Connectivity is now an integral part of our day-to-day lives, with consumers and businesses alike utilizing connected applications to enhance daily routines as well as to access and manage essential services. It’s also a critical component of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, and in these situations, satellite networks are often the only infrastructure that can be relied upon to provide critical communication.

The Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) is focused on delivering quality low-cost satellites and missions to customers around the world. To date, SFL has developed 76 successful satellites and has a total onorbit heritage of 318.8 years operational. We met with Dr. Robert Zee, SFL’s Director, to discuss technological breakthroughs; the microspace approach to building satellites; and some exciting projects on the horizon.

As the number of active satellites in orbit continues to grow at a rapid rate, heritage components evolve to bridge the gap between cost, mass production, and performance.

The tumultuous landscape of war is perpetually compromised. Video is an essential tool that delivers instantaneous clarity, cutting through the fog of war and providing critical information to determine friend from foe. The application of quantum mathematics can dramatically improve the security of video from source to sight, providing warfighters with the assurance that what they see is reliable.

When it comes to the space economy, no one knows more than Chad Anderson, founder and managing partner of Space Capital, who recently wrote the definitive book on the subject. As exciting and explosive as the last decade has been for our industry, Anderson believes that the technological advances and market applications which lie ahead will not only be transformative but will also drive dramatic market growth. We sat down with Anderson who shared his insights on what he believes is the greatest business opportunity the world has ever known.

The space industry has been rather conservative over the past decades, but a revolution is coming. New components are making space exploration more accessible. So-called COTS semiconductor devices unlock entirely novel applications and help make technology more reliable, bringing space exploration to a new era.

Ovzon 3, which launched successfully early this year, is both smaller and more powerful than other GEO satellites and is specifically designed for the missioncritical operations performed by Ovzon’s defense, public safety, emergency services, and NGO customers. The satellite is expected to be fully operational by midyear and represents an important milestone for the 18year-old Swedish company. We interviewed Per Norén, Ovzon’s CEO, to delve into the company’s near-term agenda and discuss the opportunities that lie ahead.

Last year saw the announcement of the EU Commission and High Representative’s European Space Strategy for Security and Defence. Presented for the first time on 10 March 2023, the joint communication outlined a framework for greater safety, security, and sustainability for space-based technologies, while providing insight into the preparatory work currently underway that will enable safer access to space.

Multiple key trends will affect the defense sector in 2024, ranging from changes in defense budgets and the proliferation of swarm drones, to the two-pronged threat of ongoing worldwide conflict and cybersecurity.

Relativity Space has experienced a meteoric rise since its founding in 2016. Last March the company launched the world’s first 3D printed rocket, and while it didn’t reach orbit due to a stage-two anomaly, its creation gave Relativity a mighty jump-start on the development of a much larger reusable rocket—Terran R. We talked with Josh Brost, the company’s Senior Vice President of Revenue Operations about Relativity’s remarkable journey and its ultimate destination.

ST Engineering iDirect has been an industry leader for a long time and now the company is entering a new era where the goal is to revolutionize the ground and deliver a virtualized cloud-based network unfettered by the limitations of bespoke hardware and finite capacity. We spoke with Don Claussen, the company’s CEO, to find out what’s next.

From today’s needs to tomorrow’s, digital ground systems lay the path that will leverage AI, Multi-Cloud, 5G networks and more.