Viasat released third quarter Fiscal Year 2021 Financial results today in a letter to shareholders .  The quarterly company revenues were US$ 575.6 million versus US$ 588.2 million last year. Quarterly revenues were down 2.2% year on year (YoY) and EBITDA was up 20.6 % YoY.  The results were 6.6% above consensus.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) revealed research that demonstrates growing confidence and positivity among NAB Show participants about a return to in-person events. Results from a survey conducted by Freeman Event Research as part of a trade show industry research project, which included NAB Show in Las Vegas, indicate a majority of past NAB Show attendees expect to attend in-person events in late 2021.

Speedcast International Limited (ASX:SDA) today announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas has confirmed Speedcast International Limited and certain of its affiliates’ Plan of Reorganization. The confirmation definitively clears the path for the company to successfully complete the Chapter 11 process after receiving final regulatory approvals and satisfying customary closing conditions, which is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

At 10:00 a.m. US EST, SpaceX 's Falcon 9 rocked successfully launched its first dedicated SmallSat Rideshare  mission, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.On board  the Falcon 9 rocket  were 133 commercial and government spacecraft (including CubeSats, microsats, and orbital transfer vehicles) and 10 Starlink satellites – the most spacecraft ever deployed on a single mission.

The Starlink satellites aboard this mission were the first in the constellation to deploy to a polar orbit. 

Redwire, a provider of  mission critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space economy, announced today that it has acquired Oakman Aerospace, Inc. (OAI) a provider of cutting-edge products and services related to digital engineering, spacecraft and satellite design and development, mission payload development, and data distribution services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Ever since satellites have been launched in outer space, both opportunities and risks have increased in the various earth orbits. For more than 50 years, more than 5000 rockets have been launched carrying multiple space objects, mainly satellites into orbit. Today most of these objects are either turned backed to earth or continue to revolve in earth orbits, ultimately increasing the risks for existing and future space infrastructure in low earth- (LEO), medium earth- (MEO), and geosynchronous earth (GEO) orbits.

Cellular backhaul via satellite is a big sector for the satellite industry.  It is also a vanishingly small percentage of total backhaul.  In 2020, the arrival of 5G has offered a similar paradox: hundreds of megahertz of C-band capacity have gone to feed the bandwidth appetite of 5G, yet 5G is the first cellular standard that is incorporating satellite as a native backhaul option. Our industry could be forgiven for feeling some whiplash.