Hughes Satellite Systems files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with $1.5 billion debt deadline looming

Hughes Satellite Systems, the satellite internet arm of EchoStar Corporation, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company faces a $1.5 billion note maturity on August 1, 2026, and reported just $102 million in cash as of March 31, 2026. The filing arrives without a pre-negotiated restructuring plan. It also marks the second Chapter 11 filing from the EchoStar family in a matter of weeks, following subsidiary DISH DBS Corporation’s prepackaged bankruptcy on June 30, 2026. A cash crisis years in the making Back in November 2025, Hughes’s 10-Q filing with the SEC raised explicit doubts about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Hughes has hemorrhaged satellite internet subscribers over the past six years, steadily eroding the revenue base it needed to service its debt. Meanwhile, the $1.5 billion maturity sat on the calendar while EchoStar’s broader SEC filings indicated that the parent company lacked sufficient cash and liquidity to meet its obligations over the coming twelve months. Hughes has retained White & Case LLP and FTI Consulting as financial advisors to navigate the restructuring process. The Chapter 11 filing grants Hughes an automatic ...