2025: A Year of Billion-Dollar Transactions and Market-Defining Shifts

As we approach the end of 2025, it’s no surprise if you’re feeling a little winded. The satellite industry, like nearly every sector this year, has had to navigate persistent economic uncertainty. Supply chain challenges that began during the pandemic have only grown more complex amid shifting global trade dynamics. And yet, despite these headwinds, 2025 delivered some of the largest financial transactions our industry has ever seen. The commercial satellite market looks fundamentally different today than it did just twelve months ago.

At the center of that transformation is the U.S. Government, which remains, by far, the largest commercial satellite customer. Through the Protected Tactical Satellite Communications, National Security Space Launch, and ESS awards alone, the government is poised to inject more than $20 billion into the market. That’s why the Reverse Industry Day program we’re co-producing with the U.S. Space Force at SATELLITE x GovMilSpace is so critical. With additional protected satcom contracts still coming down the pipeline, government leaders are heading to GovMilSpace to share their extensive, and evolving, list of requirements directly with industry.

Meanwhile, consolidation and capital deployment reshaped the commercial landscape. The year’s largest satellite operator acquisition was finalized when SES and Intelsat completed their long-planned $3.1 billion merger. Omnispace and Lynk are also planning a major direct-to-device merger, backed by the newly combined, SES-led operator, with ambitions to compete against solutions from SpaceX’s Starlink, AST SpaceMobile and T-Mobile, Skylo, Verizon, and others. Add to that SpaceX’s $17 billion spectrum acquisition from EchoStar, and it’s clear that capital is moving at an unprecedented scale. These seismic financial shifts are exactly why we’ve built the strongest Finance Forum program we’ve ever assembled, and placed it front and center on our agenda.

Already, more than 20 of the most influential managing directors and investors across the space and technology sectors are confirmed to speak, offering insight into these landmark deals and the strategies shaping 2026 and beyond. Executives from every company mentioned above will be on site, sharing details with customers and subcontractors about new services in development, and the capabilities and resources needed to support them. To enable those high-value conversations, we’ve created our VIP Session program, accessible exclusively to premium pass holders. This is intelligence you can only get by being in the room.

We couldn’t be more excited about how this year’s conference program is coming together, especially with the powerful new voices joining our speaker lineup.

From all of us, we wish you and your families a very happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year. We look forward to welcoming you in March—and hope you’re strapped in for the ride. It’s going to be a fun one.

Sincerely, 
Jeffrey Hill
Executive Chairman, SATELLITE x GovMilSpace