Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“ today announced it has closed the previously-announced transaction to acquire SolAero Holdings, Inc. (SolAero), a supplier of space solar power products and precision aerospace structures for the global aerospace market, for US$ 80 million in cash.

Rocket Lab announced the execution of the agreement to acquire SolAero on December 13, 2021 pending certain closing conditions. 

My choice of title for this month’s column is but a mirror to the complexities of what is to many, but certainly not to all, the rather remote topic of satellite regulation. If perhaps rather obscure, satellite regulation is something we certainly cannot do without; utter chaos would follow from its absence.

We begin 2022 entering the 25th month of the global COVID-19 pandemic, with yet a new variant of the virus wreaking havoc on recovery plans worldwide.  I can only describe the times we live in as Charles Dickens did in a "Tale of Two Cities" that "these are the best of times and these are the worst of times. " And yet there is a lot to be optimistic about 2022 and beyond.  Just to provide some perspective, the number of satellites launched in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic is almost equal to all the satellites launched in the previous three decades. 

On December 28, HISPASAT agreed to acquire from Telemar 19.04% of the shareholding of its Brazilian subsidiary HISPAMAR Satélites, after obtaining the necessary permits and authorizations from the Brazilian government. Consequently, HISPASAT will hold 100% of its subsidiary's share capital.

 A man receives a telegram reporting the death of his mother-in-law and asks for instructions. He immediately replies back: “Embalm, cremate, bury at sea. Take no chances!” One defining feature of the space and satellite industry is that it knows how to take risks but does not take chances.