SES and Intelsat are in merger talks, Astrolab will send a rover to the Moon on SpaceX’s Starship rocket, and D-Orbit has won a $28.3 million contract from ESA.

WASHINGTON — Satellite companies that have spent decades operating broadcast satellites that beamed programming to millions are trying to adjust to a new environment where they have to unicast data to individuals, company executives said during a panel discussion at the Satellite 2023 Conference.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Powered by 33 flights of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster, the United States leads all nations with 48 launch attempts through the first seven months of the year. The total is three short of the number of U.S. launches attempted last year, and far ahead of the 27 launches conducted by second place China through the end of July. The U.S. has conducted more launches than the 43 flights conducted by the rest of the world combined.

A number of notable flights were conducted. SpaceX launched two Crew Dragons to the International Space Station (ISS), including the first fully privately funded mission to the orbiting laboratory. United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched Boeing’s CST-100 Starship crew vehicle on an automated flight test to ISS, a crucial step before astronauts to fly on the spacecraft. Small satellite launch provider Rocket Lab conducted its first deep-space mission by sending a spacecraft the size of a microwave to the moon.

Realm application enablement platform empowers AI development at the edge — slashing development time and transmission costs.

• The low code, edge compute application enablement platform simplifies new applications and solutions development at a fraction of typical time and cost
• Integrity 150 is the first solar-powered satellite asset tracking device that utilizes data processing at the edge
• The ST150M module allows for quick integration and fast application development

COVINGTON, La., June 22, 2022 (Globalstar PR) — Globalstar, Inc. (NYSE American: GSAT), a leading mobile satellite services and connectivity provider, today introduced Realm Enablement Suite, an innovative portfolio of satellite asset tracking hardware and software solutions featuring a powerful application enablement platform for processing smart data at the edge. With Realm, partners can accelerate new solutions to market with AI-enabled applications that generate an advanced level of telematics data. By defining smart data at the edge, users send only the data they need over the highly reliable Globalstar LEO satellite network to the customer endpoint – significantly reducing transmission costs.

• Strong business activity with backlog growing to $1.52 billion, up 122% YoY
• Steady revenue growth with revenues of $128.4 million, up 4% YoY
• Solid profitability with EBITDA of $35.6 million (27.7% margin) and adjusted EBITDA excluding non-recurring items of $27.7 million (21.6% margin)
• Key awards include Globalstar’s LEO constellation and Phase B of Canadarm3
• Subsequent to quarter-end, MDA announced the redemption of its $150 million second lien notes and refinancing of its revolving credit facility

BRAMPTON, ON (MDA PR) – MDA Ltd. (TSX: MDA), a leading provider of advanced technology and services to the rapidly expanding global space industry, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 demonstrating strong order bookings, growing backlog and solid profitability.  

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Rocket Lab reported a $26.7 million first quarter loss on revenues of $40.7 million, with space systems such as satellites producing the majority of revenues rather than the launches for which the company is best known. Adjusted EBITDA loss for the quarter was $7.98 million.

Rocket Lab earned $34.1 million in revenues from space systems. That amount represented 84% of first quarter revenues, an increase of 1,873 percent from the first quarter of 2021.

Astra Space scrubbed the ninth launch of its Rocket 3.3 booster from the Pacific Spaceport Complex –Alaska on Monday due to bad weather. The company is now targeting Tuesday, March 15 at 9:22 AM PDT (12:22 p.m. EDT) for the Astra-1 mission for Spaceflight Inc. Live stream will begin at T-45 minutes at astra.com/livestream.

• $2.8 million net income for fourth quarter
• $117.75 million net loss for the year
• $27.5 million in revenues for fourth quarter
• $62.2 million in revenues for the year

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Rocket Lab PR) — Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021.

The $143 million contract is the largest spacecraft bus order placed with Rocket Lab to date, encompassing the design and manufacture of 17 state-of-the-art spacecraft for Globalstar’s newest satellites

LONG BEACH, Calif., February 24, 2022 (Rocket Lab PR) — Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced that it has been awarded a subcontract by MDA Ltd (TSX: MDA), a leading provider of advanced technology and services to the rapidly expanding global space industry, to lead the design and manufacture of 17 spacecraft buses for Globalstar’s new Low Earth Orbit satellites. Globalstar, Inc. (NYSE American: GSAT) is a leading provider of Mobile Satellite Services including customizable satellite IoT solutions for individuals and businesses globally.

New OTVs, slated to launch in 2021, will minimize the impact of extended development timelines and schedule delays while providing increased launch flexibility 

SEATTLE, November 12, 2020 (Spaceflight PR) — Spaceflight Inc., the leading satellite rideshare and mission management provider, announced today that it is developing two additional next-generation orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs) that will debut in 2021. Its first, Sherpa-FX, will fly on a fully dedicated rideshare mission with SpaceX, dubbed SXRS-3 by Spaceflight, no earlier than December 2020. The next two ESPA-class space vehicles in the company’s portfolio are designed to provide more orbital diversification, including flexible manifest changes, deployment to multiple altitudes and orbital planes, and rapid launch solutions.