In this Better Satellite World podcast, SSPI’s Lou Zacharilla speaks with Elly Perets, CEO of ASTERRA, which won a Better Satellite World Award in 2022 for its Recover satellite-based leak detection system.

Elly Perets is CEO of ASTERRA (formerly Utilis), a position he has held for 8 years. ASTERRA provides utilities around the world with cutting-edge satellite scanning technology to detect leaks in their infrastructure. Before joining ASTERRA, he founded and served as CEO of Progressive Labs, Ltd. Elly’s other experience includes serving as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Pageflex and Press-sense, as Viable Vision Expert for Goldratt Consulting and as Sales Director for SA International. He has a M.S.E. in Management of Technology from the University of Pennsylvania and a L.L.B. in Information Technology from Reichman University.

Potable water systems around the world suffer an average of 15-20% leakage rate, resulting in wasted energy usage, contamination or, in the worst cases, critically low availability of drinking water in already stressed areas. ASTERRA (formerly Utilis) developed and patented a new technology that uses reflected signals from L-Band polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) to detect potable water underground up to 2 meters. Using ASTERRA’s proprietary algorithm, potable water can be distinguished from naturally occurring or salt/brackish water. The technology can penetrate foliage and asphalt roadways, allowing detection of water leakage from utility pipes. Once the leaks are identified, field leak inspectors can pinpoint where to search for the source of the problem to repair the damage quickly and with the least possible waste. ASTERRA’s new technology, called Recover, is a low-cost alternative for finding potable water leaks that is available even to small and rural water agencies, where they frequently had few options. The company works with small and rural utilities to provide custom packages to meet their needs, as these organizations often do not have GIS programs or a formal leak detection program. ASTERRA received a Better Satellite World Award from SSPI in 2022.

In this Making Leaders podcast, we hear from Kevin Steen, CEO of OneWeb Technologies. Kevin joined OneWeb Technologies as CEO in 2022, after serving as CEO of ST Engineering iDirect for 12 years. Before ST Engineering iDirect, he served in other leadership positions, including as Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions at SAP and as Senior Director of World Wide Business Operations for Aspen Technology. Kevin is an entrepreneur who has co-founded and worked in senior leadership roles at multiple early-stage startups that were later acquired by Fortune 100 companies. He received his MBA from Northeastern University after completing a BSBA at the University of Denver.

SpaceChain CEO Clifford W. Beek and PwC Manager for Enterprise Strategy & Value, Transformation Tim Ford discuss whether or not blockchain is transforming and decentralizing commercial space already and what’s really going on in this radical decentralization of space and asset allocation and management. With a Significant Digits report from SpaceNews Senior Staff Writer Jason Rainbow and SpaceNews Silicon Valley Correspondent Debra Werner.

• Clifford W. Beek, Spacechain CEO
• Tim Ford, PwC Manager for Enterprise Strategy, Value, and Transformation

Planet was founded in 2010 as Cosmogia by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Dr. Christopher Boshuizen. The three scientists-turned-entrepreneurs had a singular vision: to image the entire Earth every day to make changes visible, accessible and actionable. They were the first to deploy cubesats in a commercial capacity, and over the past decade, they succeeded in revolutionizing the Earth observation (EO) industry and expanding access to satellite-based data far beyond the traditional defense, intelligence and agricultural sectors.

The co-founders planned to design and build their own cubesats called Doves for launch into low Earth orbit. Their first satellite was built in the archetypal California garage. Successful fundraising permitted them to launch two demonstration satellites, Dove 1 and 2, in April 2013 and two more in November, by which time the company had announced plans for a 28-satellite constellation called Flock-1. The flock was launched from the International Space Station in 2014. The Doves on-orbit service would be initially be relatively brief due to atmospheric drag, but the low cost of manufacturing and rideshare launches would make possible rapid iteration of new generations. This iterative approach allowed Planet to rapidly improve the spacecraft capabilities and reliability while simultaneously serving customers, which was a wholly new approach in the industry. Latter generation Doves would be launched into higher orbits and see normal service lifetimes.

More Flocks followed, including a recording-breaking launch of Flock 3p which consisted of 88 Dove satellites. From the total of over 500 spacecraft launched in the last decade, roughly 200 are currently active, representing continuous evolution in capabilities made possible by a cadence of 2-3 launches per year.

By May 2015, Planet had raised a total of $183 million in financing, and used it to acquire Blackbridge, operator of the RapidEye five-satellite EO constellation. Its assets grew again in 2017 with the purchase of Terra Bella and its SkySat constellation of 15 EO cubesats from Google. The Skysat constellation was to grow over the next three years to a design total of 21 spacecraft, all of which are now operational and capturing 50cm data. Combined with the whole-Earth scanning of the Dove fleet, Planet can find an identify any change on the surface of our Planet.

By imaging the entire Earth every day, Planet provides a revisit rate never before achieved. The imagery and data drawn from it is used to monitor farmers’ fields, manage crops and improve yields. It enables defense and intelligence agencies to understand events, anticipate their impacts and respond effectively. Governments use it to map land use, manage resources and monitor urbanization. As our climate changes, it guides decision-makers in responding to drought, wildfire, flooding and climate-induced migration. The company’s immense image archive also provides a global window into the past to illuminate the present and help predict the future.

The remarkable success in less than a decade of the company founded by Marshall, Schingler and Boshuizen has helped inspire explosive growth in new Earth observation technologies, as well as space data analytics and new companies including ICEYE, Capella Space, Orbital Insight and Descartes Labs. Each successful innovation is adding to our understanding of the planet and better equips humanity to ensure a sustainable future. https://spacebq.org

Planet was founded in 2010 as Cosmogia by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Dr. Christopher Boshuizen. The three scientists-turned-entrepreneurs had a singular vision: to image the entire Earth every day to make changes visible, accessible and actionable. They were the first to deploy cubesats in a commercial capacity, and over the past decade, they succeeded in revolutionizing the Earth observation (EO) industry and expanding access to satellite-based data far beyond the traditional defense, intelligence and agricultural sectors.

The co-founders planned to design and build their own cubesats called Doves for launch into low Earth orbit. Their first satellite was built in the archetypal California garage. Successful fundraising permitted them to launch two demonstration satellites, Dove 1 and 2, in April 2013 and two more in November, by which time the company had announced plans for a 28-satellite constellation called Flock-1. The flock was launched from the International Space Station in 2014. The Doves on-orbit service would be initially be relatively brief due to atmospheric drag, but the low cost of manufacturing and rideshare launches would make possible rapid iteration of new generations. This iterative approach allowed Planet to rapidly improve the spacecraft capabilities and reliability while simultaneously serving customers, which was a wholly new approach in the industry. Latter generation Doves would be launched into higher orbits and see normal service lifetimes.

The remarkable success in less than a decade of the company founded by Marshall, Schingler and Boshuizen has helped inspire explosive growth in new Earth observation technologies, as well as space data analytics and new companies including ICEYE, Capella Space, Orbital Insight and Descartes Labs. Each successful innovation is adding to our understanding of the planet and better equips humanity to ensure a sustainable future.

Planet was founded in 2010 as Cosmogia by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Dr. Christopher Boshuizen. The three scientists-turned-entrepreneurs had a singular vision: to image the entire Earth every day to make changes visible, accessible and actionable. They were the first to deploy cubesats in a commercial capacity, and over the past decade, they succeeded in revolutionizing the Earth observation (EO) industry and expanding access to satellite-based data far beyond the traditional defense, intelligence and agricultural sectors.

The co-founders planned to design and build their own cubesats called Doves for launch into low Earth orbit. Their first satellite was built in the archetypal California garage. Successful fundraising permitted them to launch two demonstration satellites, Dove 1 and 2, in April 2013 and two more in November, by which time the company had announced plans for a 28-satellite constellation called Flock-1. The flock was launched from the International Space Station in 2014. The Doves on-orbit service would initially be relatively brief due to atmospheric drag, but the low cost of manufacturing and rideshare launches would make possible rapid iteration of new generations. This iterative approach allowed Planet to rapidly improve the spacecraft capabilities and reliability while simultaneously serving customers, which was a wholly new approach in the industry. Latter generation Doves would be launched into higher orbits and see normal service lifetimes.

This episode features a roundtable conversation with Richard Baldridge, President and Chief Operating Officer at Viasat, Dr. Norman Jacknis, Senior Fellow at the Intelligent Community Forum and Professor Roberto Gallardo, Assistant Director of the Purdue Center for Regional Development and a Purdue Extension Community & Regional Economics Specialist.

Richard Baldridge joined Viasat in April 1999, serving as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer from 2000 and as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from 2002. Mr. Baldridge assumed his current role as President and Chief Operating Officer in 2003.

Mr. Baldridge was elected to the Board of Directors of Viasat in 2016. In addition, Mr. Baldridge serves as a director of Ducommun Incorporated, a provider of engineering and manufacturing services to the aerospace and defense industries, and EvoNexus, a San Diego based non-profit technology incubator. Learn more.

Dr. Norman Jacknis is currently Senior Fellow at the Intelligent Community Forum. His responsibilities include leading ICF’s Rural Imperative, building on the ideas he developed for the US Conference of Mayors on a future-oriented economic growth strategy for cities.

Before joining ICF, he was Director, Cisco’s IBSG Public Sector Group (the company’s open innovation and pro-bono strategic advisory group), where he worked extensively with states and local government, the National Association of Counties, the US Conference of Mayors and the staff responsible for the Federal government’s website and citizen engagement. In addition to citizen engagement, his focus was on economic growth, innovation, and the future of technology. Before Cisco, he was technology commissioner for Westchester County, New York, when it was one of ICF’s Top 7. Learn more.

Roberto Gallardo is Assistant Director of the Purdue Center for Regional Development and a Purdue Extension Community & Regional Economics Specialist. He holds an electronics engineering undergraduate degree, a master's in economic development, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration. Gallardo has worked with rural communities over the past decade conducting local & regional community economic development, including use of technology for development.

He has authored more than 70 articles including peer-reviewed and news-related regarding rural trends, socioeconomic analysis, industrial clusters, the digital divide, and leveraging broadband applications for community economic development.

Before 2018, there were few structural ways for communications to be rapidly restored after a major disaster struck a community. But the satellite industry understood how vital communications are as the first response to a disaster. It established the Crisis Connectivity Charter, a collaboration between the satellite industry and the humanitarian relief community to make satellite-based communications more readily available to affected communities. The Charter established a pre-planned set of systems that allow for an immediate response at the time of a disaster.

The Crisis Connectivity Charter, which won a Better Satellite World Award in 2018, was developed by members of the EMEA Satellite Operators Association (ESOA) and the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) and their members, in coordination with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC), which was led by the World Food Programme (WFP). At the time of creation, the Charter aimed to foster efficient cooperation between the satellite industry, local governments, non-government organizations (NGOs) and the broader humanitarian community in the initial stages of a disaster, allowing for better communication planning, increased connectivity and support for emergency responses. The Charter prioritized access to bandwidth during disaster responses by allocating pre-positioned satellite equipment and transmission capacity into high-risk countries. It also provides training and capacity-building for the humanitarian community around the world.

What have been the results of this historic agreement and Charter to date? In this fourth episode of Bridging the Broadband Gap, we hear from David Meltzer, Secretary General of GVF and James Matthews, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Eutelsat Group, who discuss the Charter and its effects thus far.

For three decades, Wisconsin-based Isotropic Networks has moved the satellite communications industry forward, pushing the speed limits of single and hybrid networks and showing the industry what network uptime should be. Today, it is deploying the most advanced network monitoring and throughput management platform around. In a complex world, where broadband has become an essential utility, they solve the complex satellite communications problems other companies cannot or will not. In this third episode of Bridging the Broadband Gap, we hear from Hank Zbierski, CEO and Chief Catalyst of Isotropic Networks, who co-founded the company in 1992. Hank tells us a bit about Isotropic's vision of what the satellite industry can be and what the company is doing to create more robust hybrid networks to help provide broadband everywhere. 

Hellas Sat is in a unique position to eliminate the digital divide in many areas around the world. The company received an award from the International Telcommunication Union (ITU) in 2022 and a Better Satellite World Award from SSPI in 2021 for enabling broadband connectivity to 127 public clinics and hospitals in Zimbabwe and for its efficient collection and distribution of health data to policymakers. Hellas Sat is making a difference, and it does so with a genuine passion for making the world a better place through satellite.

In this second episode of the Bridging the Broadband Gap podcast series, we hear from Ken Karantonis, Space Programs Manager at Hellas Sat, who has been with the company for nearly 20 years. Ken tells us a bit about the company’s approach to closing the digital divide in places that have particularly suffered due to lack of connectivity and how Hellas Sat makes such goals financially feasible to pursue.