Ben Ackman
(He/Him)
- Photojournalism Intern, WAMU-FM (Washington, D.C.)
- Student, American University
Jersey City, New York, Washington, D.C.
Photojournalist. Currently: Visuals internship at WAMU 88.5.
Articles by Ben Ackman
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An environmental disaster leaves hanging threads
For 18 years, Richard Farino has equipped Washington’s fishermen to catch shad on the Potomac River. This spring, he said, was the worst season for demand he’s ever seen. Farino owns District Angling, a tackle shop in Arlington specializing in fly-fishing gear. It supplies customers for the shad run, a yearly period where American and Hickory shad fill the Potomac River. This year, his customers disappeared. He normally sells 3,000 specialized shad flies by early May. This year, he sold barely 500.
Pols, Developers, Locals Strategize About New PATH Station in Marion Section
Subscribe today to listen to this content Get Access Developers, elected officials, transit advocates, and area residents gathered in a street-level office on Tuesday night to discuss a future PATH station in Jersey City’s Marion neighborhood, hoping to make the 45-year-old proposal a reality. Get the the news you won’t find anywhere else! Enter your email below for two free articles a month.
Jersey City’s Heat Wave in Photos
93 degrees. 100 degrees. 100 degrees again. Get the the news you won’t find anywhere else! Enter your email below for two free articles a month. For unlimited access to our unmatched content, SUBSCRIBE here. To receive our email newsletters, SIGN UP here. If you have any issues, please email info@jcitytimes.com Success! Your account was created and you’re signed in.
Locals Grill Councilwoman and Finance Director on Taxes, Budget Woes
Subscribe today to listen to this content Get Access A black truck sat on Mercer Street, its LED panels shining messages in three directions as evening light settled over City Hall. Get the the news you won’t find anywhere else! Enter your email below for two free articles a month. For unlimited access to our unmatched content, SUBSCRIBE here. To receive our email newsletters, SIGN UP here.
Photos: Serenaded by Village People, Jersey City Soccer Fans Gather For World Cup Watch Party
Subscribe today to listen to this content Get Access Fans of the United States and Paraguay gathered on a humid Friday night to watch the nations play their first match of the 2026 World Cup. Two large screens mounted on trailers broadcast the contest to the crowd assembled on Columbus Drive. Get the the news you won’t find anywhere else! Enter your email below for two free articles a month. For unlimited access to our unmatched content, SUBSCRIBE here.
ICE clashes with protestors at Delaney Hall on May 25, 2026
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ESA Taps Kepler to Lead Next Stage of HydRON Optical Program
Kepler Communications’ LEO network. Photo: Kepler Communications The European Space Agency has selected Toronto-based Kepler Communications as prime contractor for HydRON Element 3, the third part of a sovereign optical communications constellation, the company announced this week during Space Symposium. HydRON, short for High-throughput Optical Network, is a sovereign European data transport layer.
Slingshot Aerospace Releases AI-Powered Analytics Platform for Space Operations
A rendering of Slingshot Portal’s UI. Photo: Slingshot Aerospace Slingshot Aerospace released Portal, an artificial intelligence-based platform for satellite data monitoring and analysis this week. The software combines Slingshot’s data flows with external sources into its analytics engine, which operators could use to track orbital activity and assess maneuvering options in response to anomalies and threats.
Lonestar Expands Launch Plans for Orbital Data Storage Payload
LONESTAR satellite deployment. Photo: MEI Technologies Lonestar gave a launch date for “the world’s first commercially operational space-based sovereign data storage platform,” dubbed StarVault, in a statement on Wednesday. The company said demand for off-planet data security from governments, financial institutions, and critical infrastructure operators has exceeded its expectations. In response, it has expanded its agreement with Sidus Space.
MDA Announces Orbital Servicing Platform
Toronto-based MDA Space presented MDA Midnight, an on-orbit servicing platform, at Space Symposium on Monday morning. Midnight is designed for rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) use to detect, identify, counter, and deter threats to space assets, MDA said in a statement.
How Iceye Satellites Track Russian Vessels, Illegal Shipping in the Artic
An Iceye internal situation report shows Russian vessels leaving Severomorsk Naval Base in Murmansk. Photo: Iceye On a dark, clouded night, a Russian ballistic missile submarine departs a naval base in the Arctic. A small vessel navigates the Mediterranean Sea at 15 miles per hour. A tanker floats beside another to illegally receive a cargo of sanctioned oil. The ocean is a big place covered by clouds and any of these activities are easy to miss.
Amazon in Talks to Buy Globalstar, According to FT Report
Amazon is reportedly in discussions with Globalstar to potentially acquire the company. Financial Times (FT) reported first broke the news in an article published Wednesday evening. The article cited people familiar with the discussions. Globalstar is a telecommunications provider that operates a satellite constellation in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 28 ground stations across 18 countries and six continents. Since 2022, it has been Apple’s partner for emergency satellite messaging.
Gravitics Receives Strategic Funding Increase From SpaceWERX
Gravitics has received a Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) contract from SpaceWERX, the U.S. Space Force’s innovation arm, to accelerate development and demonstration of its Orbital Carrier architecture, the company said on Thursday. Under the contract, Gravitics will flight-demonstrate a pathfinder Orbital Carrier on a Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) rideshare mission and a Viper orbital transfer vehicle. The Viper demonstration includes plans to deploy a third-party payload to a high-energy orbit.
In-Orbit Logistics Companies Call for Clearer Demand Signals from Gov
The Astroscale U.S. Refueler (photo by Astroscale) “Space remains hard,” Ryan Wolff, a program director for Tranche 0 and vendor growth at the Space Development Agency (SDA), said during SATShow Week. “It is a hard place to operate.
ArkEdge Space to Work With ABIT For IoT Service Rollout
ArkEdge Space office. Photo: ArkEdge ArkEdge Space and ABIT Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and satellite communication devices, ArkEdge Space said on Thursday. The partnership will combine ArkEdge Space’s satellite technologies and global partner network with ABIT’s expertise in ground services, IoT devices, and wireless technologies.
Phantom Space Acquires Component Supplier Thermal Management Technologies
Phantom Space’s Daytona Rocket (image by Phantom Space) Launch vehicle manufacturer Phantom Space Corporation has acquired Thermal Management Technologies (TMT) to accelerate the development of its planned orbital data center constellation and further its vertical integration strategy. TMT is a Utah-based manufacturer of thermal systems for aerospace and defense.
NASA Launches Artemis II in Further Step Toward a Moon Return
Artemis II lifts off from Florida on an SLS rocket on April 1, 2026. Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls NASA launched Artemis II, its first crewed mission under the Artemis program, on Wednesday evening. The mission will test the Orion spacecraft’s life support capabilities on live astronauts for the first time as the space agency prepares for its planned crewed expeditions to the Moon. The mission launched at 6:35 p.m. EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
SpaceX Launches 119 Payloads on the Transporter-16 Rideshare Mission
SpaceX launched 119 payloads into Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) at 4:02 a.m. PT on Transporter-16, a dedicated smallsat rideshare mission, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Monday morning. The mission was the first stage booster’s 12th flight. It landed vertically on a droneship in the Pacific Ocean after releasing its payloads. With this mission, SpaceX has orbited over 1,600 payloads in its rideshare program.
Space Compass Purchases First Optical Data Relay Satellite From Swissto12
Space Compass orders GEO optical data relay satellite from Swissto12. Photo: Swissto12 and Space Compass Space Compass ordered the first satellite in their planned Geostationary Orbit (GEO) optical data relay constellation from Swissto12, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday. Japanese telecommunications firms Sky Perfect JSAT and NTT formed Space Compass in 2022 to construct an integrated space computing network.
Comtech Delivers First Set of Digital Modems to US Army
Comtech’s office in Chandler, Arizona. Photo: Comtech Comtech delivered the first round of Enterprise Digital Intermediate Frequency Multi-Carrier (EDIM) modems to the U.S. Army in a $48.6 million contract signed in 2023, the company said on Thursday. The modems remain in the development phase and are expected to be fielded after final acceptance testing this summer, Comtech said.
SLI Purchases Two Small GEO Satellites From ReOrbit
Rendering of a ReOrbit GEO satellite. Photo: ReOrbit SLI is set to purchase two small Geostationary Orbit (GEO) communication satellites from manufacturer ReOrbit for 150 million euros ($172.8 million), the companies announced in a joint statement on Thursday. SLI, formerly known as Space Leasing International, offers asset-financing services to governments and operators.
Flexell Space and Kongsberg NanoAvionics to Build Solar Arrays for K-LEO
Microsatellite solar array production. Photo: Kongsberg NanoAvionics Flexell Space and Kongsberg NanoAvionics will jointly supply solar arrays for K-LEO, South Korea’s sovereign Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) national security constellation, Flexell said in a statement on Wednesday. Hanwha Systems is currently developing the satellites.
EDA Commits to New VLEO Military Research Project
Photo: European Defense Agency The European Defence Agency (EDA) is going to explore the Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) region in space in a major new research project. The project, called VLEO-DEF, will design the first European military satellite concept specifically for VLEO. The project will run for 36 months. The EDA revealed details of the project, March 13.
SSC Space Inks New Launch Deal
The Esrange Space Center in Northern Sweden. Photo: SSC Sweden has moved one step closer to being and to control and launch satellites into orbit from its own territory from a national security perspective. SSC Space has signed an agreement with the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) to establish satellite launch capability from Esrange Space Center. The contract is valued at SEK 209 million ($22 million). SSC revealed details of the contract award, March 16.
Isar Aerospace Wins New Astroscale Contract
Photo: Isar Aerospace, Simon Fischer, Wingmen Media Isar Aerospace will launch the ‘ELSA-M’ In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) mission, thanks to a new deal with Astroscale Ltd, the UK subsidiary of Astroscale Holdings Inc. The mission will be launched aboard Isar Aerospace’s ‘Spectrum’ launch vehicle from the company’s dedicated launch site at Andøya Space. Isar Aerospace announced details of the mission, March 16. The ‘ELSA-M IOD’ launch will mark a key step towards commercial in‐orbit servicing.
Belgium Selects Redwire to Build Natsec Satellite
Florida-based aerospace and defense company Redwire has won a prime contract from the Belgian federal government to build the nation’s first national security satellite in collaboration with Aerospacelab, the company announced on Monday. Belgian Defense is fully funding the contract, and Redwire and Aerospacelab will jointly develop the satellite, Redwire said in a statement.
Astranis Hires Retired General John Hyten to Advisory Role
Left, Air Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein, Gen. John Hyten, outgoing commander of Air Force Space Command, and Gen. John Raymond salute during the National Anthem, Oct. 25, 2016 at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. Raymond took command of AFSPC minutes later. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. David Salanitri) Satcom provider Astranis welcomed retired four-star Gen. John E. Hyten as chairman of a new strategic advisory board, effective immediately, the company announced on Thursday.
Ovzon Receives $1.3M US Defense Contract
SpaceX launches the Ovzon-3 satellite in a Falcon 9 mission on Jan. 3, 2024. Photo: SpaceX Satellite communications provider Ovzon has received a $1.3 million three-month order from the United States Defense Department for satcom services and technical support, the company announced Friday. Service will begin immediately. Stockholm-based Ovzon said the Defense Department operates a broad base of remote Ovzon satellite terminals and has been a customer of theirs since 2014.
Orbital Energy Firm Mantis Space Leaves Stealth With $10M Seed Round
Mantis Space’s logo. Photo: Mantis Space Orbital energy startup Mantis Space emerged from stealth this morning with a $10 million seed round of funding, the company said on Thursday. Rule 1 Ventures and Montauk Capital led the round. Mantis Spsvr said it aims to build a constellation that almost continuously generates and transmits solar power to satellites in the Earth’s shadow, allowing them to receive power around the clock.
MTN Brings StarEdge Horizon Onto AWS Marketplace
MTN’s StarEdge Horizon connectivity service can now be purchased on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace, the company said Thursday. StarEdge Horizon is a Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity architecture designed to enhance latency and security by routing traffic off the public internet. Under the partnership between the two companies, customers will be able to send site traffic directly to their AWS virtual private clouds.
Voyager Makes 'Low Eight Figures' Investment in Max Space
Photo: Voyager Technologies Voyager Technologies is making a multi-million dollar strategic investment in Max Space to develop expandable lunar habitats, the companies announced on Monday. In a statement, Voyager said it would support internal research and development into space habitats for sustained lunar and deep space missions; and into accelerated engineering, manufacturing scaling, and mission integration activities.
Blues and Skylo Launch Combined Satellite, Wifi, Cellular Connectivity Module
Notecard for Skylo, rendering. Photo: Blues Blues and Skylo Technologies will demonstrate Notecard for Skylo, a module capable of satellite, Wi-Fi, and cellular connectivity, at the Embedded World conference in Nuremberg, Germany. The module, designed for industries like logistics, energy, and transportation, adds cloud connectivity with multi-network failover to narrowband connected devices.
Eutelsat Completes 5 Billion Euro Refinancing Package
Rendering of a Eutelsat OneWeb satellite in orbit. Photo: Eutelsat Eutelsat has completed its 5 billion euro ($5.8 billion) refinancing plan with the final step of a 1.5 billion euro ($1.7 billion) bond issuance, the company announced Friday. The company said it is working to support the deployment of its OneWeb Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation and strengthen its financial flexibility by accelerating debt reduction.
Vast and Sierra Space Post New Funding Rounds
Rendering of the full configuration of Vast’s Haven-2 commercial space station design. Photo: Vast Vast and Sierra Space, two U.S.-based developers of commercial space stations, announced major funding rounds on Thursday. Vast secured $300 million in Series A equity and $200 million in debt financing, while Sierra Space received $550 million in Series C equity financing.
Two Satellites in SES’s O3b mPOWER MEO Constellation Come Online
SpaceX launches the ninth and tenth O3b mPOWER satellites on July 22. Photo: SES The ninth and tenth satellites in SES’s mPOWER connectivity constellation in Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) are now operational, expanding the constellation’s capacity, the company announced on Thursday. O3b mPOWER provides connectivity services to the global market including governments, telcos, and cruise lines.
MDA Space Reports Record Revenue Again in 2025, Driven by Satellite Manufacturing Progress
MDA Space reported record revenues again in its fiscal year 2025 briefing on Wednesday, driven by growth in its Satellite Systems division. The Ontario-based company posted $1.63 billion Canadian dollars ($1.19 billion) in annual revenue, a 51% year-over-year increase. Revenue came in at the upper end of the company’s guidance from last year, when it projected full year revenue of CA$1.5 billion to CA$1.65 billion (~$1.1 billion to ~$1.21 billion).
Deutsche Telekom to Launch First Starlink MSS D2D Service in Europe
Deutsche Telekom headquarters in headquarter in Bonn, Germany. Photo: Deutsche Telekom/Norbert Ittermann Deutsche Telekom will leverage SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile V2 constellation for direct-to-device (D2D) services to close coverage gaps in 10 European countries, it said in a statement Monday. The agreement would make it SpaceX’s first partner to come onboard for SpaceX’s future D2D service using the recently purchased mobile satellite service (MSS) spectrum that SpaceX acquired in September.
Open Cosmos Names ConnectedCosmos, its New LEO Constellation for Europe
A diagram of the ConnectedCosmos and Open Cosmos constellations. Photo: Open Cosmos Pan-European connectivity provider Open Cosmos announced ConnectedCosmos on Monday, a name for its incipient Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation designed as a sovereign connectivity backbone for European governments and companies. In a statement, the company said ConnectedCosmos will use optical inter-satellite links to create what it calls a gatewayless sovereign space mesh.
BlackSky's Growth Contracts In 2025 For Second Year
BlackSky has said its 12 small satellites have a revisit rate of 15 times per hour for some locations to provide high-resolution imagery (Black Sky Photo) BlackSky Technologies' [BKSY] 2025 financial performance was a mixed bag, with an increase in fourth quarter revenue and a 32 percent increase in backlog while losses widened and growth contracted for a second straight year. BlackSky posted $106.6 million in revenue in 2025, a 4 percent increase from 2024.
BlackSky’s Growth Contracts in 2025 for Second Year
Rendering of a BlackSky satellite. Photo: BlackSky BlackSky’s 2025 financial performance was a mixed bag, with an increase in fourth quarter revenue and a 32% increase in backlog, despite an increase in the company’s net loss and a second consecutive year of contracting growth. BlackSky posted $106.6 million in full year revenue in 2025, a 4.4% year-over-year increase from 2024. It marks a second year of sliding YoY growth, after 8% growth in 2024 and 45% growth in 2023.
Phantom Space Acquires IP From Defunct Vector Launch
Phantom Space’s Daytona Rocket (Photo: Phantom Space) Phantom Space has acquired assets and intellectual property from Vector Launch, including design elements, engineering data, and proprietary technologies, the Tucson-based company announced today. The purchase will be used to speed development of Daytona, Phantom’s launch vehicle. It marks a rebuy for Phantom Space Founder and CEO Jim Cantrell, who founded Vector in 2016. Vector paused operations and declared bankruptcy in 2019.
OQ Technology Receives $29M Financing from European Investment Bank for D2D Constellation
OQ Technology receives financing from the European Investment Bank. Photo: OQ Technology Luxembourg-based connectivity provider OQ Technology is receiving 25 million euro ($29.5 million) of debt financing from the European Investment Bank to accelerate development and rollout of its satellite connectivity network. OQ aims to provide a sovereign European Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation for 5G coverage and direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity to smartphones and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Airmo Selects EnduroSat to Launch Methane-Monitoring Sensors into Orbit
Germany and Luxembourg-based sensing company Airmo will partner with satellite manufacturer EnduroSat to put its methane emissions monitoring technology into orbit, with the first satellite of a projected 12-satellite constellation slated to launch in 2027. In a statement this morning, Airmo said it aims to fill a gap in unreliable methane emissions reporting, as increasing sectoral oversight like the European Union’s 2024 methane regulation increases demand for data.
Aalyria Posts $100M Series B Funding Round
Rendering of an Earth and lunar network connected with Spacetime. Photo: Aalyria Aalyria on Monday reported $100 million in funding from its Series B financing round, placing the aerospace communications provider at a $1.3 billion valuation. Battery Ventures and J2 Ventures led the funding round, with support from DYNE and other investors.
Can Marine to Deploy Eutelsat OneWeb for Asia-Pacific Maritime Connectivity Services
Photo: Getty Images/Puneet Vikram Singh/via Eutelsat Group Singaporean connectivity provider Can Marine will use Eutelsat’s OneWeb Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation to deliver maritime connectivity to maritime customers in the Asia-Pacific region, the companies announced Monday. Under the new multi-year agreement, Can Marine will use OneWeb connectivity to serve clients in merchant shipping and offshore energy.
Aalyria Posts $100M Series B Funding Round
Rendering of an Earth and lunar network connected with Spacetime. Photo: Aalyria Aalyria reported $100 million in funding from its Series B financing round, placing the aerospace communications provider at a $1.3 billion valuation. Battery Ventures and J2 Ventures led the funding round, with support from DYNE and other investors. Aalyria was founded out of Alphabet in 2022.
Boeing Adds $10 Million EO/IR Production Line At Satellite Facility
Boeing's new EO/IR production space in El Segundo, California. Photo: Zeyad Maasarani/Boeing Boeing [BA] is ramping up satellite production at its facility in El Segundo, Calif., opening a new electro-optical and infrared sensor (EO/IR) production line to meet increasing projected demand. The 9,000 square foot expansion will position the company to meet its current demands, take on new customers and transition new technology into regular manufacture.
Boeing Adds a $10M EO/IR Production Line at Satellite Facility
Boeing’s new EO/IR production space in El Segundo, California. Photo: Zeyad Maasarani/Boeing Boeing is ramping up satellite production at its facility in El Segundo, California, opening a new electro-optical infrared sensor (EO/IR) production line to meet increasing projected demand. The 9,000 square foot expansion, it said, will position it to meet its current demands, take on new customers and transition new technology into regular manufacture.
MDA Space Launches New Subsidiary for Defense Contracting, 49North
49North Logo. Photo: CNW Group/MDA Space Canadian satellite manufacturer MDA Space launched 49North on Thursday, a new subsidiary exclusively for defense services. The new company will provide command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) integration, sensing and radar technologies, autonomous systems, and secure digital mission systems.
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