Taking the Pulse of the Industry

After years of delays, we are finally seeing new launch vehicles take flight in 2024. We will likely see one more debut launch this year Blue Origin’s massive, heavy-lift New Glenn rocket set to launch soon.

While Arianespace and United Launch Alliance still have to do the hard work of ramping up production and launch cadence for their new vehicles, it's a positive sign to see more options come to market to give satellite customers more options than the Falcon 9. In fact, one of the top pieces of news coming out of World Satellite Business Week was Eutelsat signing with Japanese launcher Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, diversifying its launch providers.

In this edition, Tereza Pultarova gives a timely update on the global launch market, which has been marked by scarcity of providers and SpaceX domination in recent years. The recent Falcon 9 groundings show just how vulnerable access to space is when the Western world is largely reliant on one company.

This edition goes live soon after World Space Business Week. While I didn’t make the trip to Paris this year, I enjoyed reading dispatches from my colleagues and other journalists about the state of the satellite industry.

For the October cover story, Mark Holmes and I interviewed Intelsat CEO David Wajsgras in one of his first interviews about the acquisition deal with SES. Wajsgras was very open with us and it was an interesting conversation about how the companies are confident a combined SES/Intelsat can compete with Starlink and Kuiper with multi-orbit service and terminals. Coming off of a big announcement with SoftBank, this was a great time to catch up with Wajsgras.

Also in this edition, Marisa Torrieri spoke with investors about their view on the space sustainability market and the potential for return on investment. And Adrienne Harebottle catches up on multi-orbit terminal developments. While satellite constellations grab headlines, it is the user terminals that truly unlock the capabilities for customers.

Hope everyone is doing well as we head into fall. I hope to see you at our CyberSat event in Reston, Virginia, in November!