This week, we bring you our second installment of Pathfinder’s special podcast series on the State of the Space Industry. As a reminder, you’ll hear from two members of Payload’s editorial staff on key trends, exclusive interviews, and insights shaping the industry.

Today’s episode explores EO & SatCom, featuring Payload’s Research Director, Jack Kuhr, and Lead Reporter, Rachael Zisk. Highlights from the discussion include:

EO

EO market dynamics in 2023
Public EO companies’ trajectory
VC inclinations and startup viability in EO
Speculating on SpaceX's emerging EO ambitions
The realities of commercial demand

SatCom

The SatCom market in 2023
The impact of the Ukraine war
Exploration of direct to cell innovations
SpaceX’s strategic moves
Investor sentiment and edge computing in SatCom

This episode is brought to you by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA). Be sure to check out the Italian Pavilion in South Hall (Booth 603) during Space Symposium!

• Chapters •

00:00 Intro & ITA Ad

01:22 Jack's background

02:21 Earth Observation market in 2023

04:41 State of the public EO

06:23 Major fundraisers in 2023

07:51 EO startups securing venture capital

14:20 Spire and BlackSky

16:19 SpaceX and EO

18:59 Consolidation in the EO market

22:37 Rachel’s background

23:30 Satcom in 2023

24:51 Ukraine & SatCom

26:45 Direct to cell technology

28:51 Starlink’s impact

33:22 Edge computing

35:30 Investing in SatCom

39:47 FCC and regulations

42:17 Predictions for SatCom in 2024

• Show notes •

Jack’s socials — https://twitter.com/JackKuhr

Rachael’s socials — https://twitter.com/RachaelZisk

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 19,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world.

Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers. Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing five media properties across multiple platforms:

1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern

2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)

3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays

4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece, comes out on Wednesdays

You can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/

The State of EO + SatCom (Payload Editorial)

Valley of Depth

The State of EO + SatCom (Payload Editorial)