Episodes
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This week Via Satellite editors Jeff Hill and Mark Holmes join the podcast to talk about their trip to Paris for the annual World Space Business Week. The annual September show was at a particularly interesting time this year, a month after the Olympics and just weeks before the U.S. presidential election.
One of the key themes from the week is just how much the industry is grappling with SpaceX’s dominance and how to compete with SpaceX in launch, satellite communications and even Earth observation with Starshield. There are so many interesting storylines in the works right now with new rockets coming online, satellite operator mergers, and evolving discussion about standards.
This episode is sponsored by AvL Technologies, an industry leading manufacturer of multi-band and multi-orbit satellite communications ground terminals for military, government and commercial applications. www.avltech.com/
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In this week’s On Orbit podcast episode, we hear firsthand about the impact the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship is making. Patti Grace Smith was a pioneer in the aerospace industry who served as the head of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation. She broke many barriers as a Black woman and was an inspiration to many. The Patti Grace Smith fellowship honors her legacy by working to combat racial inequity in the aerospace industry.
In this episode we hear from two fellows about how they have been impacted by the fellowship. AJ Bekoe was a Patti fellow in 2022 with Ball Aerospace and is now a member of the fellowship’s executive team. A graduate of Syracuse University, AJ was hired by her host company and she is now a Systems Engineer at BAE Systems.
Spencer Roberts is a member of the class of 2024, interning at ABL Space Systems. He is studying Mechanical Engineering at Santa Clara University
AJ and Spencer share their experiences with the intern program and talk about the value of the community it builds, from the cohort of fellows who spend a week together in Washington, D.C., to the network of former fellows and mentors. They also share their perspectives on how companies can step up efforts to recruit a diverse workforce, and tips for students applying for the fellowship. Applications for the class of 2025 are due by Tuesday, October 1.
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This episode in the Future Space Economy series highlights breakthroughs from leading space system manufacturers in building autonomous robots that inspect, service, assemble, build, and refuel in orbit. The discussion digs into advances in additive manufacturing, shares lessons learned from major in-space demonstrations, and outlines demand for commercially built robotics.
This episode’s guests include: Al Tadros, CTO of Redwire; Holly Johnson, vice president of Robotics and Space Operations, MDA Space; Kevin Smith, chief engineer, Orbit Fab; Joe Anderson, vice president of Space Logistics, a Northrop Grumman company.
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On-board propulsion is one of the biggest decisions that satellite operators make in the process of designing their spacecraft. The decision impacts the cost, weight, and capability of a satellite. And it can be a challenging decision to make because of the technology and fragmented nature of the propulsion market.
In this episode of On Orbit, we talk to Dr. Daniel Perez Grande, CEO and co-founder of in-space mobility company Ienai Space. Daniel breaks down some of the ways the propulsion market is evolving. As the small satellite industry matures and the orbital environment in LEO gets more congested, its driving a greater need for mobility and onboard propulsion. He explains how prospective customers and investors look at the market, and some of the challenges startup propulsion companies are facing.
Ienai Space is developing the Athena thruster, and Daniel addresses the company’s approach and the importance of looking at mobility holistically versus just a propulsion system. Also, Ienai Space is based in Madrid, and he also shares some insight into Spain’s startup space industry.
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You probably use Bluetooth every day to connect your phone to your car, speakers, and headphones. Now satellite startup Hubble Network is rethinking the bounds of Bluetooth to unlock low-cost IoT connections from space.
This week, Alex Haro, co-founder of Hubble Network, joins On Orbit. Hubble recently demonstrated a bluetooth connection from space. The company is working to build a satellite network that allows off the shelf bluetooth chips to be connected anywhere in the world via satellite.
Alex is also one of the co-founders of Life 360, a location-sharing app Life360 used by many families, and the app intends to use Hubble’s satellite technology for a global location-tracking network. In this episode, Alex shares the tech innovations that enabled Hubble to reach this milestone, the intersection of consumer and space technology, and what’s possible for individuals and industries with expanded low-cost IoT connectivity.
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OneWeb is one of the most compelling stories of the New Space era. From its start as one of the first constellation ventures, and early success, to its fall in bankruptcy and rebirth under new ownership, the company has captured the space industry's attention for years.
Caleb Henry is working to catalog that story, writing a book about OneWeb. Henry is a very familiar face to Via Satellite readers — he is a former reporter for both Via Satellite and Space News, and he is now Director of Research for Quilty Space.
Henry joins On Orbit this week to talk about his OneWeb book project. He spent the last year conducting interviews and recently secured an agent. He shares an inside look at his process — from conducting more than 250 interviews to how he’s adapting his journalistic writing style to the long-form nature of writing a book. And, Henry shares why thinks it's so important to tell the story of OneWeb.
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With the approaching retirement of the International Space Station (ISS), NASA has contracted several commercial companies to develop orbital facilities that will fulfill the need for a wide range of research and business activities in space.
In this episode, which is part of the Future Space Economy Series, we focus on NASA’s three contracted space station development partners – Axiom Space’s Axiom Hab One, Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef, and Voyager Space’s Starlab. Speakers from Voyager Space, Arkisys, and MDA Space compare and contrast deployment schedules, program costs, and capabilities of future commercial space stations in a discussion that maps out commercial space industry opportunities in a post-ISS world.
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Wildfires have a devastating impact on human and animal life, property, biodiversity, and air quality, local economies, and so much more. In this week’s On Orbit podcast, we hear about a new coalition bringing together NGOs, philanthropy, and a satellite company to change wildfire response.
Satellite company Muon Space is working with the Earth Fire Alliance, a new non-profit to build and deploy FireSat — a satellite constellation purpose-built for global wildfire response. The full satellite constellation announced in May is planned for more than 50 satellites. It was designed with input from more than 200 members of the research and fire communities.
Our guests for this episode are Cathy Olkin, former NASA scientist and principal scientist for Muon Space, and Brian Collins, executive director of Earth Fire Alliance. They share how this coalition came together and why they turned to space technology to bring new and accessible data to first responders, climate scientists, and governments.
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In this episode, we’re joined by Ashley Johnson, Planet CFO and president for a conversation about how satellite data contributes to transparency for peace and security, and how Planet works with partners to accelerate the impact of its data.
Ashley shares the successes of some specific partnerships that deal with reducing tropical forest loss and mapping the impact of climate change on vulnerable populations. When there are so many impactful use cases for satellite data, Ashley gives some insight into how Planet decides which ones to focus its resources on.
We talk about the business impact as well. As CFO and president, Ashley tells her team that they have to “do well in order to do good,” emphasizing that Planet needs to be financially sound in order to have the greatest impact for good.
This episode is sponsored by AvL Technologies, an industry leading manufacturer of multi-band and multi-orbit satellite communications ground terminals for military, government and commercial applications.
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Connectivity is the cornerstone of today’s global economy and it will certainly be the case for the Future Space Economy, with even more complex, data-centric applications. We spent decades building the global satellite connectivity infrastructure around Earth, is it possible to replicate Earth’s satellite connectivity infrastructure on the Moon, or on other planets?
This episode of the On Orbit Future Space Economy series explores what deep space satellite networks will look like, and how they will be built to perform in extraordinary environments. We’ll also discuss the history of deep-space exploration and research satellites and what we’ve learned from those missions.
This episode features Matthew Harris, space focus area lead for QinetiQ; James Spicer, technical director of Kepler Communications US; and Sita Sonty, CEO of Space Tango. This episode was recorded live at SATELLITE 2024.
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In this week’s On Orbit episode, we’re joined by Patrick Shannon, CEO of TrustPoint. Patrick won the 2024 Startup Space pitch contest at SATELLITE in March, competing against nine other startups.
TrustPoint is building a commercial GPS system, and working toward its own constellation of around 300 spacecraft in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) to offer GPS services that have more affordable precision, better security, and greater availability. Patrick breaks down some of the the limitations of traditional GPS and why we are now seeing more commercial businesses like TrustPoint looking to provide new solutions to GPS issues.
He takes us inside the Startup Space experience, talks about the impact it has made on the company so far, and previews what’s next for TrustPoint. The company is shifting out of an internal R&D phase and into more demonstrations and testing with customers and partners.
This episode is sponsored by AvL Technologies, an industry leading manufacturer of multi-band and multi-orbit satellite communications ground terminals for military, government and commercial applications. Learn more at https://www.avltech.com/
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We have a special On Orbit episode from SATELLITE 2024 this week, a fireside chat with Impulse Space CEO Tom Mueller. Mueller is considered one of the world’s leading spacecraft propulsion experts. As one of SpaceX‘s founding members, he led the development of propulsion systems for the Falcon 1, Falcon 9, and Falcon Heavy, as well as the Dragon line of spacecraft. His work was crucial in the development of reusable rocket technology.
Mueller spoke with Via Satellite editor-in-chief Mark Holmes during SATELLITE about his new company Impulse Space, an in-space transportation company working to deliver payloads to LEO, GEO, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Mueller describes his vision for Impulse Space to provide the transportation for the space economy of the future with Mira and the recently announced Helios kick stage.
Our next episode will also be from SATELLITE. We’ll share the kickoff for the 2024 Future Space Economy series, Building Deep Space Satellite Connectivity Networks. This discussion features experts from QinetiQ, Space Tango, and Kepler Communications. Expect that in your feeds on April 16.
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A few weeks ago, space security issues took center-stage in the news after reports of a nuclear satellite weapon. This raised a lot of questions — What would a nuclear weapon mean in space? Why would Russia pursue this?
In this week’s On Orbit episode, we dig into these questions with Dr. Brian Weeden, chief program officer of the Secure World Foundation, an organization that works to promote secure, sustainable, and peaceful uses of outer space. Weeden is an expert on space security issues and conducts research on issues like space debris, protecting space assets, and space governance. He explains the physical and geopolitical consequences of detonating a nuclear weapon in space, implications for the Outer Space Treaty, and how this situation has raised awareness of security issues in space.
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We often take for granted how much of our modern lives are underpinned by GPS technology. This episode of On Orbit digs into GPS and the global landscape of GNSS, which stands for Global Navigation Satellite System. Dr. Sean Gorman, CEO of new startup Zephr, joins as this episode’s guest.
We talk about how much economic value is supported by GNSS technology, the GNSS geopolitical landscape including China’s investment in the BeiDou constellation, private GNSS systems, and why this technology will be important for future use cases. Sean also talks about how Zephr fits into this landscape, and how working at Snapchat and dealing with GPS accuracy on mobile devices led to the idea for the company.
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In this episode, On Orbit interviews Sonali Mohapatra, who works in quantum innovation at the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) in the U.K. Sonali breaks down quantum technology and shares some of the future use cases that relate to the space industry. Read more about the quantum use cases for space in Sonali’s cover story in the Via Satellite November edition.
In Sonali’s role as Quantum Innovation Sector Lead at the center she works to encourage quantum readiness across different sectors including space, healthcare energy, and more. We talk about some of the human implications of the responsibility she feels to contribute to quantum technology development in a way that serves the greater good.
Sonali is a very creative person and deeply passionate about diversity and gender issues. We talk about how she brings all of that together in her work and the importance of a multidisciplinary approach, and mentoring and diversity initiatives she has been a part of.
Read the quantum article here: https://interactive.satellitetoday.com/via/november-2023/imagining-the-future-of-quantum-computing-for-space/
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There is always an inherent risk when doing anything in space. That said, a handful of space sustainability-minded companies are working hard to minimize those risks and prevent self-inflicted catastrophes. In this episode, we’ll learn about the true scope of the threat posed by space debris, congestion and the lack of situational awareness and about the technologies and solutions being deployed to keep space clean. We’ll also explore the value of space sustainability economy itself, and how government and private investment in green space tech will pay off in the future.
This episode features Patricia Cooper, president and founder of Constellation Advisory; Audrey Schaffer vice president of Strategy & Policy for Slingshot Aerospace; and Kristin Shahady, business development manager for Astroscale U.S.
This episode is part of the Future Space Economy Series which brings together global industries, space leaders, governments, and educators to explore practical applications for space infrastructure and technologies. Season Two kicks off live at SATELLITE 2024 with the session, Building Deep Space Satellite Connectivity Networks, on March 20. Register for SATELLITE to attend in person.
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Space has a compelling story to tell, but it can be a challenge to craft the message. As Space is such a technical sector, it can be hard for leadership to communicate the value of what they do to investors, media, and the public.
It’s Sarah Nickell’s job to craft that message. As a PR professional with her own firm, Nickell works with companies like Voyager Space and York Space Systems to tell their stories. She has worked with Via Satellite for years, and she has had stories placed in national publications like Bloomberg, ABC News, and Vice. In our first episode of 2024, Nickell gives a look behind the scenes at the world of space public relations.
This episode is an interesting journalism/public relations crossover about what it’s like to be on both sides of the conversation. It’s also a crash course for listeners that aren’t familiar with media and public relations. The conversation covers topics like building a messaging strategy, managing national security concerns in communications, and how Nickell manages running a small business.
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2023 was a big year in news in the satellite industry. Nearly all the top operators saw a mix of leadership changes, mergers and acquisitions, and major constellation updates.
In this episode, Via Satellite editors Rachel Jewett, Mark Holmes, and Jeff Hill recap some of the biggest announcements in the satellite sector of 2023, and how they set the stage for 2024.
This is our last episode of the year and we’ll be back with new episodes in January. Thank you for listening to On Orbit this year!
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SSC’s mission is: “We help Earth benefit from Space.” For SSC — Swedish Space Corporation — fulfilling that mission involves its extensive ground network that supports launches with real-time TT&C data and communicating with payloads. This episode of On Orbit features a conversation with Erwin Mercado, president and CEO of the company’s U.S. subsidiary, SSC Space US Inc, about the value of space communications.
Erwin talks about the company’s rich history in space. Formerly known as Universal Space Network, the company was founded by Pete Conrad, commander of the Apollo 12 mission and third person to walk on the Moon. Erwin shares how the company has built up a portfolio of ground stations around the world to form the link between Earth and space, and how these communications are critical to support space missions.
This episode of On Orbit is sponsored by SSC. For more information, visit sscspace.com/
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What do satellite policy and space movies have in common? For starters, space debris often plays a key role in both. In this episode of On Orbit, we talk about regulation and space movies with Henry Gola, a partner in Wiley’s Telecom, Media & Technology practice. Gola has been part of some of the biggest regulatory developments, like representing the C-Band Alliance before the FCC. He gives a review of some of the top policy issues at the FCC right now, and we dig into the details of the regulatory framework for satellite-to-cell coverage.
Gola also leads the “Hosted Payload” series on the Wiley Connected podcast, where he talks about famous space movies with policy experts. We chat about some of his favorites like “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Gravity,” and how movies have raised awareness of issues like space debris.
Hosted Payload link: https://soundcloud.com/wileyconnected
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