News Analysis

by Lou Zacharilla

New York City, NY, May 3, 2021--Few of us will ever enter a Hall of Fame as anything but a visitor or a guest.  The reason should be as obvious to you as it is to me.  After running the Space and Satellite Industry Hall of Fame inductions program for over 20 years you begin to see things clearly.  The explanation for why most of us remain spectactors is as mind-bogglingly simple as a Dr. Gladys West https://www.sspi.org/cpages/hof-west model of the shape of the Earth is complex.  

by Himanshu Joshi

Pune, India, May 3, 2021--Commercial satellite imaging provides images of the Earth captured by  satellites operated by private companies and governments around the world. Commonly used satellite imaging spacecraft  that are operated by private companies and governments include WorldView-2, WorldView-3, IKONOS, GeoEye-1, and various others. Before 1972, satellites were only used for military operations and satellite imagery was commercialized in 1984. IKONOS became the first high-resolution commercial imaging satellite that was launched in September 1999. 

by Omkar Nikam

Strasbourg, France, May 3, 2021--A region heavily reliant on natural resources, the Middle East and Africa represent two large distinct regions, and then therein, several sub-regions each. Both regions have abundant natural resources which have in-turn help drive its growth for many sectors: broadcast and media being one of them. Though the transition from analog to digital is proceeding at a slower pace, most of the countries like Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt, and Tunisia have already started their transition to digital. While UAE, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Israel are some of the countries to have completely adapted digital broadcasting.

Carlsbad, Calif., April 30, 2021-- Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), today announced it completed the purchase of Euro Broadband Infrastructure Sàrl ("EBI"), the wholesale broadband services business created as part of Viasat's former partnering arrangement with Eutelsat Communications.

Madrid, Spain,  April 29, 2021--HISPASAT, the Spanish satellite telecommunications operator of the Red Eléctrica Group, has signed an agreement to take over the management and signal transport business of Media Networks Latin America, a subsidiary of the Telefónica Group involved in multimedia. The agreement will be implemented gradually in upcoming months in strict compliance with regulatory provisions and without affecting the service that Movistar’s television clients receive in South America.

London, UK, April 29, 2021: The Space sector has seen a record-breaking number of Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) deals announced in the first quarter of 2021, worth more than US$ 7 Billion collectively. Research conducted by Seraphim Capital reveals that the ‘SpaceTech’ industry has become one of the most sought-after markets for SPAC mergers.

Paris, France, April 27, 2021--Satellite operator Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) has entered into an agreement with OneWeb for the subscription of approximately 24% equity stake, becoming a leading shareholder of the company alongside the UK Government and Bharti Global. Eutelsat will invest US$ 550 million in OneWeb, with closing expected in H2 2021 subject to regulatory authorizations.

Stellenbosch, South Africa, April 27, 2021--Space and information-technology entrepreneur Dr. Max Polyakov today announced the completion of his acquisition of a majority stake in Dragonfly Aerospace, a South African NewSpace company with over 20-year track record in high-performance imaging satellites and payloads.

Ottawa, Canada, April 20, 2021 –C-COM Satellite Systems Inc., (TSXV: CMI and OTCQB: CYSNF) al provider of commercial grade mobile auto-deploying satellite antenna systems, announced today its financial results for the first quarter ended February 28, 2021. The company has generated revenues of CDN$ 4,719,279 and net income after taxes of CDN$ 1,466,580, or four cents per share. This compares with revenues of CDN$ 1,240,630 and a net loss after taxes of CDN$ 186,573, or 0 cents per share as reported in 2020. This Q1 2021 performance represents gains of 280% and 886%, respectively, over Q1 2020’s levels.

McLean, Va., April 20, 2021 – Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM) today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2021 and reiterated its full-year 2021 outlook. Net loss was US$ US 5.2 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2021, as compared to net loss of US$ 31.7 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2020. This decrease in net loss was primarily the result of the absence of debt extinguishment costs, which were incurred in the year ago period with Iridium’s refinancing of its senior unsecured notes.