Satellite & Spacecraft Manufacturing

Planet Labs PBC announced the successful launch of 20 satellites: the first demo mission for Google's Project Suncatcher, its latest hyperspectral satellite Tanager-2, and 18 SuperDoves. The spacecraft launched to orbit aboard the Transporter-18 rideshare mission with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Planet has made initial contact with Tanager-2, the Project Suncatcher prototype, and two SuperDoves and begun commissioning, and expects to contact the remaining 16 SuperDoves that will deploy on the D-Orbit ION orbital transfer vehicle on schedule. This marks Planet's 40th successful launch and a total of 718 satellites built and delivered on orbit. Developed with Google, the Project Suncatcher satellite will run the first-ever test of Google's Tensor Processing Units in space, while Tanager-2, developed with Carbon Mapper, captures imagery in 426 contiguous bands with roughly 5 nm spectral resolution at 30 m spatial resolution, and Planet plans to build and deploy at least three additional Tanager satellites following Tanager-2.

ICEYE and Nokia announced a partnership to develop secure, sovereign and high-performance broadband low Earth orbit satellite communications systems for governments, supporting missions from defense and border security to emergency services and disaster response. Built on trusted European technology, the jointly developed systems will give nations ownership and control of the satellites, ground segment and terminals, with the first communications satellites expected to be launched in 2028. The systems will deliver targeted, high-throughput, low-latency connectivity over priority mission areas, designed to complement military and commercial networks rather than replace them. The partnership combines ICEYE's track record delivering sovereign satellite missions with Nokia's experience in secure networking technologies and growing defense portfolio, integrating satellites, ground infrastructure and ruggedized end-user terminals. ICEYE CEO and Co-founder Rafal Modrzewski said nations must be able to fully own and control their communications without dependency on a foreign commercial operator's terms of service, while Nokia President and CEO Justin Hotard said sovereign operations depend on secure, resilient connectivity across land, sea, air and space. Modrzewski and Hotard will take the stage at the Helsinki Security Forum on October 2 for a session titled "How to Salvage Europe's Technological Sovereignty."

Sophia Space and Redwire Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to advance the development and deployment of scalable computing infrastructure in orbit. The agreement combines Sophia Space's modular TILE architecture, which integrates high-performance computing, solar power and passive radiative thermal management for AI inference and data processing in orbit, with Redwire's deployable space systems, solar power generation and distribution, heat management and rejection, spacecraft integration, avionics and systems engineering. Under the MOU, the two companies will explore collaboration across near-term demonstration missions and longer-term orbital data center architectures, aiming to move the emerging orbital computing market from individual technology demonstrations toward the repeatable, scalable infrastructure needed for a global build-out of orbital data centers. Sophia Space and Redwire intend to jointly pursue select U.S. government and commercial opportunities, including potential programs involving DARPA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Space Development Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office, across areas such as concept development, joint proposals, internal research and development, customer engagement and international market opportunities. Rob DeMillo, CEO and Cofounder of Sophia Space, said the question is now how quickly high-performance computing in orbit can be scaled, while Al Tadros, Chief Technology Officer of Redwire Space, said the maturation of the orbital data center market represents opportunities to build next-generation architectures that could unlock significant economic value.

Terran Orbital, a Lockheed Martin company, announced the appointment of Jamin Brown as Chief Operating Officer. Brown will lead the satellite manufacturer's operational execution from its Irvine, California headquarters, focusing on increasing production capacity, strengthening operational performance, and delivering at greater speed, scale, and cost efficiency alongside President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Krauss. He joins Terran Orbital from Lockheed Martin Space, where he most recently served as Vice President of Missile Defense Programs and Huntsville Site General Manager, overseeing a portfolio that included Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, Targets and Countermeasures Programs, directed energy, hypersonic defense, and space surveillance. Brown spent more than two decades at Lockheed Martin, beginning as an Electronics Engineer and later serving as Deputy Vice President of the Hypersonic Strike Weapon Systems mission segment and as Fleet Ballistic Missile Reshaping Site Director in Colorado. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering, a Master of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering, and an MBA from San Jose State University, and is a graduate of Stanford University's Certified Program Manager program.

KCE shares jumped 11.07% to 75.25 baht, up 7.50 baht, with trading value of 2.357 billion baht as of 10:50 a.m., from an opening price of 71.25 baht, a high of 75.25 baht and a low of 71.25 baht. This morning also saw a big lot of 150,000 KCE shares worth 11.89 million baht trade at an average price of 79.25 baht, above the board price. Kiatnakin Phatra Securities, together with BofA Global Research, initiated coverage of KCE Electronics with a buy rating and raised its target price to 104.00 baht, based on a target P/E of 38.1 times, from 67.75 baht previously. It expects net profit to recover 95% year on year to 1.529 billion baht in 2026, surge 110% year on year to 3.212 billion baht in 2027, 69% above market expectations, and reach 4.174 billion baht in 2028. The drivers include the recovery cycle in the PCB industry, the growing electronic content in electric vehicles and software-defined vehicles, indirect benefits from the AI wave that is tightening automotive PCB supply, LEO communications satellites whose revenue share is expected to rise to 16% in 2027 and 30% in 2028 of total PCB revenue, and humanoid robots, with management confirming it is in talks with Tesla, having passed some qualification tests and awaiting final design approval. BofA expects the global humanoid robot market to be worth 100 billion US dollars by 2033, with global shipments growing nearly fivefold from 290,000 units in 2027 to 1.2 million units by 2030. Meanwhile, Sureeporn Teewasuwet, assistant managing director of the securities analysis department at FSS International, sees second-half profit better than the first half after KCE raised PCB prices from the second quarter of 2026 on higher raw material prices such as copper and fiberglass, together with AI-driven PCB demand that is diverting supply. She recommends trading the stock, maintains a target price of 61.00 baht, and warns investors to be cautious in 2027 because new PCB supply will start to gradually come on stream in the second half of 2027.

Kiatnakin Phatra Securities Public Company Limited, or KKPS, issued a research note dated 29 September 2026 recommending a "Buy" on KCE Electronics Public Company Limited, or KCE, with a target price of 104 baht, and maintaining a "Buy" on Hana Microelectronics Public Company Limited, or HANA, while raising its target price to 61 baht from 42 baht. It views both companies as entering a new growth cycle driven by a recovery in their core businesses and opportunities from artificial intelligence, or AI, related operations. For KCE, the research team sees it entering an upcycle in the printed circuit board, or PCB, business, expecting normal earnings per share to grow by about 95% in 2026 and 110% in 2027, which is about 69% above the market average. It expects net profit attributable to the company after excluding special items of about 1.529 billion baht in 2026, rising to 3.212 billion baht in 2027 and 4.174 billion baht in 2028. The communications business, especially PCBs for low Earth orbit, or LEO, satellites, is expected to increase its share to about 16% of PCB revenue in 2027 and 30% in 2028. As for HANA, KKPS raised its 2026 and 2027 earnings forecasts by 8% and 31% respectively, expecting profit growth of about 20% in 2026 and 53% in 2027, supported by a rise in capacity utilisation in its OSAT business in Ayutthaya province to 62% from 55%. It expects net profit attributable to the company after excluding special items of about 999 million baht in 2026, rising to 1.533 billion baht in 2027 and 1.78 billion baht in 2028. Meanwhile, two of HANA's three AI projects, Phononic TEC and High-density PCBA, have begun ramping up production and are expected to generate combined revenue of about 2.5 to 3.5 billion baht in 2027.

Satellite maker Astro Digital has agreed to go public through a merger with Proem Acquisition Corp I, a blank-check company, in a deal valuing the combined business at about $587 million. The transaction is expected to provide Astro Digital with as much as $180 million in gross proceeds, including up to $130 million from Proem's trust account and about $50 million from private investments led by Proem Asset Management and Leon Capital Group. Astro Digital designs, builds and operates satellites used for Earth observation, communications, space infrastructure and defense, and since 2018 has delivered nearly 40 satellites to more than 30 customers, including NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, Boeing and Sony. The merger is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary conditions, and the combined company is expected to trade on the Nasdaq.

SES has commenced construction of a new satellite manufacturing facility in Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg, marking a major milestone in the company's vertical integration and business model evolution. The 16,000m² facility, expected to open in 2028, will include advanced engineering, manufacturing and testing facilities, office space and supporting infrastructure, with project CapEx covered under SES' CapEx guidance. It is being developed in collaboration with project partners CDCL Group and POUDRERIE de LUXEMBOURG (ParcLuxite) and sits at the center of Luxembourg's effort to build and scale a dedicated Space Campus. The site will support development of SES' next-generation medium Earth orbit network, meoSphere, and contribute to Europe's IRIS² program through payload development and satellite assembly, integration and testing. Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden called the facility a bold affirmation of the country's leadership in the space sector, while SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh said it builds on progress already made with the company's pilot line and R&D facility.

Yuanta Securities says the space economy is entering a major turning point after the International Space Station, the backbone of off-world scientific experimentation for more than 26 years, prepares to be retired around 2030, as demand for access to space from the private sector keeps rising, especially for medical research and the development of data centers in space. This is reflected in the number of projects approved for launch to the ISS, which hit a record high of 115 projects in fiscal year 2025, with nearly 80% being commercial research projects. The transition to the era of commercial space stations is happening alongside a sharp fall in the cost of reaching space, thanks to reusable rocket technology, particularly from SpaceX. Global pharmaceutical companies such as Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb are already using low-gravity conditions to study the properties of drugs, while privately held Varda is developing autonomous vehicles for experiments or manufacturing in orbit to return products to Earth. The space economy's market value is expected to rise from 630 billion dollars in 2023 to 1.16 trillion dollars in 2030 and reach 1.79 trillion dollars in 2035, or average annual growth of 9%, which would benefit leaders in space transport such as SpaceX and Rocket Lab, as well as Redwire, which specializes in equipment and systems for space operations. Rocket Lab recently won a 266 million dollar contract from the U.S. Space Force for a missile-defense test launch mission, plus another contract worth 397 million dollars to build satellites that detect and track targets from space. Although bottom-line profit may not yet be strong in this period, the revenue trend and the value of work in hand, or backlog, are growing very strongly, reflecting robust demand. The Bloomberg Consensus sets a target price of 3.66 baht per DR, which is seen as leaving room for further upside of as much as 50%.

Private investment in space-related companies surged more than twofold to $23 billion in the year through June, according to a report published by British investment firm Seraphim and insurance company Relm Insurance. SpaceX's June initial public offering transformed the landscape of space-sector fundraising, drawing in new investors, and venture capital firms are now searching for the next related companies that could deliver similarly high returns. Investors are directing funds toward companies that can demonstrate business results rather than early-stage promise, and according to Relm, the space economy is shifting from hype to commercial reality. Companies raising money include those involved in Earth observation, in-orbit manufacturing, and the satellite supply chain. Andrew Bonwick, Relm's vice president of product development, said Earth observation is already an established field and that the real value lies in the analysis, with customers paying for the information they actually want to know, such as the location of their ships, when to plant crops, the operating status of refineries, and wildfire risk.

Rocket Lab has secured $1.94 billion through an at-the-market share sale to fund its planned Iridium acquisition, replacing a planned $3.6 billion bridge facility and reducing its need for debt financing at the cost of a higher share count. The company also added to its order pipeline with a $190 million award for 20 HASTE hypersonic test flights and a separate $266 million Space Force contract covering at least 12 suborbital missions, and it was selected by Viasat to provide a satellite bus for a protected communications program. Rocket Lab has completed 96 Electron launches, including 17 missions this year. Raymond James initiated coverage with an $80 price target, citing growth opportunities and a potential path toward positive EBITDA and free cash flow by 2027 or 2028, though the company still reports negative free cash flow and operating losses. Shares climbed about 2% Tuesday as investors weighed the defense awards, satellite work and financing progress.

Intuitive Machines Inc. was awarded a contract on September 1 to develop two IM 300 series satellite platforms for an undisclosed customer, expanding the platform into a new customer market segment, with production to be carried out at its dedicated satellite manufacturing facility in Palo Alto. The IM 300 is positioned as the company's proliferated satellite platform, built on a modular architecture that supports standardized interfaces for civil, commercial, and national security customers along with optical and RF crosslink capabilities. The award adds to Intuitive Machines' expanding backlog, which stood at $1.8 billion at the end of its recently reported second quarter after the company booked $920 million of additional awards during the period, a sharp jump from the $213.1 million backlog recorded at the end of December last year, with $612.8 million of that backlog tied to its acquisition of Lanteris earlier this year. Because the customer remains undisclosed, investors have limited visibility into the award's financial significance and counterparty exposure, and cannot anticipate contract value, counterparty creditworthiness, or the likelihood of follow-on orders. The company has also committed to delivering a higher-power payload configuration on compressed timelines while servicing existing schedules at its Palo Alto facility, leaving it exposed to technical bottlenecks, supply chain disruptions, or manufacturing issues that could affect schedules and capacity.

Intuitive Machines climbed 12.93 percent on Monday to close at $15.72 a share after Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated its overweight rating and $32 price target, an upside of 103.56 percent from the latest close. The call followed the company's delivery and handover of the IM-1300 series SXM-11 satellite to SiriusXM after a June launch, with Intuitive Machines Space Systems President Chris Johnson noting the two firms have now built 13 spacecraft together through their recent acquisition of Lanteris and are working on SiriusXM's next satellite. Earlier this month the company also won a contract to build two IM 300 series platforms for a new, undisclosed customer, a deal Johnson said shows the modular IM 300 can serve multiple missions and a heavier, higher-power payload class. Hedge fund conviction weakened in the second quarter even as the number of funds holding the stock rose to 33 from 30, with combined holdings falling 8.9 percent to $530 million from $582.9 million quarter on quarter.

Syntec Optics Holdings, Inc. announced a landmark order to enable vital U.S. Space Force infrastructure and advanced reconnaissance operations, which the company called the most critical order in its 25-year history. The Rochester, New York-based maker of high-precision optics and photonics, which trades on Nasdaq under the ticker OPTX, said it will build optics for government satellite constellations intended to protect the country, with the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office beginning to build out the constellation and the U.S. Space Force able to use the information sent down to help keep the military safe. CFO Dean Rudy said the company is beginning to build a pro forma for space product lines in excess of $100 million in backlog, adding that the NRO is funding a giant network of low-flying satellites and the Space Force will keep growing that network through the rest of the 2020s. Syntec said it has already built thousands of special laser connections so satellites can talk to each other in space, and that its optics can survive the hot and freezing temperatures of space and track things on Earth in real time. The announcement comes as Air Force Secretary Troy Meink publicly confirmed at the Air & Space Forces Association's annual conference in Maryland that the threat is changing faster than thought possible, following an executive order by the U.S. President to establish a commission to advance space as a core defense arm.

China Mobile and Qualcomm have recently completed the world's first interoperability test between a 6G prototype base station and terminal prototype in the U6G band as defined by 3GPP, marking a new stage in which key 6G technologies move from research to systematic verification. The '15th Five-Year Plan' for the information and communications industry issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in September requires the development of terminals with native 6G capabilities such as agentic communication and environmental sensing based on systems like open-source HarmonyOS, establishing the development direction for 6G terminals at the policy level. The international standardization organization recently approved the initiation of all seven natural gas international standards led by China, covering key upstream areas of the industry chain including shale gas exploration and development, natural gas carbon footprint accounting, natural gas reservoir core sampling, and natural gas hydrate testing. At 12:03 Beijing time on September 20, 2026, China successfully launched nine satellites including the Pengcheng Pioneer Satellite into orbit from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone using the Lijian-1 Y18 carrier rocket. The Pengcheng Pioneer Satellite is an integrated technology verification satellite for communications, sensing, intelligence, and computing, jointly developed by Galaxy Aerospace, Pengcheng Laboratory, the State Key Laboratory of Satellite Internet, and other institutions. Deep Blue Aerospace completed a financing round of nearly 2 billion yuan, with listed companies such as Botong Technology and Hongrun Construction participating in the investment.

Boeing has completed its 13-satellite O3b mPOWER constellation for operator SES after launching the final three satellites, F11, F12 and F13, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to join the 10 already in orbit. The constellation is aimed at supporting high-speed global connectivity for customers with growing bandwidth needs, including governments, cruise lines, commercial airlines and mobile users. Ryan Reid, President of Boeing Satellite Systems International, said the constellation demonstrates the company's capacity to deliver through robust execution and customer focus, and noted that pairing the O3b mPOWER payload with Boeing's standardized 702X satellite platform gives a dual-use architecture that can be built and integrated quickly across different orbits. The satellites are yet to complete orbit raising and initialization before entering service in mid-2027, leaving risks of technical delays or anomalies, and any technical shortcomings in the O3b mPOWER architecture could prompt additional scrutiny of Boeing's related defense implementations, including hardened versions being developed for the U.S. Space Force's Evolved Strategic SATCOM systems and Wideband Global SATCOM. By the end of the second quarter, Boeing reported $715 billion in total backlog, including $597 billion for commercial airplanes, $85 billion for Defense, Space & Security and $33 billion for Global Services. Hedge fund ownership of Boeing fell from 99 funds in the first quarter of 2026 to 90 funds in the following quarter, while BlackRock is the largest institutional stakeholder with 61.04 million shares, or 7.72% ownership.

Elon Musk said on SpaceX's August 4, 2026 earnings call that Starlink could deliver a majority of the world's internet traffic in less than 10 years, driven by a next-generation satellite that multiplies delivered bandwidth by roughly two orders of magnitude. In a post on X, Musk said connectivity per satellite will be about 10 terabits per second in both directions, with a path to more than 100 Tbps, and that each satellite is 250kW and will carry a SpaceX-designed Nvidia Vera Rubin NVL72 computer. SpaceX expects to launch about an order of magnitude more Starlink V3 satellites than V2, and Musk said that even if monetization per bit drops by a factor of 10, Starlink revenue would still rise 10x; an FCC filing covering up to 100,000 Gen3 satellites was accepted for filing in mid-September 2026 but has not been approved. The Q2 2026 results showed total revenue of $7.81 billion, up 92% year over year, with the connectivity segment contributing $4.3 billion, up 66%, more than 1.7 million net consumer subscribers added, ARPU of $66 per month, and enterprise and government revenue up 108% on deals with American Airlines, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, Iberia and Aer Lingus plus over $6 billion in multi-year Space Force Starshield contracts. Management said a critical mass of about 1,000 V3 satellites is needed before service improvements become significant, expected by approximately the second quarter of next year, and Musk told analysts that a year from now SpaceX will be doing at least one flight a day and possibly more. SPCX shares closed at $152.71 on September 18, up 9.35% over the past month.

Baron Capital holds roughly $25 billion in SpaceX shares, and founder Ron Baron projects that Starlink alone can grow into a $1 trillion revenue line within a decade. SpaceX, trading under the ticker SPCX, closed at $150.88 on September 16, 2026, up 5.15% on the session but down 6.26% from its post-IPO reference, with a market capitalization near $1.16 trillion. SpaceX's Q2 connectivity revenue reached $4.29 billion, up 66% year over year, with enterprise and government revenue inside that line growing 108%, even as consumer ARPU slipped from $85 to $66. Baron's model rests on expanding the constellation to 100,000 satellites, with each generation deorbited every five years and replaced by hardware ten times more capable, a plan that depends on Starship V3 cutting the cost to orbit by 99% or more. SpaceX spent $18.37 billion on capex in Q2 alone, including $15.83 billion on AI compute, and placed a $25 billion inaugural investment-grade bond issuance to fund the buildout, according to Baron Capital. GAO researchers reviewing space-based data centers in April 2026 flagged that cooling at scale remains unproven because heat disperses poorly in the vacuum of space, and that on-orbit servicing is underdeveloped, undercutting Baron's claim that orbital compute costs just $2 one time. The near-term milestone to watch is the Starship V3 test-flight cadence, since a launch-economics breakthrough is the single variable that decides whether the 100,000-satellite plan is arithmetic or fiction.

SpaceX shares rose 5.1% to $151 in mid-morning trading Wednesday, pushing the stock back above the $150 level it first reached when it began trading June 12 following an IPO priced at $135. The catalyst was fresh policy news: U.S. defense officials confirmed on-orbit space-control weapons and highlighted progress on the Golden Dome interceptor program, tied to multibillion-dollar SpaceX contracts awarded earlier this year, pointing investors toward Starshield, SpaceX's national security satellite business, which already holds more than $6 billion in multi-year Space Force contracts for LEO-based communications and sensing. The Pentagon's FY 2027 budget request carries a $17.9 billion Golden Dome line item covering advanced space-based and terrestrial sensors, command and control, kinetic interceptors, and next-generation non-kinetic programs, and SpaceX is the only operator with a proliferated LEO constellation at production scale. The fundamental backdrop supports the move: the August 4 8-K showed Q2 revenue of $7.81 billion, beating the $6.82 billion consensus by 15%, with EPS of -$0.09 versus the -$0.29 estimate, Starlink subscribers doubling to 12.0 million, connectivity revenue up 66% year over year, and enterprise and government revenue climbing 108% on airline partnerships and Starshield contracts. Traditional missile-defense primes Lockheed Martin, RTX, and Northrop Grumman all sit inside the Golden Dome supply chain for interceptors, sensors, and integration, while pure-play space names like Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile tend to move with SpaceX headlines; SpaceX carries a $47.50 billion backlog and $93.52 billion in cash, alongside $18.37 billion in quarterly capex, $15.83 billion of which went into AI compute, with a market cap of roughly $1.16 trillion. Even after Wednesday's rally, SPCX trades 33% below its intraday high of $226 on June 16, and the tell into the close is whether it can hold above $151 and turn the IPO open price into support rather than a ceiling, with the next Starship V3 test flight, any Pentagon follow-on Starshield task orders, and updates on the pending $60 billion Cursor acquisition expected to close in Q3 as near-term catalysts.

Hughes Network Systems, an EchoStar company, announced that Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited has selected the JUPITER scalable gateway system to support its next-generation NIGCOMSAT-2A and NIGCOMSAT-2B satellites. Under the contract, Hughes will deliver a JUPITER scalable gateway designed to support capacity deployment across the new satellites, enabling multi-band operations across Ka-, Ku-, and C-bands for high-speed broadband, enterprise, and government services throughout Nigeria and the wider region. Preparation begins in 2026, establishing the ground system and a local manufacturing footprint well ahead of the satellite launches targeted for early 2028 and 2029. Hughes expects to provide technical guidance, engineering support, and advisory expertise to help enable local assembly of satellite terminals in Nigeria, an initiative aligned with the country's push for local content, indigenous capacity development, and economic diversification. Anshu Vij, Managing Director, EMEA at Hughes, said the contract reflects the strength, flexibility, and proven performance of the JUPITER platform, while NIGCOMSAT Managing Director Jane Egerton-Idehen described the partnership as a strategic industrialization initiative that will let Nigeria deploy capacity today while scaling to meet long-term connectivity needs.

Rocket Lab Corporation is expanding its spacecraft component portfolio, commercializing technologies developed for its launch vehicles and spacecraft programs, including avionics subsystems, radios and batteries. The company says its flight hardware has flown on more than 1,800 missions, an installed base it cites as the foundation for broadening its product offering. Rocket Lab's strategy extends beyond launch services into the spacecraft supply chain, aiming to widen its addressable market and capture growing constellation demand. The Zacks Consensus Estimate projects Rocket Lab earnings per share growth of 81.48% in 2026 and 240% in 2027. The stock trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales of 31.43X versus an industry average of 7.25X, and its shares have rallied 32.2% over the past year against a 4.9% decline for the industry. Northrop Grumman and L3Harris Technologies are also named as companies providing spacecraft and space-system technologies.