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 —   / jackkuhr  
Rachael’s socials —   / rachaelzisk  
Mo's socials —   / itsmoislam  
Payload’s socials —   / payloadspace   /   / payloadspace  
Pathfinder archive — Watch:    / @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/