21 CET

Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet constellation, now has over 5 million customers in 125 countries, with rivals including Eutelsat OneWeb, Globalstar, and Amazon’s Project Kuiper and government-led IRIS2 and QianFan programs. Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile formed SatCo, a Luxembourg-based joint venture aiming to deliver direct-to-device satellite connectivity across Europe by 2026, integrating with 4G/5G networks. MTG-S1, Europe’s next-generation Meteosat Third Generation Sounder, carries the Sentinel-4 payload for air quality and atmospheric monitoring over Europe and North Africa, and will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 with major European industry partners Thales Alenia Space, Airbus, GMV, and SENER. Japan’s GOSAT-GW climate satellite
30 June 2025
Texting From Space: The T-Mobile–Starlink ‘T-Satellite’ Launch Heralds the Direct-to-Device Era

Texting From Space: The T-Mobile–Starlink ‘T-Satellite’ Launch Heralds the Direct-to-Device Era

In August 2022, T-Mobile and SpaceX announced the Coverage Above and Beyond partnership to end mobile dead zones by connecting standard smartphones to Starlink satellites, branded as T-Satellite with Starlink, aiming to cover roughly 500,000 square miles of the U.S. Starlink Gen2 satellites feature Direct to Cell antenna arrays that enable direct-to-device connectivity with unmodified 4G/5G smartphones, effectively emulating a space-based cell tower. The first batch of six direct-to-cell capable Starlink satellites was launched in January 2024 on a Falcon 9 rocket. In March 2024 the FCC issued rules for non-terrestrial networks and, in November 2024, granted SpaceX conditional approval
28 June 2025
Stunning Satellite Images Reveal Fordow Nuclear Facility Cratered by U.S. Airstrike

Latest Satellite News & Insights 23.06.2025

On June 23, 2025, ULA’s Atlas V launched 27 Amazon Project Kuiper satellites, bringing the constellation to 54 in Low-Earth Orbit and targeting a 3,232-satellite network. Spain’s INFOCA expanded wildfire response by integrating SPOT satellite devices with Globalstar and Technosylva wildfire modelling for real-time location tracking, with a webinar scheduled for June 30, 2025. A new batch of Starlink v2 mini satellites, Starlink 10-18, launched June 18, 2025 and will be visible over Ukraine in a 280 km orbit, with each satellite visible for 3–4 minutes and a 30-second interval between appearances, while Starlink operates about 7,000 satellites. NASA’s Perseverance
Beyond Cell Coverage: The Ultimate 2025 Guide to Satellite Texting Services

Beyond Cell Coverage: The Ultimate 2025 Guide to Satellite Texting Services

In late 2022, Apple launched Emergency SOS via satellite on the iPhone 14 series, enabling two-way emergency texting via Globalstar satellites. As of iOS 17 and later, iPhone 14/15 users in supported regions can share their location and send basic non-emergency texts via satellite, with two years of free service after activation before a paid plan. Garmin’s inReach Mini 2 provides global two-way texting via the Iridium network, with plans from about $15/month to $65/month and devices typically priced around $350–$450. ZOLEO uses the Iridium network for global messaging, costs about $200 for the device, offers plans from roughly $20
The Ultimate 2025 Satellite Phone Guide – Best Models Compared for Off-Grid Communication

The Ultimate 2025 Satellite Phone Guide – Best Models Compared for Off-Grid Communication

The Iridium Extreme 9575 is Iridium’s flagship rugged handset (MIL-STD 810F, IP65) at about 5.5 × 2.4 × 1.1 in and 8.7 oz, priced around $1,200–$1,500 (listed $1,349 in Jan 2025) with built-in GPS and an SOS button. The Iridium 9555 is a smaller, rugged phone (about 5.6 × 2.2 × 1.2 in, 9.4 oz) offering 4 hours talk and 30 hours standby, 2.4 kbps data, typically $900–$1,100 (listed about $1,129 in early 2025), and no GPS or SOS. Iridium operates a 66-satellite LEO constellation delivering 100% global pole-to-pole coverage with low latency from roughly 780 km altitude. The IsatPhone
D2D Gold Rush: The Race to Own the Sky-to-Phone Future (2025–2033)

D2D Gold Rush: The Race to Own the Sky-to-Phone Future (2025–2033)

In April 2023, AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3 demonstrated the first two-way voice call from an off-the-shelf smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S22) to a satellite. In November 2022, Apple launched Emergency SOS via Satellite on iPhone 14 using Globalstar, with the service free for two years. In September 2022, Lynk Global received the FCC license for commercial satellite-direct-to-phone services, enabling a 10-satellite initial constellation for SMS. 3GPP Release 17, frozen in 2022, formally added Non-Terrestrial Networks support so standard 5G devices can connect to satellites with adjusted timing and error correction. In 2024, Viasat and BSNL demonstrated two-way SMS connectivity using a
When the Grid Goes Dark: How Satellite Phones Keep Us Connected in Emergencies

When the Grid Goes Dark: How Satellite Phones Keep Us Connected in Emergencies

Iridium operates 66 active LEO satellites in a cross-linked constellation, providing truly global coverage including the poles. Inmarsat uses 3–4 GEO satellites at about 36,000 km altitude to cover most of the globe from roughly 70°N to 70°S, and its IsatPhone 2 offers 8 hours of talk time. Globalstar runs about 48 LEO satellites to provide regional coverage (roughly 50°N to 50°S) with the Globalstar GSP-1700 handset. Thuraya uses two GEO satellites, with Thuraya 4-NGS launched in 2025 to expand service across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Australia, while it does not cover the Americas. Geostationary satellite networks
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