The rapid rise of China’s space sector has been well-documented over the past few years. With more than 200 commercial companies having been established since 2014, and with a robust civil space sector providing infrastructural support, the Chinese space industry is fast evolving into one of the world’s most comprehensively capable ones. Dozens of commercial launch startups, vertically integrated earth observation companies with IPO plans, and everything in-between: as is the case in so many industries, “Made in China” is likely to become a commonly heard phrase in the space sector. 

NSR’s Satellite Capacity Pricing Index, 8^th Edition finds Satellite Operators sitting at a crossroads of multiple macro-economic headwinds, external competitive pressures, and supply chain challenges, driving need for innovative strategies. As pricing stabilizes in Q2 2022, technology efficiencies, supply-demand gap and macro-economic factors trigger increasingly complex pricing negotiations.

I am not an economist but rather a keen observer.  I know how to watch a 401k fall to the bottom of an elevator shaft. 

I am also a patient listener. I heard my financial advisor say that “market capitulation is right around the corner and NOW is the time to get back in.” The only thing that went right around the corner is the back of that bus that hit the global economy.  The result has been the Great Strangling of the supply chain. For those who protested against the evils of “globalization,” how you feeling now?

Astrocast, a nanosatellite IoT network operator, today announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Hiber, a Netherlands-based, IoT-as-a-Service provider. Under the agreement, Astrocast agreed to acquire all of Hiber’s shares in exchange for the issuance of new Astrocast shares, representing 16.5% of Astrocast’s share capital, calculated prior to its previously announced public offering on Euronext Growth Paris. Hiber’s shareholders also agreed to invest €10.45 million in Astrocast’s public offering.

Fire. In our homes, it brings us light, warmth and hope. In the depths of the forest, it brings terror. 
A forest fire is a massive wall of heat and flame. Driven by high winds, it can leap across roads, spin into columns of fire, turn homes to ash. 
But every year, around the world, men and women walk into the fire to save the forest, the homes, the people. They are wildfire fighters, and they do one of the world’s hardest jobs.

 ST Engineering iDirect, a global leader in satellite communications, and Philippines-based value-added service provider for broadcast and telecommunications, ComClark Network and Technology Corporation, have come together to improve connectivity services for the country’s public school network. Satellite services being rolled out at more than 2,000 remote schools in the Philippines will use the iDirect Evolution Hub, iQ Desktop modems, gateway antenna and HPA (High Power Amplifier). Global satellite operator SES will provide Ku-band capacity via the SES-9 satellite.

Our industry is known for innovation. Sometimes this comes from within, from well-established companies, and sometimes it comes from totally outside the industry, as Elon Musk did twenty years ago when he founded SpaceX. This makes trying to write a short article on innovation, all the more challenging, there is so much to choose from! So, I decided to focus on new entrants, but this still left very many interesting companies to choose from. In the end, I decided to limit myself to companies trying to solve a known problem, then rather arbitrarily selected four companies.

The Asia-Pacific market is generating a great impact on the satellite manufacturing and launch market segments. NSR forecasts over US$ 105.7 billion for 9,200 satellites to be generated between 2020-2030 from the region, a quarter of the global satellite orders. The interest in the satellite industry for the Asian market is tangible.

ND SATCOM kicked off the New Year on a high note with a deal to deliver 30 exclusive SKYWAN modems to the Polish Ministry of Defence (MOD). This deal will feature the new SKYWAN 5G-SR-X, a unique solution designed for military applications taking into account extensive customer feedback. This SKYWAN version is ready to secure mission critical networks – anytime, anywhere.

“The world must adjust to living with Covid-19” is a phrase becoming increasingly commonplace in mainstream media reporting of the continuing pandemic. Whilst perhaps reflecting the ongoing practical realities of Sars-Cov-2 some 26 months after the World Health Organization declared the disease a global pandemic, it is a phrase of little comfort to the millions who have lost relatives and friends, nor to those continuing to suffer from “Long Covid”, nor to those in remote locations and in less developed nations still awaiting vaccination.