There's a growing understanding that space-based capabilities are critical for national defense strategies, and defense demand for commercial space systems has been a key trend in 2025 influencing both satellite communications, manufacturing, and imagery and sensing.

2025 brought the announcement of the Golden Dome planned missile defense architecture, and a steep ramp-up in space investment in nations around the globe. Nations are working to secure sovereign communications and access to space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) data.

This episode of On Orbit shares a webinar Via Satellite editors hosted in December on space and defense trends for 2026. Experts from Lanteris Space Systems and BlackSky shared some of the key takeaways from this trend in 2025, how commercial companies are evolving their offerings to answer the call, and what's ahead in defense adoption of commercial satellite technologies in 2026.

This episode features Krupal Patel, senior director of National Security Space Business Development for Lanteris Space Systems and Scot Currie, vice president of Geospatial Solutions for BlackSky.

The webinar was sponsored by Lanteris and BlackSky.

Forecasts on the arrival time for quantum computing vary greatly – from "it will be here in a decade" to "it's already here." There is consensus on the fact that it's coming, and when it does, it will change the way we build and protect networks in space.

In this episode of our Future Space Economy webcast series, we're joined by experts in the field to help understand how quantum computing and quantum encryption will most likely work according to the research that is being conducted today. This episode covers the concept and definition of quantum resiliency and how that will be determined in an unknown future. Experts also discuss what quantum computing could accomplish in space if these powerful systems are able to survive the harsh environment.

This is hosted by Jeffrey Hill, executive editor of Via Satellite and features Capella Space CEO Frank Backes and Joe Touch, principal scientist in the Information Systems and Cyber Division of The Aerospace Corporation.

This is the last episode of On Orbit for 2025. See you next year!

Is space crowded? Although there's been such a large increase in satellites in orbit, it's not a simple question. On Orbit revisits the question with Chiara Manfletti, CEO of Portugal-based space traffic management company Neuraspace. Chiara emphasizes the need for better coordination on space situational awareness (SSA) and space traffic management (STM) and the evolving landscape of standards and regulations.

This episode also covers how nations have taken a greater interest in working with commercial operators for SSA capabilities, and why strong SSA is critical for ensuring peace as space becomes more contested.

Computing capability has advanced rapidly on Earth, but on-board computing in space is more challenging — as chips have to be hardened to function amid the radiation environment in space. Edward Ge, co-founder and CEO of three-year old startup Aethero, is working to tackle this challenge and enable higher computing power onboard satellites.

In this On Orbit episode, Ed explains some of the challenges with space-based computing, and why there's the push to improve on-board processing to support missions like space missile defense, space domain awareness, rendezvous and proximity (RPO) operations and even future targets like orbital data centers. He sees the space industry in the midst of a transition where on-board processing will become the default, rather than the exception.

While sovereign satcom systems are not a new idea, sovereignty has become a critical issue in the satellite industry over the last year as geopolitical trends push nations to want more control over their communications and space data. This episode of On Orbit features Keith Blanchet, vice president of Global Government for ST Engineering iDirect, to dig into this global trend.

Sovereignty can involve control over space and ground assets, spectrum, cryptography, and supply chains. Blanchet gives insight into the challenges that nations work through as they make decisions about sovereign networks like affordability, local expertise, and managing scope creep, and how commercial providers work closely to meet national needs. He also talks about how multi-orbit orchestration is playing a key role as nations look to build hybrid architectures and partner with their allies.

This episode of On Orbit is sponsored by ST Engineering iDirect

In-space manufacturing on a large scale is a capability that has seemed like science fiction but is now moving closer to reality. Rendezvous Robotics, which came out of stealth mode last month, is one startup working on the challenge of how we will build a future in space.

This episode of On Orbit features co-founder Dr. Ariel Ekblaw to hear more about the autonomous, modular tiles that Rendezvous Robotics is developing to dock and build structures in space, and what this could mean for structures like large phased array antennas, solar panels, or in-space manufacturing sites.

Ariel is also the founder of the Aurelia Institute, which works to democratize space access through education and outreach. She shares her passion for building the future of human life in space, which she gave a Ted Talk on earlier this year, and how she envisions a future in space where humans don't just survive, but thrive.

The satellite industry is going through a digital transformation. In this episode of On Orbit, we're joined by a group of experts representing RF manufacturing, and both parabolic and electronically scanned antennas for a look at digitization at the edge.

Guests include Simon Swift, engineering director of ETL Systems; Dave Nicoll, strategic business director of Holkirk Communications; and John-Paul Szczepanik, CTO of All.Space. The discussion covers what digitization at the edge looks like for both conventional antennas and ESA terminals, and how it allows users at the edge with small, portable terminals to have the resilience of multiple networks without the need for multiple physical modems.

This episode of On Orbit is sponsored by ETL Systems. For more information, visit etlsystems.com.

Back from Paris, Via Satellite Editor Mark Holmes joins On Orbit host Rachel Jewett to unpack some of the top takeaways from World Space Business Week. Two themes drove much of the conversation during the week — direct-to-device (D2D) and defense. Spectrum was a big topic of conversation with SpaceX's big spectrum buy and Viasat and Space42 unveiling a new shared spectrum approach to D2D. And while defense demand is not new, it's driving conversations from satellite connectivity, imagery, and manufacturing, as Europe in particular is working though what increased defense spending means for space capabilities.

Change was another theme this year with a new venue, and lots of new faces getting together to learn about the space and satellite industry. The editors cover some of the top storylines from the week, and their favorite parts of being in Paris in September.