Paul Dyster

The global response to Musk and Trump's pressure on Ukraine, accompanied by a temporary shutdown of Starshield, was swift. Here's where things stand now: 🇨🇦 CANADA The Canadian government has signed a CAD 2.3 billion contract with national satellite operator Telesat to expand its Lightspeed low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation. Lightspeed was originally developed as a commercial competitor to Starlink and OneWeb. However, the government is now funding the integration of a dedicated, secure military communications system operating in the Ka-band and has already placed an order for additional satellites with Canadian aerospace company MDA Space. 🇫🇮 FINLAND Finnish company ICEYE, a developer of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, and Nokia have announced a strategic partnership to develop sovereign LEO broadband communications systems for interested European governments. The project aims to provide European countries with a ready-made platform allowing each government to fully own and control its own satellite communications infrastructure, including encryption, without dependence on foreign providers. This concept is known as "Sovereign SatCom." 🇪🇺 EUROPEAN UNION The European Commission has moved toward awarding manufacturing contracts and increasing funding for its sovereign satellite communications network, IRIS². Airbus Defence and Space has already signed contracts in Toulouse to manufacture the first 66 LEO satellites. Thales Alenia Space has been tasked with developing specialized secure payloads for government applications. The program has been expanded to 348 satellites, with an additional €4 billion in funding. 🇰🇷 SOUTH KOREA South Korea has successfully conducted its first orbital launch of the year using its domestically developed Nuri (KSLV-II) rocket from the Naro Space Center. The rocket simultaneously deployed 14 payloads, including additional satellites for the national NEONSAT constellation and several military CubeSats. 🇯🇵 JAPAN Japan has allocated approximately $1 billion in subsidies to develop a nationally controlled direct-to-device satellite network. The system is designed to allow ordinary smartphones to communicate directly with satellites during major earthquakes or military conflicts. The project involves cooperation between Rakuten and AST SpaceMobile. 🇺🇦 UKRAINE The UASAT project, an initiative by STETMAN and a consortium of partners, has successfully completed registration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Preparations are now underway for the UASAT-NANO test satellite, which will mark the first step toward creating Ukraine's own sovereign satellite constellation. 🇨🇿 CZECH REPUBLIC At the same time, agreements with the Czech Republic are being finalized for the joint development of a constellation of optical reconnaissance satellites called Suziria ("Constellation"). Ukraine is also expected to gain access to backup capacity within Europe's GOVSATCOM system. 🇩🇪 GERMANY German company Isar Aerospace successfully launched its Spectrum rocket into orbit carrying satellites on September 5. THE BIG PICTURE The brilliant strategists Elon and Donnie wanted to show us who controls the red button for satellite internet. Well, they succeeded. And in a strange way, perhaps we should thank them. Because they have reminded the entire world of one simple truth: Whoever controls your communications can control your future. And now countries around the world are working to make sure that no single billionaire — or American president — can ever hold that power over them again.