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Economic Times
20 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Bharti Enterprises to invest Rs 313 cr in Eutelsat under fresh capital raise plan
Reuters The logo of the satellite operator Eutelsat New Delhi: Bharti Enterprise's space venture will invest €31.4 million (about Rs 313 crore) as part of French satellite group Eutelsat's fresh €1.35 billion (around Rs 11,250 crore) capital raising plan, aimed at paring debt and investing in satellite constellations. The French government will invest €526.4 million in Eutelsat and become the largest shareholder with a 29.99% stake, displacing Bharti Space, which will now own 18.7% stake in Eutelsat, the world's second largest satcom group and a chief rival to Elon Musk-owned Starlink. Other investors include shipping major CMA CGM with €100.4 million, with sovereign investor FSP putting in €57.8 million. 'I am delighted that under the leadership of President Macron, the French state has decided to back Eutelsat as the European Space Champion and increased its shareholding by injecting a sizeable investment into the company,' Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder & Chairman, Bharti Enterprises & Co-Chairman Eutelsat Group. Post merger between Eutelsat and Bharti Enterprises and UK government backed-OneWeb in 2023, the Indian group became the largest shareholder in Eutelsat with a 21.2% share. 'We are also thrilled to welcome the French armed forces ministry, DGA, partnership with Eutelsat in a long term €1B contract to reserve capacity on Eutelsat's low-Earth orbit OneWeb constellation for its mission critical needs,' Mittal this week, Eutelsat signed a 10-year agreement with France's Ministry of the Armed Forces under the Nexus program. The deal, worth up to €1 billion ( ?9,999 crore), aims to integrate military and civilian satellite resources and strengthen European capabilities in secure space capital raise comes at a time of heightened activity in the satellite internet space, especially in India. Eutelsat OneWeb, a unit of the Eutelsat group, is poised to start commercial broadband-from-space service in India, having received all necessary statutory clearances, except for more than 600 satellites since merging with British firm OneWeb in 2023, Eutelsat is the world's second-largest operator of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. But it remains far smaller than Starlink, which has 6,000 satellites.
Time of India
20 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Bharti Enterprises to invest Rs 313 cr in Eutelsat under fresh capital raise plan
New Delhi: Bharti Enterprise's space venture will invest €31.4 million (about Rs 313 crore) as part of French satellite group Eutelsat 's fresh €1.35 billion (around Rs 11,250 crore) capital raising plan, aimed at paring debt and investing in satellite constellations. The French government will invest €526.4 million in Eutelsat and become the largest shareholder with a 29.99% stake, displacing Bharti Space , which will now own 18.7% stake in Eutelsat, the world's second largest satcom group and a chief rival to Elon Musk-owned Starlink. Other investors include shipping major CMA CGM with €100.4 million, with sovereign investor FSP putting in €57.8 million. 'I am delighted that under the leadership of President Macron, the French state has decided to back Eutelsat as the European Space Champion and increased its shareholding by injecting a sizeable investment into the company,' Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder & Chairman, Bharti Enterprises & Co-Chairman Eutelsat Group. Post merger between Eutelsat and Bharti Enterprises and UK government backed-OneWeb in 2023, the Indian group became the largest shareholder in Eutelsat with a 21.2% share. 'We are also thrilled to welcome the French armed forces ministry, DGA, partnership with Eutelsat in a long term €1B contract to reserve capacity on Eutelsat's low-Earth orbit OneWeb constellation for its mission critical needs,' Mittal added. Earlier this week, Eutelsat signed a 10-year agreement with France's Ministry of the Armed Forces under the Nexus program. The deal, worth up to €1 billion ( ?9,999 crore), aims to integrate military and civilian satellite resources and strengthen European capabilities in secure space communications. The capital raise comes at a time of heightened activity in the satellite internet space, especially in India. Eutelsat OneWeb, a unit of the Eutelsat group, is poised to start commercial broadband-from-space service in India, having received all necessary statutory clearances, except for spectrum. Operating more than 600 satellites since merging with British firm OneWeb in 2023, Eutelsat is the world's second-largest operator of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. But it remains far smaller than Starlink, which has 6,000 satellites.
Mint
2 days ago
- Science
- Mint
Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship explodes during routine test in Texas, marking latest setback in Mars mission
Elon Musk-owned aerospace firm SpaceX suffered another blow to its Mars ambitions late on Wednesday, when a Starship prototype exploded during a routine ground test at the company's Starbase facility in southern Texas. According to a statement from Cameron County authorities, the vehicle, known as Starship 36, experienced a 'catastrophic failure and exploded' shortly after 11:00 pm local time (04:00 GMT Thursday). The rocket was undergoing a static fire test, a standard procedure that involves firing the engines while the spacecraft remains anchored to the launch pad. Footage shared on social media captured the moment of the explosion, showing a bright flash followed by a towering plume of fire engulfing the rocket, which was attached to the launch tower. SpaceX later confirmed the incident, stating the vehicle encountered 'a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase.' While the company did not disclose the specific cause, it emphasised that safety protocols were followed. 'A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation, and all personnel are safe and accounted for,' the company said on social media. Authorities also assured the public that there is no danger to nearby communities and urged people not to approach the area while 'safing' operations continue. The explosion is the latest in a series of high-profile setbacks for SpaceX's Starship programme, a central pillar of Musk's long-term goal to make humanity a multiplanetary species. The fully reusable rocket, which stands 123 metres tall, is the most powerful ever built and is designed to carry payloads of up to 150 metric tonnes into space. This incident comes just weeks after a previous Starship test flight ended in failure, when the vehicle broke apart over the Indian Ocean following launch. Another test in May saw the Super Heavy booster explode during its descent, rather than executing a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. Two earlier missions also ended with the upper stage disintegrating mid-flight. Nonetheless, SpaceX continues to pursue its 'fail fast, learn fast' philosophy, which it credits for its dominance in the commercial space sector. The company has recently succeeded in catching the Super Heavy booster with Starbase's massive robotic launch arms — an engineering milestone viewed as critical to reducing launch turnaround times and costs. NASA, which relies heavily on SpaceX for crew transport via its Dragon spacecraft, remains one of the company's key partners. In May, the US Federal Aviation Administration approved an expansion of SpaceX's annual Starship launches from five to 25, despite pushback from environmental groups concerned about the impact on local wildlife, such as sea turtles and migratory birds.
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First Post
2 days ago
- Science
- First Post
Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship explodes during flight test
Elon Musk-owned SpaceX's Starship exploded today during a test flight. The company said that all personnel are safe and accounted for at the site. read more Elon Musk-owned SpaceX's Starship's Ship 36 bursts into a fireball in an explosion during a flight test on Wednesday, June 18, at Massey's Testing Center in Texas, United States. A Starship spacecraft of Elon Musk-owned SpaceX exploded into a fireball on Wednesday during a test flight. Starship's Ship 36 encountered an anomaly and burst into a massive fireball at Massey's Testing Center in Texas. SpaceX in a brief statement said that the accident occurred at around 11 pm CT during the spacecraft's 10th flight test. The explosion was caught in a livefeed — see below. The company said that no one was injured in the explosion. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for. Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials,' the statement read. The company further said that while there is no active hazard to neighbouring communities, they should not approach the area while safety operations continue. This was the fourth consecutive time that the Starship had exploded during flight test. The Starship previously exploded in during the seventh, eighth, and ninth flight tests as well earlier this year. While the cause of the accident is not known, narrators in the livefeed said around the time of the explosion that static fire test was supposed to start soon. The explosion happened around 30 minutes after the propellant load sequence started. A static fire test is a must pre-launch test in which spacecraft's engines are ignited as the spacecraft remains secured to the ground. The engines are usually ignited for a few seconds to judge its performance. No actual takes place during this procedure. In the case of Starship, such tests are conducted for the Super Heavy booster as well as the upper stage spacecraft Starship together and sometimes separately. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD These strings of accidents have come amid Musk's focus to bring costs down per launch and maximise launches in a year.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Vodafone Idea connects with AST to foray into satcom services
New Delhi: Vodafone Idea (Vi) has become India's third telecom operator after Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel to join the fray for starting broadband-from-space services, tying up with US-based AST SpaceMobile for offering direct-to-device satellite broadband connectivity in the country. Vi said, in a joint statement on Wednesday, that the space-based cellular broadband ecosystem will be designed to expand its telecom services of terrestrial connectivity, providing voice, video, data streaming and internet access. "It will encompass the design, implementation and launch of this system wherein AST SpaceMobile will develop, manufacture and manage the satellite constellation and Vi will oversee terrestrial network integration, operating spectrum and market access," it said. The telco will be pitched against not just its two bigger domestic rivals but also Elon Musk-owned Starlink and Amazon's Kuiper in India's nascent satcom market with high growth potential. Nasdaq-listed AST SpaceMobile is building a constellation of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites that connect directly with standard mobile phones, without the need for specialised equipment. UK-based Vodafone Group, a co-parent of Vi, is an investor in AST SpaceMobile, and is collaborating to set up this 'first space-based mobile network'. The first five commercial satellites have been placed in orbit successfully last September, with plans to have over 50 satellites in the coming years. "As satellite-based mobile access becomes a reality in India, we are looking forward to ushering in a new era of seamless and resilient connectivity," said Avneesh Khosla, chief marketing officer, Vi. Through the partnership, Vi and AST SpaceMobile will collaborate to develop commercial offerings for diverse sectors, including consumer, enterprise and IoT. "We are not just expanding coverage; we are breaking down barriers to connectivity, enabling everyday smartphones to access 4G and 5G directly from space," Chris Ivory, chief commercial officer, AST SpaceMobile, added. Ivory said through the partnership, new possibilities can be unlocked for emergency response, disaster management, agriculture, remote learning, and other applications. As per rules, any company offering satellite services in India needs to establish its gateways locally and route all its data through these gateways. Vi will now need to secure a satcom permit for starting satcom services. The companies have not yet shared when they plan to apply for securing the regulatory approvals. Unlike other satcom companies like Starlink and Amazon Kuiper, which need a terminal to access broadband, AST SpaceMobile partners with mobile operators to offer connectivity on the devices of users directly, without any need for additional equipment, say experts.
