Hughes bondholders push for examiner into $1.5 billion EchoStar transfers
Hughes Satellite Systems bondholders allege EchoStar stripped over $1.5 billion from the subsidiary before its Chapter 11 filing.
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HIE acquires Orbex's failed Sutherland Spaceport assets
Highlands and Islands Enterprise bought Sutherland Spaceport's assets out of liquidation, leaving the site's future launch use undecided.
Hughes Network Systems files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
EchoStar's satellite broadband unit files Chapter 11 after missing an August 1 debt deadline, without a pre-negotiated plan.
Hughes Network Systems, EchoStar's satellite broadband subsidiary, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 2 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, per Advanced Television. Hughes had $102 million in cash on hand against $1.5 billion in borrowings that matured August 1, and filed without a pre-negotiated restructuring plan. EchoStar's own SEC 8-K, filed the same day, discloses an Item 1.03 bankruptcy event.
EchoStar's Dish units enter prepackaged Chapter 11 to clear the spectrum sales
Dish DBS and Dish Wireless file prepackaged Chapter 11; EchoStar, Hughes and the AT&T spectrum sale continue.
Orbex enters UK administration after acquisition and funding talks collapse
Orbex filed for UK administration in February after Series D funding talks and an acquisition by The Exploration Company both fell through.
Orbex, developer of the UK's Prime small launch vehicle, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators on February 11, 2026, after failing to close a Series D funding round or complete a previously announced acquisition by French company The Exploration Company, per SpaceNews, Via Satellite, and European Spaceflight. Orbex, a winner of ESA's European Launcher Challenge that had received EUR34.9 million ($41.5 million) from the program, had already shut down its Danish rocket-engine subsidiary and laid off about 90 employees in January; administration puts roughly 150 further UK jobs at risk. CEO Phil Chambers said: "Disappointing doesn't come close to describing how we feel about this moment."