ARTICLE
9 January 2015

Space Business Review - Special Edition – Top Ten Space Business Stories Of 2014

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Milbank LLP

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Milbank LLP is a leading international law firm that provides innovative legal services from 12 offices around the world. Founded in New York over 150 years ago, Milbank helps the world’s leading commercial, financial and industrial enterprises, as well as institutions, individuals and governments, achieve their strategic objectives.
Orbital launches first paid Cygnus vehicle to ISS, experiences subsequent Antares failure.
United States Transport

#1 – SPACE ACCESS DEVELOPMENTS

Orbital launches first paid Cygnus vehicle to ISS, experiences subsequent Antares failure; Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency selects Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to develop new H-III launch vehicle; MHI to upgrade H-IIA and H-IIB; SpaceX records twelfth consecutive successful launch, Texas invests $15m in a new private launch site for SpaceX near Brownsville; Proton fails, marking sixth failure since 2010 but resumes commercial services with Astra 2G; Khrunichev announces successful inaugural flight of Angara 1.2; ESA member states agree to finance Ariane 6; ULA invests in new Blue Origin engine for Atlas 5; NASA awards Commercial Crew contracts valued at $6.8b to Boeing and SpaceX; SpaceShipTwo crashes during a test flight but Virgin Galactic vows to stay the course.

#2 – SPACE M&A MARCHES ON

Eutelsat completes $831m acquisition of Satmex; EchoStar acquires Solaris from SES and Eutelsat; Orbital and ATK announce $5b merger of Orbital with ATK's aerospace and defense divisions; ORBCOMM acquires Euroscan Holdings and SkyWave Mobile Communications; AT&T acquires DIRECTV in a $67.1b transaction; Lockheed Martin acquires Astrotech Space Operations; Google acquires Skybox Imaging for $500m; a Carlyle Group fund agrees to buy General Electric's stake in AsiaSat for $483m.

#3 – CONSTELLATIONS

Skybox Imaging selects Space Systems/Loral (SSL) to manufacture 13 earth observation satellites; SpaceX launches 6 new generation M2M satellites for ORBCOMM; Arianespace launches second and third batches of 4 O3b Networks satellites; WorldVu reportedly planning for several hundred Ku-band satellites.

#4 – EXPORT CREDIT REMAINS STRONG

Satellite industry becomes fastest growing of U.S. Ex-Im Bank's credit sectors, with growth from $50m to $1b in loans per year since 2010; Export Credit Agency of Russia announces plans to actively support ILS; and Export Development Canada provides €123m in financing to Hispasat for procurement of Hispasat 1F.

#5 – DISPUTES SETTLE DOWN

Eutelsat and SES settle their dispute over the 28.5°E orbital location; Loral and ViaSat settle the patent infringement and breach of contract claims under lawsuits brought by ViaSat.

#6 – IMAGING RESOLUTIONS

U.S. government authorizes sale of higher resolution satellite imagery per DigitalGlobe's (DG) request; DG's WorldView-3 is launched offering 31 cm panchromatic resolution; HySpec IQ places first commercial order of Boeing 502 Phoenix; Azercosmos and Airbus Defense and Space (Airbus) form long-term partnership for commercial remote sensing, beginning with sale of Spot 7 to Azercosmos; Kazakhstan's KazEOSat-1 satellite is launched.

#7 – STRATEGIC ALLIANCES

ARABSAT and Inmarsat join forces to procure ARABSAT satellite with Inmarsat S-band payload; Airbus and Safran create joint venture to manage development of Ariane 6; Hughes Network Systems do Brasil contracts with Eutelsat do Brasil for broadband services in Brazil; Eutelsat and Spacecom announce crosscommercialization of capacity in Africa.

#8 – NATIONAL PRIDE IN SPACE

Bangladesh continues with development of a national communications satellite; Myanmar announces plans for its first satellite; Argentina's first home-grown communications satellite, ARSAT-1, is launched; Afghanistan Ministry of Communications and Information Technology contracts with Eutelsat for AFGHANSAT 1.

#9 –LAUNCH SERVICES

Arianespace: ABS-2, Amazonas 4A, ARSAT-1, ASTRA 5B, DIRECTV-14, GSAT-16, Intelsat 30, MEASAT-3b, Optus 10, 8 O3b satellites; ILS: Astra 2G, TURKSAT-4A; Indian Space Research Organisation: GSAT-14, SPOT 7; ISC Kosmotras: 33 various smallsats; Lockheed Martin: WorldView-3; Russian Federal: Express-AT1, Express-AT2, Express-AM6; SpaceX: AsiaSat 8, AsiaSat 6/THAICOM 7, THAICOM 6, 6 satellites for ORBCOMM; Sea Launch: EUTELSAT 3B.

#10 – COMMERCIAL SATELLITE ORDERS

Airbus: EUTELSAT 172B, SES-10, SES-12; Ball Aerospace: system for Laser Light Comm.; Boeing: Intelsat 35e EpicNG, two HySpec IQ satellites; China Great Wall: APSTAR-10; Dauria Aerospace: two satellites for Aniara SpaceCom; MELCO: Es'hail 2; Orbital: HYLAS 4, THAICOM 8; SSL: Amazonas 5, BRIsat, Bulgaria Sat-1, EchoStar XXIII, Hispasat 1F, Intelsat 36, JCSAT- 15, JCSAT-16, PSN VI, 13 Skybox satellites; Thales Alenia Space: Inmarsat-S EuropaSat/ Hellas-Sat 3, Koreasat-7, Telkom-3S, Yamal-601.

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