This Special Edition of Space Business Review includes Milbank's top ten space business stories of 2024.
#1 – SpaceX Soars
SpaceX ascended as this year's innovation and market disruption leader; launched 350 direct-to-device ("D2D") satellites and received FCC approval to offer D2D services with T-Mobile; performed 132 Falcon 9 launches; conducted 4 Starship test flights and demonstrated booster recovery; launched 1,982 Starlink satellites (7,632 in orbit) and 84 Starshield satellites; contracted to provide Starlink in-flight connectivity services on more than 1,200 United Airlines and Air France aircraft; and won an $843m NASA contract to deorbit the ISS in 2030.
#2 – D2D Investments, Partnerships & Progress
Activities surged for D2D operators; Skylo Technologies, Inc. raised $37m and partnered with Google and Verizon; Lynk agreed to go public via a SPAC deal with Slam Corp. based on a $800m valuation; AST launched its first five satellites and signed a ten-year D2D services agreement with Vodafone.
#3 – M&A, Consolidation Gains Pace
2024 saw consolidation of product offerings, technologies and applications seeking a solution to market unpredictability; SES agreed to acquire Intelsat for $3.1b; BAE purchased Ball Aerospace for $5.5b; Iridium acquired outstanding interests in Satelles, Inc. for $115m; Lockheed Martin bought Terran Orbital for $450m; Neo Space Group acquired UP42 from Airbus; Gogo purchased Satcom Direct; DirecTV agreed to acquire DISH in a $9.75b acquisition but called it off in Q4.
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