The United States finds itself in the position of world leader in launch, with a relatively consolidated market. The United States conducts 50% more launches than it did at the peak of the space race— but more than five out of every six U.S. launches come from SpaceX according to a report entitlted "Shaping the U.S. Launch Market: Extending America's Advantage" by the Center for Security and Emerging Technologies (CSET).

At this month's NRB Convention focusing on the religious broadcast market to be held in Grapevine, Texas from February 24-27, religious broadcasters from all over the world will congregate to to see the latest innovations in content distribution specifically geared for the religious market.  One company to watch at the show is media services and content distribution company iKO Media Group (iKOMG) which launched recently FaithTime, a revolutionary Over-the-Top (OTT) platform designed to serve Christian audiences worldwide. FaithTime offers a comprehensive library of Christian content, including live TV, on-demand programming, sermons, and educational series, accessible across all devices.

Cohort PLC has completed the acquisition of Australian satellite communication terminal specialist, EM Solutions, expanding its naval defence offer and reinforcing the group’s presence in Australasia.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and Serco Inc., today announced a definitive agreement for Serco Inc. to acquire Northrop Grumman’s training services business for US$ 327 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close mid-year 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

For someone who has attended the Pacific Telecommunications Conference (PTC) since the 1980s, the event this year proved vital to its future. Held in Honolulu from January 18 – 22, 2025, the conference blew out all records for participation. They now feature themselves as promoting not just telecom, but the broader domain of digital infrastructure. Telecom is at the center to connect islands and continents, but they have introduced aspects of computing and data, lately represented through the cloud and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Major ingredients are fiber optic cables, satellites, and huge data centers with associated support.

Novaspace and the Colombian Space Agency announced their partnership to host the 7th edition of LATSAT, Latin America’s premier space conference. The event will take place in Bogotá, Colombia, from November 19-20, 2025, and will bring together influential decision-makers and key stakeholders from the satellite communications, connectivity, and Earth observation sectors. With Bogotá serving as a regional hub for innovation and technology, the city offers the perfect setting for this crucial event aimed at shaping the future of the space industry in Latin America and beyond. 

Satellite operator ABS Group reports full-year results the twelve months ended 30 September 2024 and update on recent developments.  The company reported revenues of US$ 66.3 million, down 4% YoY under very competitive market conditions. Adjusted EBITDA was US$ 35.9 million at 54% margin.

Redwire Corporation (NYSE: RDW),announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Edge Autonomy, a  provider of field-proven uncrewed airborne system (UAS) technology. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Redwire will acquire Edge Autonomy for US$ 925 million on a debt free, cash free basis and subject to customary working capital, cash and debt adjustments.

Major changes and challenges seem the norm in the satellite industry – what was once stable and predictable for established players has become a foreign battlefield in many ways. We didn’t seem to have so many expensive satellite failures, congestive corporate mergers, and disruption by new and previously untried technological models. I want to help us understand what we have at present and what kinds of prescriptions can resolve this conundrum and put our industry, and we participants, in a safe and productive mode.

I have covered China’s rising commercial space sector for a long time. And I have covered the global satellite communications industry for even longer. And yet, for the most part, these two worlds have remained pretty separate. Satcom remains a sensitive market in China, because anything telecommunications is a sensitive market in China. Even today, there are only five companies in China with a so-called “Basic Telecommunications License”, that is, a license to operate a telecommunications network: the big three state-owned telcos, China Satcom, and China Transport Telecommunication Information Group Company (CTTIC). For those keeping score at home, that is 5/5 companies being State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).