Via Satellite and the SATELLITE show group recently announced the opening of registration for our second annual Hosted Payload Summit in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 27. The event was created last year to take an in-depth look at the issues and challenges surrounding hosted payloads, such as business cases, policies, government/military requirements, sector involvement, risk and cost analysis. Last year’s event came at the perfect time – SES had just launched the Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP) into geosynchronous orbit onboard the SES-2 satellite and high-ranking government officials took notice of the commercial sector’s attempts to reach out to the military with these types of platforms. It was an extremely positive environment, in which both the private and public sector met to share ideas on capability and technology. We’re currently in the process of putting together the program for this year’s show, and by looking at my notes, I think this year’s summit will be more about the numbers. Shrinking budgets have forced government agencies across the board to meet their objectives on the cheap. For hosted payloads, the question is no longer a matter of "what if?" The questions military buyers should be asking commercial providers is "when?" and "how much?" If you still need convincing, take a look at the research studies provided in this e-letter. Have you noticed that private sector analysts, military agencies and the GAO are all coming up with the same math?