BroadbandEquities

Viasat Reports Q3 FY ’22 Earnings

Viasat (NASDAQ: VSAT) reported earnings last Thursday. Highlights for the satellite communications player:  $720M in Q4 2021 revenues, which is up 25% year-over-year. Sales in Viasat’s Satellite Services segment were $310M, a YoY increase of 43%, largely driven by new aviation customers.  Viasat posted a net loss of $6.6M, which the company attributed to “higher depreciation and […]

AnalysisLaunch

Q4 Orbital Launches, by the Numbers

BryceTech’s latest quarterly launch briefing is out. We read these reports, then reread them, and then drill each slide like it’s a flashcard, so that all the data is etched into our memories. Without further ado, BryceTech’s Q4 orbital launch data: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) led Q4 ’21 with 15 launches.  SpaceX had eight […]

Broadband

SpaceX Unveils Starlink Premium

Starlink+? If it was following in the footsteps of streaming services, that’s what SpaceX’s satellite internet division would have named its new premium offering. But SpaceX marches to the beat of its own drum and instead went with Starlink Premium, unveiled Tuesday.  Price details: The Starlink Premium package costs $2,500 upfront for equipment, along with a $500/month […]

Broadband

FCC Prepares Latest Broadband Subsidies

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is prepared to award $1.2B+ in new broadband payouts through its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).  The RDOF is intended to reduce the US’s digital divide by subsidizing broadband deployment in rural and underserved areas. The two-phase auction will pay out up to $20.4B to internet service providers over the course of […]

Business

Spire (NYSE:SPIR) Releases Preliminary Q4 Results and 2022 Guidance

On Monday, Spire Global (NYSE:SPIR) released preliminary Q4 and full-year 2021 financial results.  The “space-to-cloud analytics” provider expects to post Q4 revenues of $15.3M, a 111% year over year increase, and full-year revenue of $43.7M, a 53% YoY jump.  Annual recurring revenue (ARR) is expected to be ~$70.8M, a 96% YoY increase. And ARR customer count climbed […]

Business

Q4 Earnings Recap

One-month performance (before market open, Jan. 31). Chart: Promus Ventures Last week, the big names in US defense and aerospace contracting reported earnings. Ongoing supply chain and labor were a persistent headwind across the sector, and more broadly, results were a mixed bag. Let’s run through the space highlights.  On Tuesday, Raytheon (NYSE:RTX) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) […]

Q&A

A Q&A with Radian CEO Richard Humphrey

Radian Aerospace recently emerged from stealth to unveil what it’s been developing for the last six years: a fully reusable, single-stage-to-orbit, horizontal-takeoff-and-landing spaceplane. It’s the stuff of science fiction—and often hailed as the holy grail of human spaceflight. Developing that holy grail is no overnight process. When ditching its stealth cloak, Radian also announced a […]

Equities

D-Orbit to go Public at $1.28B Valuation

Image: D-Orbit. See investor deck here.  On the heels of Satellogic ($SATL) completing its reverse merger just this week, another space player is preparing to go public via SPAC. This morning, D-Orbit announced its intentions to merge with Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:BREZ). D-Orbit offers “last-mile,” in-space transport services via its ION Satellite Carrier. D-Orbit has used ION […]

Q&A

An Interview with Swiss Cyber Startup CYSEC on Space Expansion

Last week, Switzerland-based CYSEC announced it had extended its seed round by 4M Swiss francs ($4.3M) to 7M Swiss francs (~$7.5M). Founded in 2018, the company creates “confidential computing” products designed to harden highly sensitive data used in clouds, data centers, and at the “edge.”  The fintech-focused cyber startup plans to use new funds to […]

Launch

A Deal in Aerojeopardy

Antitrust cops have stepped in to block Lockheed Martin’s (NYSE:LMT) proposed $4.4B takeover of Aerojet Rocketdyne (NYSE:AJRD), the US’s last-standing large independent missile- and rocket-motor maker.  The FTC sued Tuesday to block the deal, which was announced in December 2020. Aerojet shares dropped nearly 19%, while Lockheed finished the day up 3.7%. Strategically speaking, the acquisition would give […]

Startups

Scout Unveils Autonomy Software for Spacecraft and Satellites

This morning, SCOUT Inc. announced an autonomy suite for spacecraft operators to better understand what’s going on way above our heads. Alexandria, VA-based Scout’s tech stack for satellites and spacecraft spans data fusion software, proximity operation algorithms, pose estimation, docking assistance, star-tracking, and attitude determination.  Put all of the above together and you get Scout […]

Startups

Isar Wins €10M European Launch Prize

Isar Aerospace has won 10 million euros (~$11.3M) in prize money from the European Commission’s “Low-Cost Space Launch” competition. The prize specifically recognizes Spectrum, Isar’s two-stage orbital launch vehicle for small and medium satellites.  Founded in 2018, Isar is based in Ottobrunn and Munich, Germany.  Spain’s PLD Space and Rocket Factory Augsburg, another aspiring German launcher, were […]