Finance

In late April, Sky Perfect JSAT announced it is joining forces with Japanese telco NTT to form a new company called Space Compass that will launch an integrated space computing network to aid the realization of a sustainable society. It is a bold move as the two companies look to build new infrastructures in space....

Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace is acquiring smallsat manufacturer NanoAvionics under a deal announced Tuesday, valuing NanoAvionics at 65 million euros ($67 million). Kongsberg will acquire 77% of the company, and majority owner AST SpaceMobile will divest all its shares. NanoAvionics management will retain 23% of the company.  NanoAvionics is known as a leading...

The global space industry grew 4% in 2021, to $386 billion in revenue, the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) recently reported. SIA released the annual State of the Satellite Industry report on June 29, reporting growth across the industry. BryceTech produced the report.  For a fourth consecutive year, the commercial satellite industry launched a record 1,713...

Yahsat has appointed Sulaiman Al Ali as its new chief commercial officer, the company announced July 1. Al Ali will lead both YahClick, Yahsat’s data solutions arm, and Thuraya, its mobility business. Al Ali replaces Farhad Khan, who has been the CCO of Yahsat for the past six years. Al Ali has been with Yahsat...

Aerojet Rocketdyne President and CEO Eileen Drake won her bitterly contested proxy battle with the company’s dissident executive chairman, Warren Lichtenstein, after shareholders on Thursday voted in favor of Drake and all of her nominees to sit on the board of directors. Drake and her faction enjoyed the support of the two leading independent proxy...

Mark Dankberg is returning to his role as Viasat CEO, about a year and a half after shifting to executive chairman. Dankberg, who co-founded the company in 1986, will resume the roles of chairman and CEO, and current President and CEO Rick Baldridge will become vice chairman, a newly created position. Viasat announced the changes...

French startup Leanspace raised a 6 million euro ($6.35 million) seed round to further its mission to simplify space software. European VC firm Karista led the round, along with 42CAP. French innovation agency Bpifrance participated as well, bringing Leanspace’s total funding to 8.5 million euros ($9 million).  Leanspace offers a collection of space-specific cloud services...

“Your talent acquisition department better be on the offensive in this market. What you did in 2019 will not work in 2022,” says Chris Silva, talent acquisition leader for SpaceLink. Silva does not mince words describing the competition for high-tech hires in 2022. He has spent 25 years in recruiting, and was an early employee...

As more countries and constellation providers launch into space, the urgency for better space situation awareness and potential collision risks grows. Yet the question of whether space is really crowded is hotly debated in the industry, with Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation companies insisting there is room for everyone, and the overall community raising concerns that...

A new report from Credit Suisse explores possibilities for consolidation among the largest companies in the satellite sector, estimating that in the event that SES and Intelsat merged, it could provide more than 30% uplift to the equity value. Credit Suisse shared the report, “European Satellite: Scaling Up” with Via Satellite. Ben Lyons, a satellite...