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                                                                    EXHIBIT 10.6
                       [SKYSTREAM CORPORATION LETTERHEAD]

                                                       Monday, September 8, 1997
Susan Ketcham
735 Nevada Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94402
(650) 343-0489

Dear Susan:

I am pleased to offer you the position of Director of Finance, reporting to
myself, Jim Olson, President and Chief Executive Officer at SkyStream
Corporation. In this position, you will be responsible for all aspects of
SkyStream's accounting and finance activities. You will also be responsible for
all aspects of our Human Resources function. As Director of Finance you will
receive a starting base salary of ninety thousand dollars ($90,000) per year.
You will also receive an annual bonus based on meeting mutually agreed
objectives. Your targeted bonus for meeting these objectives will be $20,000.
Your salary shall be paid twice per month and is subject to withholding for
federal, state and other applicable taxes.

Further, we will recommend to SkyStream's Board of Directors that you be
granted incentive stock options to purchase, 55,000 shares of SkyStream common
stock which will vest over a four year vesting schedule from the date of your
employment. Vesting will be annual for the first year and monthly the following
three years.

As an employee of SkyStream, you and your dependents will be entitled to
SkyStream medical, dental, life/AD&D, and 401k benefits as made available to
all SkyStream employees. Information on the details of our plans will be
delivered to you separately.

When you report to work, you will be expected to execute our standard company
agreement relative to patents, inventions and confidential information.

This is an offer for "at will" employment, and does not constitute an offer or
guarantee of employment for any period of time. Your employment and
compensation can be terminated at any time for any reason or for no reason,
subject to the terms hereof and your rights to compensation hereunder. If in
the first year of your employment, the company is acquired or sold, and, as a
result of such acquisition you are involuntarily or constructively terminated
without cause, you will nonetheless vest an aggregate of 25% of your stock
options. This letter constitutes the full and entire understanding and
agreement between the parties with respect to the subject of employment, and
supersedes any prior discussions.

This offer is effective through September 12, 1997. It will expire if not
accepted in writing by that date. I anticipate your start date to be October 1,
1997, or earlier. I look forward to your acceptance. Please sign and return one
of these letters upon acceptance and retain the other for your records.

Susan, we are all very excited about you joining SkyStream. We believe that
your background and accomplishments are ideal for what we need. I am confident
that you are the right person to lead our finance function and become a
valuable member of my executive team. The video networking and distribution
market is poised to explode and we excitedly look forward to exploiting that
opportunity with you at SkyStream.

Sincerely,

James D. Olson
Chief Executive Officer

ACCEPTED:   /s/ SUSAN KETCHAM                DATED:       9/8/97
         ---------------------------------         ----------------------------<PAGE>   1
                                                                    EXHIBIT 10.7

                       [SKYSTREAM CORPORATION LETTERHEAD]

                                                        Friday, January 30, 1998

Chandy Nilakantan
11746 Ridge Creek Court
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 253-6011

Dear Chandy:

I am pleased to offer you the position of Vice President of Engineering at
SkyStream Corporation. You will report to myself, Jim Olson, President and Chief
Executive Officer. In this position, you will be responsible for all aspects of
SkyStream's engineering activities. These include R & D engineering, technical
support, and quality assurance. As Vice President of engineering you will
receive a starting base salary of one hundred sixty five thousand dollars
($165,000) per year. You will receive an annual bonus payment of $30,000 for
meeting mutually agreed objectives. You and I will set these objectives within
the first 60 days of your employment at SkyStream. Your salary shall be paid
twice per month and is subject to withholding for federal, state and other
applicable taxes.

Further, we will recommend to SkyStream's Board of Directors that you be granted
incentive stock options to purchase 285,000 shares of SkyStream common stock
which will vest over a four year vesting schedule from the date of your
employment. Vesting will be annual vesting for the first year and monthly
vesting the following three years. At your option, you may elect to exercise
your stock options subject to a company Repurchase Right (the "Repurchase
Right"), that would lapse on the same schedule that the stock options would
normally vest.

As an employee of SkyStream, you and your dependents will be entitled to
SkyStream medical, dental, vision, EAP, 401(k), LTD and Life Insurance benefits
as made available to all SkyStream employees. Information on the details of our
plans will be delivered to you separately.

When you report to work, you will be expected to execute our standard company
agreement relative to patents, inventions and confidential information.

This is an offer for "at will" employment, and does not constitute an offer or
guarantee of employment for any period of time. Your employment and compensation
can be terminated at any time for any reason or for no reason, subject to the
terms hereof and your rights to compensation hereunder. This letter constitutes
the full and entire understanding and agreement between the parties with respect
to the subject of employment, and supersedes any prior discussions.

This offer is effective through Monday, February 2, 1998. It will expire if not
accepted in writing by that date. I anticipate your start date to be Monday,
February 23, 1998, or earlier. I look forward to your acceptance. Please sign
and return one of these letters upon acceptance, and retain the other letter
for your records.

Chandy, we are all excited about you joining SkyStream. We believe that your
background and accomplishments are ideal for what we need. I am confident that
you are the right person to lead our engineering function and become a valuable
member of my executive team. The video networking and distribution market is
poised to explode and we excitedly look forward to exploiting that opportunity
with you at SkyStream.

Sincerely,

/s/ JAMES D. OLSON

James D. Olson
----------------------
President and Chief Executive Officer

ACCEPTED:  /s/ CHANDY NILAKANTAN          DATED:    Feb 2, 1998
         ------------------------------         -------------------------------<PAGE>   1
                                                                    EXHIBIT 10.8

                       [SKYSTREAM CORPORATION LETTERHEAD]

                                                          Friday, April 17, 1998

Clint Chao
590 Hermosa Way
Menlo Park, CA 94025
(650) 328-6535

Dear Clint:

I am pleased to offer you the position of Vice President of Marketing at
SkyStream Corporation. You will report to myself, Jim Olson, President and Chief
Executive Officer. In this position, you will be responsible for all aspects of
SkyStream's marketing activities. As Vice President of marketing you will
receive a starting base salary of one hundred sixty thousand dollars ($160,000)
per year. You will receive an annual bonus payment of $20,000 for meeting
mutually agreed objectives. You and I will set these objectives within the first
60 days of your employment at SkyStream. Your salary shall be paid twice per
month and is subject to withholding for federal, state and other applicable
taxes.

Further, we will recommend to SkyStream's Board of Directors that you be granted
incentive stock options to purchase 250,000 shares of SkyStream common stock
which will vest over a four year vesting schedule from the date of your
employment. Vesting will be annual vesting for the first year and monthly
vesting the following three years. At your option, you may elect to exercise
your stock options subject to a company Repurchase Right (the "Repurchase
Right"), that would lapse on the same schedule that the stock options would
normally vest.

As an employee of SkyStream, you and your dependents will be entitled to
SkyStream medical, dental, vision, EAP, 401(k), LTD and Life Insurance benefits
as made available to all SkyStream employees. Information on the details of our
plans will be delivered to you separately.

When you report to work, you will be expected to execute our standard company
agreement relative to patents, inventions and confidential information.

This is an offer for "at will" employment, and does not constitute an offer or
guarantee of employment for any period of time. Your employment and compensation
can be terminated at any time for any reason or for no reason, subject to the
terms hereof and your rights to compensation hereunder. This letter constitutes
the full and entire understanding and agreement between the parties with respect
to the subject of employment, and supersedes any prior discussions.

This offer is effective through Tuesday, April 21, 1998. It will expire if not
accepted in writing by that date. I anticipate your start date to be Monday, May
4, 1998, or earlier. I look forward to your acceptance. Please sign and return
one of these letters upon acceptance, and retain the other letter for your
records.

Clint, we are all excited about you joining SkyStream. We believe that your
background and accomplishments are ideal for what we need. I am confident that
you are the right person to lead our marketing function and become a valuable
member of my executive team. The video networking and distribution market is
poised to explode and we excitedly look forward to exploring that opportunity
with you at SkyStream.

Sincerely,

/s/ JAMES D. OLSON

James D. Olson
----------------------------
President and Chief Executive Officer

ACCEPTED:  /s/ CLINT CHAO                 DATED:    4/20/98
         ------------------------------         -------------------------------

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