
QUILTY QUICKTAKES
Quilty QuickTakes provide short-form analysis on the latest developments in the space sector as they unfold.
Click on any QuickTake below to enjoy these complimentary, five-minute reads.
Starlink in aviation: where are its wings?
Over the past two years, Starlink has hit the maritime industry like a tsunami, swallowing up cruise line, yachts, and merchant vessels at such high rates that competitors must adapt or die.
OneWeb: New Ally in Multiorbit Comeback
It’s been a pretty miserable decade if you’re a GEO operator. The spectrum skirmishes over Ku and Ka-bands kicked things off, followed by a relentless arms race to launch increasingly more powerful HTS satellites.
SDA needs a spiral development plan for user terminals
SDA needs a spiral development plan for user terminals
An Airbus-TAS Space Merger: good, bad, or none of the above?
Press leaks on M&A discussions typically aren’t helpful (remember EchoStar’s attempt at buying Inmarsat?), but there was probably no good way to hide the fact that Airbus and Thales Alenia Space (TAS) are in early discussions about a potential merger of their space businesses.
Broader Implications of Airbus’ Struggling Space Business
Last week, Airbus announced it was taking a €900 million charge in its Space Systems business.
No slowdown in Falcon 9 Starlink launches in 2025
A change in the winds of European defense spending
Telesat Lightspeed’s supply chain is becoming real
Telesat Lightspeed’s supply chain is becoming real
Why Starlink’s foray into Indonesia is so important
Why Starlink’s foray into Indonesia is so important
Will pLEO become a nation-state obsession?
In years past, small countries often financed geostationary satellites under the auspices of national sovereignty.
The changing winds of DTD
What started as a binary battle between DTD spectrum approaches is increasingly looking like an “and” rather than an “or” outcome.
Telesat vs Starlink: a canary in the coal mine?
Companies are often reluctant to name-drop their competitors, but it’s no secret that virtually every satellite communications operator is squaring up against Starlink.
The (Laser) Shot Heard Around the World.
SpaceX is eyeing another segment of the space economy for disruption.
Hiber Emerges from HibernatIoTn
Netherlands-based IoT innovator, previously known as Magnitude Space, rebranded to "Hiber" in 2017, drawing inspiration from the idea of its modems entering a dormant state akin to “hibernating bears” between signal transmissions.
The theme of Satellite 2024: Direct to Device
Among the dozens of meetings the Quilty team conducted at Satellite 2024 in Washington DC last week, one topic emerged more than any other: direct-to-device communications.
Regional plays for multi-orbit
It goes without saying that most of the industry’s regional satellite operators are too small to field their own large LEO or MEO constellations, yet all feel the pressure to expand beyond purely GEO-based connectivity.
KVH and the rough seas ahead for maritime satellite internet
If the big fear among satellite services providers is Starlink capsizing their traditional business models, one such business model is taking on water.
Are China’s LEO constellations becoming real?
Since at least 2018, China has had two or more purported LEO constellations in the works.
OneWeb and a cardinal sin of space startups
OneWeb, now part of Eutelsat, is 12 years old, but is still paying for a common startup mistake: forgetting the ground segment.

Quilty QuickTake’s cover earth observation, satcom, space hardware, and government & defense. Register here for email notifications on sector-specific QuickTakes or all to stay up to date.