News Analysis

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? 

 by Alastair MacLeod, CEO, Ground Control

Gloucestershire, UK, March 4, 2024--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. 

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.

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.

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!”

by Bogdan Gogulan,  Managing Director of NewSpace Capital

Luxembourg City, March 1, 2024--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.

The February 2024 issue of the Satellite Executive Briefing is now available.  Featuring:

Update on the Chinese Satellite Market by Blaine Curcio

Satellite-to-Phone Market by Bernardo Schneiderman

Key Takeaways from WRC 2023 by Ehtisham Siddique

Hardware to Software: The Ground Segment Evolution by Robert Bell

Plus Mergers and Acquisitions, Market Trends, Executive Moves, Vital Stats and many more. Click here to read or download the file

Boca Raton, Fla., February 5, 2024 – Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP) a provider of satellite-based solutions primarily serving the aerospace and defense industries, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the investor group comprised of Sophis Investments LLC, Sophis GP LLC, Tassos Recachinas, Roark’s Drift, LLC, Joseph Roos, Jordi Puig-Suari, Roland Coelho and Austin Williams.

New York, NY, February 5, 2024–Satellite-direct-to-standard-phone provider Lynk Global, Inc.and Slam Corp. (NASDAQ: SLAM), a special purpose acquisition company, today announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement  under which Slam will combine with Lynk. Upon completion, the combined company will operate as Lynk Global Holdings, Inc. and its common stock is expected to be publicly listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “LYNK”.

Hong Kong SAR, China, February 1, 2024--As we’ve said for quite some time, the satellite communications market in China has historically been a pretty vanilla affair. On the Geostationary (GEO) side, the state-owned China Satcom runs an effective monopoly on the provision of satellite services, occasionally buying additional capacity from its partial subsidiary APT Satellite, and from foreign operators. On the non-GEO side, we’ve seen limited activity from state-owned China Satellite Networks Limited (China SatNet), a centrally-controlled state-owned enterprise (SOE) founded in 2021 with the purpose of deploying a “Chinese version of Starlink”.