The world is buzzing with excitement about the new space race. Companies like Starlink are launching thousands of satellites to blanket the Earth with high-speed internet, while researchers dream of 6G networks that could connect us faster than ever. Rockets are landing upright, and AI is optimizing satellite constellations in real time. It’s easy to get caught up in the futuristic headlines, but the story of today’s satellite boom didn’t start in a cleanroom or a mission control center. It began decades ago, in workshops and labs, with engineers who had little more than their ingenuity and a vision for connecting the world.
Long before the internet or reusable rockets, a small group of pioneers built the foundations of global communication. They designed the circuits, antennas, and systems that made it possible to send voices and data across continents and, eventually, into orbit. Among them was Edward Mitri Karkar, a Palestinian-American engineer whose San Francisco-based company, Karkar Electronics, played a vital role in shaping the early days of satellite communication. His work and the legacy carried forward by his son, Andrei Karkar, remind us that today’s high-tech marvels stand on the shoulders of those who came before.
The Dawn of Satellite Communication
To understand the significance of Karkar’s contributions, we need to step back to the 1960s and 1970s. The world was in the grip of the Cold War, and space was the ultimate frontier. The launch of Sputnik in 1957 had kicked off a race to dominate the skies, but satellites weren’t just about prestige—they were about communication. Governments, militaries, and businesses needed ways to send information across vast distances quickly and reliably.
Satellites offered a solution, but they were only half the equation. For a satellite to work, it needed ground stations—complex facilities with antennas, transmitters, and receivers that could send and receive signals from orbit. These earth stations were the unsung heroes of the satellite age, and building them was no small feat. They required precision engineering, robust hardware, and the ability to handle massive amounts of data in an era when computers were still room-sized behemoths.
This was the world Edward Karkar stepped into when he founded Karkar Electronics in 1959. Born in Jaffa, Palestine, and a former refugee, Karkar was one of the first Palestinians to achieve significant success in the United States. With a degree from UC Berkeley and experience at Stanford, he brought a unique perspective to the burgeoning tech scene in what would later become Silicon Valley. His company wasn’t chasing headlines or trying to build satellites—it was focused on the critical infrastructure that made satellite communication possible.
Karkar Electronics: Building the Backbone
While many companies in the 1960s were fixated on the satellites themselves, Karkar understood that the ground segment was just as important. Without reliable earth stations, even the most advanced satellite was useless. Karkar Electronics specialized in designing and manufacturing the components that powered these stations, from microwave filters to high-density multiplexers and baseband systems.
One of Karkar’s key contributions was providing equipment for earth stations across the Middle East and Europe. In countries like Sudan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, Karkar’s systems enabled satellite uplinks that carried voice calls, data, and television broadcasts across borders. This was a time when international communication was still a novelty—most people had never made a long-distance phone call, and the idea of watching a live broadcast from another continent was mind-blowing. Karkar’s technology helped make these connections a reality, laying the groundwork for the globalized world we live in today.
Karkar Electronics became a trusted supplier to major players like Raytheon, AT&T, and MCI, as well as the U.S. Department of Defense and NATO. Its equipment was adopted as a standard for military communications, including mobile command centers that needed to operate in challenging environments. This wasn’t just about building gadgets—it was about creating systems that were reliable, scalable, and tough enough to handle the demands of real-world use.
Innovation in the Analog Age
What set Karkar Electronics apart was its ability to push the boundaries of what was possible with analog technology. In the 1960s and 1970s, digital systems were still in their infancy, and most communication relied on analog signals. This meant engineers had to be creative, designing hardware that could process and transmit huge amounts of data without the benefit of modern computing power.
One of Karkar’s standout innovations was its high-density multiplexers, which could handle over 10,000 channels of communication at once. To put that in perspective, a single multiplexer could manage thousands of phone calls or data streams simultaneously—a feat that was unmatched at the time and wouldn’t be replicated until the digital era. These multiplexers were the backbone of many earth stations, allowing them to process massive amounts of information with minimal latency.
Karkar Electronics also developed advanced microwave radios and analog-to-digital converters, which were critical for bridging the gap between ground-based systems and satellites. These components were used in everything from civilian telecom networks to military operations, where reliability could mean the difference between success and failure. The company’s baseband systems, which handled the raw signals before they were transmitted to or from a satellite, were particularly prized for their modularity and resilience.
Today, we take for granted the ability to stream video calls or download data from space in milliseconds. But in Karkar’s time, achieving even a fraction of that performance required painstaking engineering. Every circuit had to be designed by hand, and every component tested rigorously. Edward Karkar and his team weren’t just building equipment—they were inventing the future, one solder joint at a time.
A Vision for Global Connectivity
Edward Karkar wasn’t just a brilliant engineer; he was a visionary who saw the bigger picture. He understood that communication wasn’t just about technology—it was about bringing people together. In an era of geopolitical tension, his systems enabled real-time connections between nations, fostering cooperation and understanding. His work in the Middle East, in particular, helped bridge cultural and political divides, allowing countries to share information and collaborate in ways that were previously impossible.
Karkar’s impact extended beyond his company. He was a mentor to a generation of engineers and entrepreneurs, many of whom went on to shape Silicon Valley’s tech ecosystem. His ability to combine technical expertise with strategic thinking made him a luminary in the telecommunications field, and his contributions helped create the fertile environment that drives innovation today. As his 2013 obituary noted, “Edward Karkar was considered a Silicon Valley pioneer, cultivating a generation of technology executives and entrepreneurs and laying groundwork for the fertile environment that exists today.”
Karkar’s personal story added depth to his achievements. As a Palestinian refugee who immigrated to the United States, he faced significant challenges but never let them define him. Instead, he used his talents to build a legacy that transcended borders. His marriage to Natalia Makarova, a renowned Soviet-Russian ballerina, and his involvement in cultural and philanthropic causes, like the Institute for Social and Economic Policy in the Middle East at Harvard, reflected his belief in the power of connection, whether through technology or the arts.
The Legacy Continues: Andrei Karkar and ERAS Holdings
Edward Karkar passed away in 2013, but his legacy lives on through his son, Andrei Karkar, and the family’s investment firm, ERAS Holdings. Founded on the wealth and vision of Karkar Electronics, ERAS Holdings has shifted its focus to the future, investing in emerging technologies, clean energy, and digital infrastructure. Under Andrei’s leadership, the firm continues to support innovation, much like Edward did decades ago.
Andrei Karkar, a Georgetown University graduate, brings a modern perspective to his father’s mission. With experience at UBS and Bank of America, he leads a team that invests globally in public and private markets, with a particular emphasis on disruptive technologies. ERAS Holdings has backed projects in areas like deep-sea mining, artificial intelligence, and sustainable energy, reflecting a commitment to solving big problems through innovation.
Like his father, Andrei sees technology as a tool for progress. ERAS Holdings isn’t just about financial returns—it’s about empowering the next generation of builders to tackle challenges like climate change and digital inequality. In this way, the Karkar family’s work has come full circle, from laying the foundations of global communication to supporting the systems that will define the future.
The Unsung Heroes of the Satellite Boom
Today’s satellite boom is a testament to human ingenuity, but it’s also a reminder of how far we’ve come. The Starlinks and OneWebs of the world rely on technologies that were unimaginable in the 1960s, yet they owe a debt to the engineers who built the first earth stations and multiplexers. Edward Karkar and Karkar Electronics were among those pioneers, creating the infrastructure that made global connectivity possible.
Their story is a quiet one, overshadowed by the flash of rocket launches and the hype of megaconstellations. But it’s a story worth telling. Every time you make a video call, stream a movie, or check your GPS, you’re benefiting from the work of people like Edward Karkar, who saw the potential of communication to change the world. And through Andrei Karkar and ERAS Holdings, that vision continues to inspire.
So, the next time you hear about a new satellite launch or a breakthrough in 6G, take a moment to think about the ground stations, the circuits, and the visionaries who started it all. The satellite boom may be reaching for the stars, but its roots are firmly planted in the past, on the ground, where engineers like Edward Karkar built the world we live in today.
