A lot happened in the Chinese space industry in 2019. So much, that my friend and collaborator Jean Deville recently recorded a podcast on the year that was, with our conversation going nearly 2 hours, and we still felt like there was much more to say.

Itzhak Shnaiberg has been appointed Acting CEO of Spacecom by the company’s Board of Directors, following the retirement of former CEO David Pollack on January 1, 2020. Shnaiberg, Spacecom’s Deputy CEO since 2008, was among the company’s founding management team.

A new addition to the GVF-C21 Partnership’s conferences and roundtables portfolio, Satellite and the Cloud, will be introduced in London on 3rd March 2020.  Whilst not “a match made in heaven” the affinity between the two is a match made in – GEO, MEO, LEO – orbit.

Maxar Technologies (NYSE:MAXR) (TSX:MAXR), announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell MDA to a consortium of financial sponsors led by Northern Private Capital (NPC), for CAD$1 billion (US$765 million), subject to customary adjustments. The company expects to use proceeds to reduce leverage and improve its capital structure to prioritize investments for growth in its core areas of Earth Intelligence and Space Infrastructure.

Trying to choose the most significant stories of the year, is always a challenge!  Is x more important than y and does z really have an impact?  Inevitably, the choice of topics to include will always be subjective.  So, here’s my short list.

In its latest research titled, “The Space Economy Report 2019, previously named Satellite Value Chain”, Euroconsult projects that the commercial space value chain will see steady growth over the next decade, reaching US$ 485 billion by 2028. The upstream segment, which includes commercial revenues from manufacturing, launch and ground equipment is expected to increase from US$ 8 billion in 2018 to US$ 11 billion in 2028, a growth rate of four percent per year.

Hispasat, the Spanish communications satellite operator, and the Hispatec Group, a leader specialising in software and digitalisation solutions for the agricultural sector, have signed an agreement to promote the use of new technologies in this sector in Europe, the Americas and north Africa.

Celestia Technologies Group has announced that it has acquired the satellite ground systems division of Antwerp Space, part of the Bremen-based OHB SE Group, in a deal that will boost Celestia’s existing expertise in EGSE and ground systems.

Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) has announced the appointment of Khaled Al Qubaisi, CEO of Aerospace, Renewables & ICT at  Mubadala Investment Company as its new Chairman, and the appointment of Amal Al Ameri, Senior Vice President of Platform Finance in the Aerospace, Renewables & ICT Unit in Mubadala as a board member.

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) announces the appointment of Phil Brownnett as Managing Director, succeeding Sarah Parker who is stepping down from the role to pursue new challenges. Brownnett, who is currently Managing Director of Geo Intelligence (UK), Airbus Defence and Space, will take up his new position on February 1, 2020, after a period of handover during Ja