Constellations - Explore Space Network Technologies with Industry Leaders

Over 20,000 smallsats are being launched over the next decade driven by the growing demand for data and services across the globe. All these new constellations need scalable, flexible, and on-demand ground services. This is driving the growth of the Ground Station as a Service (GSaaS) market. The market grew at 8.5% CAGR over the last five years and will continue to grow at a slightly slower pace over the next five years according to Euroconsult. To delve deeper into the GSaaS market and its future, we have with us today, Giovanni Pandolfi Bortoletto, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Office of Leaf Space – a GSaaS provider that operates a fully owned, globally distributed network of ground stations.

On the Constellations Podcast, we'll discuss geo-registration incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve accuracy greatly. During this episode, Ken Campbell, President of Edgybees Incorporated, will talk about how geo-registration is aligning or matching digital maps and images to real-world locations on the Earth's surface. Ken talks about how crucial it is for navigation, remote sensing, and many other fields where precise location is essential. He describes ground control points and spatially referencing an image with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In addition, Ken addresses the ability to geo-registrate data into digitized maps or images for an accurate picture and location of where things are.

On the Constellations Podcast, we'll discuss how future satellite, cellular, and Wi-Fi communication technology might evolve. During this episode, David Witkowski will talk about the evolving communication ecosystem. Hear David describe how the IEEE is considering satellite in the development of future releases of the 3GPP standard and how satellite broadband is already helping to close the digital divide. LEO broadband has already begun serving ground networks and David raises concerns about the network's capacity, and whether or not the LEO network can handle that amount of traffic.

The past two years have been rocky for space investors. Matt O'Connell, operating partner at Data Collective Venture Capital, explains what caused this pause in space investment, and more importantly, what we should expect going forward. Matt will also discuss what space investors are looking for, and how those seeking investment can improve their investment pitches. He'll also discuss the applications that will drive the market in 2023 and beyond, ChatGPT, AI, and the impact of government spending on the health of the space industry.

The smallsat industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Euroconsult estimates that one ton per day of smallsats will be launched on average over the next ten years. With this insatiable demand in the market, how is the manufacturing of smallsats keeping pace? To shed some light on this question, we have with us today, Mike Kaplan, the Vice President of Business Development for LeoStella, a specialized satellite constellation design and manufacturing company. Mike is an expert across multiple space domains with extensive experience in both government and commercial industries, previously holding senior leadership positions at NASA, Boeing, Raytheon Technologies, Ball Aerospace, and Space Systems Loral.

Fifty-six spot beams, 25 countries, and 600 million people – with even more performance and capacity on the horizon. These are the numbers supported by next-gen satellite operator, Kacific, in their mission to close the digital divide by providing universal, fast, high-quality low-cost broadband access across the Asia Pacific (or APAC) region. Until 2020, there were millions of people in the region with little or no access to the Internet. Hear Christian Patouraux as he discusses the technology it takes to connect the unconnected within APAC.

On this Constellations Podcast we'll discuss space sustainability, what it means and how it is changing. During this episode, Dr. Brian Weeden, Director of Program Planning, Secure World Foundation will discuss working with governments, industry, international organization and others to hopefully avoid conflicts in space, supporting a safer, more sustainable space environment. Hear Dr. Weeden talk about the number of constellations currently in space and the role commercial industry has played in managing over 7,000 payloads. He raises concerns regarding how different constellations will operate close to each other and how they will interface - especially if they each have their own autonomous maneuvering systems. Dr. Weeden discusses the commercial industry offering more diversified sources of data collection and more information into how space awareness data is generated. With different objectives than the military, there is more transparency in the commercial industry.

We know that we can use satellite earth observation technology to better understand our world – but now it seems possible to leverage satellites to maximize operational efficiency across multiple industries. In this Constellations Podcast, we are joined by Sateliot CEO Jaume Sanpera to discuss nanosatellites, the evolution of IoT over satellite, and how 5G IoT can solve big problems in the agriculture, transportation, energy industries and more all over the world.

In the past satellites have often been viewed by telecom service providers as a last resort of transport. As satellite looks to move from being a niche application that holds 1% of the telecom market to becoming a mainstream part of the global telecom eco-system where there is a growing move towards convergence. In this Constellations podcast, a panel of experts will discuss the opportunities, challenges and new business approaches taken by satellite and teleport operators to deepen integration with terrestrial telecommunications providers.

With billions of new devices coming online, satellite and network connectivity will become increasingly more complex and our expectations more demanding. In this episode of Constellations, we will look at what it will take to enable the new connectivity of the future. Our guests today are Rivada Space Networks' Chief Program Officer, Clemens Kaiser and Chief Commercial Officer, Ronald van der Breggen. Rivada is in the process of building a space network comprised of satellites linked by optical satellite technology. Our guests discuss the growth of optical technology and what it means for satellite data networks, the role of optical inter-satellite links in creating a space network, the trade-off between optical and RF technology and the implications of optical communications on satellite ground stations.

Digitally transformative technologies have been making their way across the satellite industry. From the core to gateways, in orbit and on the ground – there's no denying that space communications is starting to become more like space IT. Hear a panel of experts from XipLink, Kratos, and NSR, an Analysys Mason company, discuss how digital transformation is changing satellite communications at the remote terminal also known as "the edge."

On the Constellations Podcast, we'll discuss how the government can pivot and adjust in the way it procures defense technology. During this episode, Colonel Michelle Idle, the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Space Systems Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California will discuss SSC's Front Door Initiative to help improve their outreach into the commercial sector. Space Systems Command (SSC) is looking to capture the vast amounts of commercial space industry expertise as quickly as possible. The SSC is working on changing how they do business, both from how a requisition is received, how systems are acquired, and how they're delivered. Hear Colonel Idle explain how ongoing Industry Days help the government learn more about existing commercial expertise that can be leveraged, rather than reinventing the wheel.

On today's Constellations Podcast, we'll discuss emerging business and technology trends in Earth observation. With us today is Aravind Ravichandran, founder of TerraWatch Space, a company devoted to providing insight to satellite Earth observation. In this episode, Aravind will discuss emerging business models and technical advances being employed by EO, such as "space-as-a-service" and "satellite-as-a-service", data fusion and onboard computing. He will also discuss the difference between space strategy and data strategy and how they impact the EO industry. Listen as he discusses "sovereign earth observation", essentially an EO strategy for national governments.

When satellites are 500 miles from their antennas, and aircraft are traveling at over 500 miles per hour, it is difficult to fathom ways to provide faster speeds and more reliable connectivity for passengers and crew. Listen to John Peterson, Iridium's Executive Director of Aviation, as he helps us understand new technologies in the aero market that make it possible. Hear Mr. Peterson discuss how these technologies can improve performance and end-user experience and overcome the challenging physics of in-flight connectivity.

Guillaume Tanier, CEO and Co-founder of Leanspace, joined Constellations to discuss the benefits of software for space and satellite operations. Hear Mr. Tanier discuss the digitalization of the satellite ground segment including an explanation of the concept of digital continuity, the challenges of interfaces between providers, and how it is possible for developers to build their own ground segment in weeks, rather than years.

On this Constellations Podcast, we'll cover a lot of territory... from space to the ground. Our guest today is Sita Sonty, Partner and Associate Director at Boston Consulting Group and their global lead for commercial space. In this episode, Sita will discuss the satellite revolution taking place in both space and on the ground Including the future of satellite connectivity, the growth of non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites, the demand for multi-orbit antennas, and the virtualization of satellite ground systems.