The rapid growth in mobile broadband demand started with the launch of the first smartphones, which spurred demand for video streaming, social networking and fast Web browsing.
In 2012, the National Academy of Sciences warned that a combination of budget pressure, program delays and a pair of launch failures in 2009 and 2011 left the United States facing a "rapid decline" in its capability to monitor land and seas from space.
The mortgage meltdown and the rapid devaluation of mortgage-backed securities has forced many of Wall Street's stalwarts to launch aggressive global fund-raisers.