The explosion of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster and payload on September 1, 2016, bookended by an outreach campaign from Arianespace showcasing the reliability of its rocket fleet, reminded me of early 1986 when Via Satellite magazine made its debut. I had joined Satellite News at the beginning of January, having reviewed the business plan for the journal just before Christmas.
Within just a few weeks, our decision to publish appeared shaky. The catastrophic loss of the space shuttle Challenger was followed that spring by failures of the Titan and Delta launch vehicles and the new Ariane 2. But 15-year planning horizons based on 10- and 15-year satellite lifetimes die hard. The industry weathered the storms of competition, niching, and even purported irrelevance.
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One irreversible trend was globalization of the business on the earth and space segment manufacturing fronts. During my years as editor of Via Satellite, many initiatives went forward that reverberate to this day. Other milestones and events include the growth of PanAmSat, the Worldstar and Sirius satellite radio ventures, the birth of EchoStar, the privatization of Intelsat, and the initial rise of the LEO constellations.
The saga of Satellite Business Systems is one story that reached the end of its corporate identity during my time as editor of Via Satellite. Suffice it to say that the technology had not arrived to support the service that was being sold. SBS marked the commercial introduction of Ku-band and thus earns an exhibit case in the museum of satellite communications.
Three decades later, it remains an honor to be associated with the ongoing success of Via Satellite and the Satellite Group at Access Intelligence LLC and to participate in the relentless growth of the global satellite-enabled marketplace. VS
