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Contracts, deals, capital and backlog in the orbital economy — read through primary sources. The filing is always the receipt; every claim traces to a document.

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SEC · IPFilings & patents

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24 articles indexed

Space

Hughes Is Filing to Squeeze More Return-Link Capacity Out of the Ground, Not the Sky

A newly published Hughes application manages satellite upstream capacity by reallocating gateway channels to match demand. The lens it points at is efficiency of the installed network, using software and prediction rather than new spectrum.

By Sam Whitlock · Jul 2, 2026 · Patent record

Space

Milestone-Based Satellite Services Arrangements, Explained

Some space companies sell whole satellite programs as long-term, milestone-based arrangements, billing as contractual milestones are met. Here is how a real 10-K describes the structure and how revenue is recognized against it.

By Daniela Frost · Jun 22, 2026 · SEC

Space

Fixed-Price, Cost-Reimbursable and IDIQ: Space Contract Types Explained

A space company's contract mix shapes its margins and its risk. Here is what fixed-price, cost-reimbursable, time-and-materials and IDIQ contracts mean, and why an IDIQ ceiling is not the same as an obligation, in the words of real filings.

By Jonah Reyes · Jun 22, 2026 · SEC

Space

Reading a Space Company's Government-Revenue Concentration Risk

When a large share of a space company's revenue comes from government customers, its filings disclose the dependence as a risk factor. Here is what that concentration exposes a company to, in the words of a real 10-K.

By Sam Whitlock · Jun 22, 2026 · SEC

Space

What the SEC's SPAC Disclosure Rules Mean for Space Companies

Many new-space companies went public by merging with a SPAC. In 2024 the SEC adopted rules to align SPAC and de-SPAC disclosures with traditional IPOs. Here is what the rules require and why the structure matters.

By Elena Vossberg · Jun 22, 2026 · SEC

Space

What a Going Concern Disclosure Means for a Pre-Revenue Space Company

A going-concern warning is a formal statement that there is substantial doubt about whether a company can fund itself for the next year. Here is what triggers the disclosure and how a real space-company filing frames the risk.

By Elena Vossberg · Jun 22, 2026 · SEC

Space

How Space Companies Recognize Revenue Over Time on Long Contracts

Many space contracts are recognized as revenue gradually, using a cost-to-cost method, rather than all at once on delivery. Here is how a real 10-K describes the over-time, single-performance-obligation accounting that drives a space company's reported sales.

By Daniela Frost · Jun 22, 2026 · SEC

Space

Funded vs. Unfunded Backlog in Space and Defense Filings

Backlog is not one number. A space or defense company's funded backlog is money already committed to the work; unfunded backlog is contracted scope that still depends on future appropriations. The distinction is disclosed, and it matters.

By Sam Whitlock · Jun 22, 2026 · SEC

Space

What Remaining Performance Obligations Mean on a Space Company's Books

Remaining performance obligations are the contracted-but-unrecognized revenue a space company has under signed deals. Here is how the disclosure is defined in a real SEC filing and why it differs from a press-release backlog number.

By Sam Whitlock · Jun 22, 2026 · SEC

Space

Airbus Defence and Space Is Filing Across Positioning, Stealth and Lunar Resources at Once

A newly published Airbus Defence and Space application describes a muted reference-signal method for positioning services. Read against the company's recent filing cluster — spanning PNT, stealth weapons integration, radar-absorbing materials and lunar oxygen production — it points to a prime spreading R&D across the full space-and-defense map rather than one program.

By Sam Whitlock · Jun 18, 2026 · Patent record

Space

Dawn Aerospace's Latest Filing Doubles Down on a Simpler Rocket Motor

A newly published Dawn Aerospace application re-files the company's rocket-motor feed system built around a passive sonic choke and self-pressurized propellants. Paired with its earlier grant, the filing points to a new-space firm concentrating its IP on propulsion simplicity rather than breadth.

By Elena Vossberg · Mar 20, 2026 · Patent record

Space

Lockheed's New Grant Maps the Plumbing Behind Its Phased-Array Antennas

A Lockheed Martin patent issued March 17 covers high-density radio-frequency connections for the electronically steered arrays used in satellites and space systems. Read against a cluster of recent Lockheed antenna grants, it extends issued coverage from the radiating face of an array down into the interconnects that make it manufacturable.

By Daniela Frost · Mar 20, 2026 · Patent record

Space

Hughes Is Filing Toward a Multi-Band, Multi-Orbit, Direct-to-Device Future

A recently published Hughes Network Systems application describes balancing satellite-terminal traffic across two frequency bands at once. Read against a cluster of recent Hughes filings, it points to a company spending R&D on stitching GEO, LEO and cellular into one managed pipe — including direct-to-device.

By Sam Whitlock · Mar 27, 2026 · Patent record

Space

Airbus Locks In a Patent for Imaging and Laser-Downlinking in One Pass

An Airbus Defence and Space patent issued March 24 covers an Earth-observation spacecraft that interleaves image capture and laser data transmission within a single orbit by precisely re-pointing between tasks. Read against the company's deep satellite footprint, it extends issued coverage from building and moving satellites toward getting their data to the ground faster.

By Jonah Reyes · Mar 27, 2026 · Patent record

Space

General Dynamics' Filings Point Toward Light-Based Links in Space

A General Dynamics Mission Systems application published April 2 covers printing circuits onto curved surfaces. Set against the unit's recent run of free-space-optics and quantum-communications filings, the cluster points to a quiet build-out of optical and quantum links and resilient navigation for contested space and defense networks.

By Daniela Frost · Apr 3, 2026 · Patent record

Space

Blue Origin's New Grant Maps the Math Behind a Steady Space Station

A Blue Origin patent issued March 31 covers using continuous electric propulsion to hold a large crewed space vehicle in 'pristine microgravity' against atmospheric drag in low Earth orbit. Read against the company's deep launch-and-vehicle grants, it extends issued coverage from getting to orbit toward living and working there.

By Jonah Reyes · Apr 3, 2026 · Patent record

Space

Mitsubishi Electric Is Quietly Patenting the Business Layer of Space Traffic

A Mitsubishi Electric application published in April describes a 'mega-constellation business device' that coordinates debris-removal services across rival constellation operators. Set against the company's earlier filings, the cluster points to a bet on the commercial infrastructure of orbital traffic management, not just the hardware.

By Sam Whitlock · Apr 10, 2026 · Patent record

Space

DISH's New Patent Locks In the Plumbing of Its Satellite Fleet

A DISH Network patent issued April 7 covers a system that monitors spot-beam signal health across a satellite transmission network and predicts remediation before quality slips. Read against DISH's older satellite grants, it maps issued coverage over the ground-and-space operations layer that keeps a broadcast fleet on the air.

By Elena Vossberg · Apr 10, 2026 · Patent record