News Analysis

by Martin Jarrold

As I began writing this column news was filtering over media about the decision of the World Health Organization to designate the latest mutations to the spike protein of the Sars-Cov-2 virus as a “variant of concern”, and to use the Greek letter Omicron to name it (rather than the original designation of B.1.1.529). Thanks to the skills of scientists at South Africa’s Medical Research Council Genomics Centre the exact sequencing of the new variant was speedily completed and its details promulgated quickly to their colleagues in sister agencies around the world.

The December 2021 Year in Review issue of the Satellite Executive Briefing magazine sponsored by Gazprom Space Systems is now available.  Featuring:

The Most Significant Storylines in 2021  by Virgil Labrador

Taiwan: A Serious and Up-and-Coming Player in the Space Industry by Aurélie Gillet

Executive Spotlight: Igor Kot, Deputy Secretary-General, Gazprom Space Systems

Company Spotlight: ND SATCOM: Flexibility, Agility and Resilience 

A Year to Remember and A Year Ahead​  by Martin Jarrold

In Skynet We Trust by Robert Bell

PLUS Products Spotlight, Mergers and Acquisitions, Executive Moves, Market Briefs, Vital Statistics, Satellite Markets Stock Index and many more. Click here to read or download the file

Denver, Colo., December 2, 2021--Rocket Lab acquires space hardware company Planetary Systems Corporation (“PSC”).  Crux CFO Advisors was the exclusive financial advisor in the transacation.

Dubai, UAE, November 11, 2021--View videos from the CABSAT 2021 show held in Dubai, UAE from October 26-28, 2021 including:  Satelite Markets and Research Editor-in-Chief Virgil Labrador's presentation at the SatExpo Summit at CABSAT on the "Key Trends to Watch in the Satellite Industry;" A demonstration of ND Satcom's new MFT 1500 Flyaway Terminal for Military Applications; and a interview with Spacebridge CEO David Gelerman. 

Denver, Colo., November 22, 2021-- Voyager Space Inc.  today announced its intent to acquire a majority stake in San Diego-based Space Micro. Space Micro is a highly innovative engineering-driven business focused on advancing high-performance satellite communications, digital, and electro-optical systems with over 2.7 million hours of space flight heritage.

Ottawa, Canada, November 19, 2021--November 19, 2021 – Telesat Corporation announced today that it is now a public company and will begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“NASDAQ”) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) under the ticker symbol “TSAT”. This follows the closing of Telesat’s previously announced transaction with Loral Space & Communications Inc. and Public Sector Pension Investment Board in which Loral’s stockholders and Telesat Canada’s other equityholders have exchanged their interests for equity in Telesat’s new public holding structure.  Telesat did not issue new equity to raise additional cash financing as part of the Transaction.

New York, NY, November 12, 2021--Laser communications specialist Mynaric AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange; M0Y, ISIN: DE000A0JCY11) announced that its management board today resolved, with the approval of the supervisory board, on the volume and the issue price of the public offering of American Depositary Shares (“ADSs“). The offering will produce gross proceeds of US$ 66,000,000 from the sale of 1,000,000 new ordinary shares of Mynaric in the form of 4,000,000 ADSs at a price of US$16.50 per ADS.

Carlsbad, Calif., Nov. 8, 2021-- Viasat Inc., (NASDAQ: VSAT) and Inmarsat, a today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Viasat will acquire Inmarsat in a transaction valued at US$ 7.3 billion, comprised of US$ 850.0 million in cash, approximately 46.36 million shares of Viasat common stock valued at US$ 3.1 billion based on the closing price on Friday November 5, 2021, and the assumption of US$ 3.4 billion of net debt.

The November 2021 issue of  the Satellite Executive Briefing magazine focusing on the African Satellite Market sponsored by iKO Media Group is now available.  Featuring:

Update on the African Satellite Market by Omkar Nikam

Satellite Data Analytics Market by Prateek Yadav

Dead Ringers by Lou Zacharilla

Ground Segment:  All Change for a new Satcoms Era by Martin Jarrold

Better Satellite World: Satellites by the Dozen

PLUS Products Spotlight, Mergers and Acquisitions, Executive Moves, Market Briefs, Vital Statistics, Satellite Markets Stock Index and many more. Click here to read or download the file

New York, NY, October 28, 2021--Tailwind Two Acquisition Corp. (NYSE:TWNT) , a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), and Terran Orbital Corporation, an operator of small satellites and provider of  earth observation solutions, jointly announced today that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement.   Upon the closing of the transaction, the combined company will operate as Terran Orbital Corporation, with plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol LLAP. The pro forma total enterprise value of the combined companies is approximately US$ 1.58 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.