Life After SpaceX

We all know that SpaceX has had a huge influence in our industry over the last decade. Beyond the company’s influence, SpaceX employees are starting up exciting companies in the space sector and beyond, using their experiences at SpaceX to make successes of these new businesses. In the April edition, Rebecca Heilweil takes a look at what happens when you leave the most talked about company in space and what happens next. The SpaceX influence is huge, and if these stories are anything to go by, that influence is only going to get bigger.

For years, in-flight connectivity (IFC) has been seen as a major growth vertical for companies in our sector. As airlines are hungry to improve their customer experience, satellite has played a key role. This year, the market saw a twist with major U.S. airline Delta Air Lines announcing earlier this year that it is rolling out free connectivity to passengers, first in North America, and then internationally. In this edition, we have a big interview with Delta, and Kerry Reals also takes a look at how the IFC market could change as a result of Delta’s move.

Another big topic we cover is the changing way in which the U.S. Department of Defense acquires satellite capacity and services, and how the U.S. government is looking to move faster, and quicker to buy capacity from the commercial satellite industry. Vivienne Machi takes a look at the pace of change here, and whether the U.S. government is really seeing a huge evolution in how it works with the commercial satellite industry.

We also have the second part of our ‘Celebrating Women in Satellite’ feature where we take a look at more inspiring women in our industry and how they are helping the next generation. There are so many inspirational stories to tell, and it is an honor for us to bring them to you in what is fast becoming one of our most popular features. VS