Opinion

The United States suffers from a catastrophic cybersecurity problem with its critical infrastructure – industries which are dependent on satellite communications. A November wargame hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics demonstrated the latest cybersecurity threat in outer space – the ability to turn a software-controlled satellite into a space weapon. In June...

The demand for broadband connectivity has been ever increasing. As of 2020, there were one billion broadband subscriptions including Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), cable, or fiber-optic broadband services. Telecoms have been working to replace low-speed DSL broadband with fiber-optic broadband service. In 2020 alone, there were 42 million fiber-optic broadband net additions. Cable network operators...

When I noticed the rumors that Apple’s new iPhone 13 would come with a satellite connection I drove over to my nearest wireless store to find out more details. The idea of satellite connectivity in a mass market consumer smartphone was intriguing and I wanted to learn more. The representatives in the carrier store I...

There could be more than 100,000 satellites in orbit in the next ten years as the satellite communications industry significantly increases its footprint. More satellites could provide seamless coverage, extended longevity of constellations, and ultimately drive the cost of deployment down. In short, the satellite customer base could expand from the traditional maritime, cruise, and...

Cybersecurity remains one of the central topics when it comes to the space sector, not the least because of the role that satellite networks play in society, from satellite communications to Earth Observation (EO), to navigation. Nevertheless, few national space legislations have expressly addressed the need to meet cybersecurity requirements. One such case is the...

“Max-Q” is the moment in the launch sequence where a rocket experiences maximum dynamic pressure. After this point, the force on the rocket decreases quickly and the entire mission control room can rest a little easier. The space industry with its myriad of new startups has now successfully gone through its own Max-Q. Over the...

The economist Herbert Stein once wrote, “If something can’t go on forever, it will stop.” The question, of course, is when.  It can be an exasperating question.  Human beings have a talent for knowing about a problem, talking about it until we are blue in the face, and yet doing nothing about it, sometimes for...

The space and satellite industry got back together in person at SATELLITE 2021 with a lot to discuss, as progress has not slowed down since March 2020. This year, topics like ground station standardization, vertical integration, and consolidation drove conversations. Here are NSR’s 10 takeaways from the show: Supply Chain Constraints Loom It is not...

Both long standing and recent trends in the space industry have shed light on new needs for financing space activities. The development of new ventures in the space sector has created new demands for financing while displaying peculiar characteristics shared by only a handful of other industries. The level of capital expenditure intensity in the...

As the COVID-19 situation is improving around the globe, the cruise industry is emerging from a period of near-absolute inactivity. In the early days of the pandemic, contamination clusters onboard cruise ships made the headlines. Shortly after, travel restrictions were adopted throughout the world. This had a very strong negative impact on mobility markets worldwide,...