Americas Markets - Latest Developments | Satellite Markets Research

Americas Markets - Latest Developments

KSAT Acquires Majority Stake in Norwegian Startup VAKE

Kongsberg, Norway, March 20, 2024

Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) has acquired a 70 per cent majority stake in VAKE, a Norwegian startup that delivers maritime domain awareness by using satellite data combined with machine learning. KSAT has followed the development of VAKE since the company’s founding and sees great opportunities in joining forces with VAKE to solve the future challenges in maritime domain awareness, offshore asset protection and shipping activity tracking.

Comtech Report 2Q Fiscal 2024 Financial Results

Chandler, Ariz, March 18, 2024

Comtech (NASDAQ: CMTL) (“the Company”) today announced its second quarter fiscal 2024 financial results. Highlights of the results include:

• Consolidated net sales increased slightly year-over-year to US$ 134.2 million, compared to US$ 133.7 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2023. This represents a sequential decline from $151.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.

• Gross margin was 32.2%, compared to 31.5% in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 and 34.3% in the second quarter of fiscal 2023.

Trends in the Satellite Ground Segment Market by Elisabeth Tweedie

In recent years the satellite industry has undergone a profound change–and one that is still continuing. High Throughput Satellites (HTS) have been joined by Very- and Ultra-High Throughput Satellites (VHTS and UHTS), and more recently by software defined satellites. Thousands of Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) satellites are in operation. At the same time, new applications are constantly emerging. In-orbit Servicing (IoS) is a reality and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) is becoming a necessity, the Internet-of-Things (IoT) extends its reach on a daily basis.

Private Equity Firm J.F. Lehman Completes Acquisition of Mission Microwave

New York City, March 14, 2024

J.F. Lehman & Company (JFLCO), a middle-market private equity firm focused exclusively on the aerospace, defense, maritime, government and environmental sectors, is announced that an investment affiliate has acquired Mission Microwave Technologies, LLC.

Iridium Acquires Satelles

March 4, 2024

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM), today announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Satelles, a provider of highly secure satellite-based time and location services that complement and protect GPS and other GNSS-reliant systems.This acquisition continues Iridium’s philosophy of investing in differentiating technologies uniquely suited to its network that significantly outperform competing solutions according to the company.

Beyond Borders: Satellite IoT's Crucial Role in Driving Environmental Sustainability

Gloucestershire, UK, March 4, 2024 by Alastair MacLeod, CEO, Ground Control

In the face of unprecedented global environmental challenges, the Internet of Things (IoT) has the potential to be the catalyst in driving sustainable development. Satellite IoT, a means of communicating with very remote assets and sensors, holds tremendous potential in monitoring, managing, and mitigating environmental issues.

New Space Ventures by Elisabeth Tweedie

Los Angeles, Calif., March 4, 2024

When I started doing research for this article on “new space,” I was spoilt for choice. There are so many relatively new companies, with innovative products and services. Where to begin, and how to choose which to highlight?

What Can We Expect from Satellite Industry in 2024?

Luxembourg City, March 1, 2024 by Bogdan Gogulan, Managing Director of NewSpace Capital

Readers of this magazine will know that behind (or rather, above) many areas of modern life is satellite technology. 5G phone networks. Location tracking. Precision farming. Disaster prevention and response. Without satellites, next to none of this could exist or exist at the level of sophistication we enjoy now. The technology is so deeply integrated into modern life that if all the world’s satellites were to vanish tomorrow, we would be in serious trouble. And it’s why, despite the volatility of the past few years, the industry has continued to expand. In 2024, we can expect another big year.

Better Satellite World: Bringing Oil Smuggling Out of the Shadows

New York City, March 1, 2024

In 2017, North Korea shocked the world by launching tests of two ballistic missiles able to cross the Pacific and strike the US. One just missed hitting a commercial passenger flight headed for Tokyo.

The UN Security Council slapped a severe penalty on the rogue nation: a limit on the amount of fuel and crude oil it could import. The hope was that, with no oil reserves of its own, North Korea would soon feel the pressure to change its ways.

Except it didn’t. Two years later, the country conducted no fewer than 20 missile tests. What went wrong?

It Ain't Standard Oil...It's the New Standards by Lou Zacharilla

New York City, March 1, 2024

In 1910 the Supreme Court of the United States found Standard Oil Company of New Jersey guilty of monopolizing the petroleum industry through a series of abusive and anticompetitive actions. The Court's remedy was to divide Standard Oil into several geographically separate and eventually even competing firms. Reacting to the size and scale of this unfavorable ruling to the company he had founded, the head of the greatest business monopoly in history, John D. Rockefeller, allegedly said, “I expected it, but did not think it would be so BIG!”