Research
Insights and analysis from Payload Research
Charts Defining the Space Industry in Q3: Analysis
Astranis, a startup building small GEO broadband satellites for targeted service, led the way this quarter with its $200M monster Series D round, by far the largest US space raise so far in 2024.
The Airline Industry is Moving to Free Wi-Fi and Starlink
200 Mbps Wi-Fi offered for free sounds pretty good to me. What’s in it for the airlines? Is Starlink going for the sweep? What happens to the GEOs?
Impact of In-Space Relay Networks on Ground Station as a Service
Traditional Ground Station as a Service (GSaaS) providers will soon face competition from relay communications networks that promise faster transmitting, simplified licensing, and potentially lower cost.
Planet Labs Commercial Revenue Is Softening
When Planet Labs went public in 2021, the company touted a commercial Earth observation market on the verge of an inflection point.
The opposite has happened.
Jeff Bezos Opens Up About New Glenn, Discusses Reusability and Manufacturing
It was a Willy Wonka-style event—a wealthy entrepreneur finally opening the doors to his secretive facility filled with innovative gadgets at a scale beyond imagination. However, instead of chocolate rivers, fizzy-lifting drinks, and Everlasting Gobstoppers, we were treated to fuel lines, heavy-lifting rockets, and boosters designed to last 25 launches.
Boeing To Launch Groundbreaking Orbital Quantum Experiment
Quantum entanglement swapping has been demonstrated in the lab, but never before in space.
GPS Faces Growing Competition from China’s BeiDou
Since GPS became operational in 1993, the US has been far and away the leader in satellite navigation technology. But the landscape is rapidly changing, and international alternatives are catching up.
Rise and Stall of GPS: The Average Age of GPS Satellites Hits 13 Years
The Global Positioning System has long been one of the most important and widely-used services in the world but the US navigational network is showing signs of aging, slipping into a pattern of maintaining the status quo rather than driving innovation.
The Playbook Behind Lockheed’s Acquisition of Terran Orbital: Payload Research
The seasoned prime outwits the SPAC investors.
Watchdogs Find Faults with Artemis IV Vehicles in Back-to-Back Reports
Over the past two weeks, two federal watchdogs—the OIG and the GAO—released separate reports highlighting critical issues with two Artemis IV vehicles: Gateway and SLS Block 1B, the upgraded SLS variant.
Rocket Development Costs by Vehicle: Payload Research
In 2008, Falcon 1 became the first privately funded, fully liquid-fueled launch vehicle to reach orbit. Its development cost? Just $90M ($131M inflation adj.).
Tracking Next-Gen LEO Satcom Constellations: Payload Research
Out are the days of onesie twosies large GEO satcom birds, and in are the mega-constellations in LEO, consisting of an army of hundreds or thousands of smaller satellites that provide ultra-fast connectivity.
Iridium and the Satcom R&D Lifecycle: Payload Research
Iridium provides a good example of the sector’s R&D lifecycle.
