SSPI

In this Better Satellite World podcast series, SSPI’s Lou Zacharilla speaks with people whose lives and work inspire us because they walk “the road less travelled,” the one leading us to a wider view of space, satellites and our quest for the dwelling of light we call “The Truth.” This series will feature people you may have heard about but may not have yet had a chance to actually hear speak.

In the second episode of The Road Less Travelled, Lou speaks with Colby Youngblood, President of Celestis, Inc. Celestis Memorial Spaceflights make the dream of spaceflight a reality by launching a symbolic portion of cremated remains into near-space, Earth orbit, to the lunar surface or even beyond. Colby is responsible for all Celestis operations with particular focus on staff management and fulfilling all significant financial goals of the company. Colby joined the United States Air Force at the age of 17 and served 20 years before he retired from active military service. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Professional Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and held leadership roles in aircraft maintenance operations, airfield operations, professional development, human resources, and strategic planning during his military career.

After retiring from the Air Force, Colby earned his M.B.A. with a specialization in Executive Leadership from the University of Houston. Before joining Celestis, he was a successful business management consultant, acting as a Co-CEO to help small businesses become more efficient and profitable.

Colby has a passion for leading teams and developing relationships. His expertise spans from professional development and leadership training to cross-functional team leadership and culture development. Colby enjoys negotiating as a hobby and was excited to attend Harvard University’s flagship negotiation course: Negotiation and Leadership at Harvard Law’s Program On Negotiation.

Colby married his best friend, Myrna, in 2000, and they have two boys, Colby Jr. and Conner.

Recent tragedies always remind us how vulnerable we are and often how much risk is acceptable and how much danger can be avoided. In this podcast, based on the July edition of the New York Space Business Roundtable, during a time when commercial, civil and government-related space activities are popping-up like flowers, we put the financial and ethical lenses on the issue of risk, reward and motive. Our guests include:

• Grant Cates, Sr Project Leader, Space Architecture Dept., The Aerospace Corporation
• Juan Cacace, Head of Global Market Access, Access Partnership
• Josef Koller, Systems Director for the Center for Space Policy and Strategy, The Aerospace Corporation

And in this podcast, we asked them:

• How much protection do explorers and innovators need?
• How much assurance does a wealthy person paying to take a dangerous risk need?
• What is an ethical risk in a system predicated on innovation, adventure, danger and profit?
• Are people duped into unsafe situations today because of outright greed and negligence?

This summer, SSPI brings you a series of guest interviewers who will interview our latest space & satellite industry guests. For the second episode, we hear from Sharon Parker-Lines, Deputy Managing Directory and Operations Director at Astroscale Ltd. Sharon is interviewed by Jessica Ratty, Founder of HALO Marketing PR & Communications.

Jessica Ratty is the Founder and leader of Halo PR and Comms; a communications agency that works with leaders in technology, deep tech, AI, Low Earth Orbit, deep space, fashion tech, out-of-home, fin tech, entertainment and social transformation industries globally and for the betterment of societies across the world. She founded HALO while working as a BBC Expert Woman contributor for the past 6.5 years. Before founding HALO, Jessica served as Managing Directory of the Cornwall Camper Company, Head of Public Relations at Crowdfunder and Communications Manager for Seachange, among other positions.

Sharon Parker-Lines is Deputy Managing Director and Operations Director for Astroscale Ltd. (Astroscale UK), the UK subsidiary of Astroscale, a position she has held for nearly 3 years. She joined Astroscale with more than 20 years of experience in operations, specializing in human resources, finance, production, commercial and strategic planning. As Operations Director, she manages and oversees the support functions of the Astroscale UK business, including finance, human resources, IT, administration and procurement, as well as managing the resource resquirements of the wider engineering team. Before joining Astroscale, Sharon served as Centre Director for the Oxford Centre for Innovation and for nine years as Chief Operating Officer of Bonnier Books UK, a global publishing company.

This summer, SSPI brings you a series of special guest interviewers who will interview our latest space & satellite industry guests. For the first episode, we hear from Lee Chew Tan, President, Smart City & Digital Solutions and Chief Commercial Officer (Mkt Development) for ST Engineering. Lee Chew is interviewed by Jennifer Hoil, Director of Product Marketing at ST Engineering iDirect and an active member of SSPI-WISE (SSPI Women in Space Engagement).

Jennifer Hoil is Director of Product Marketing at ST Engineering iDirect, a position she has held for nearly 1.5 years. Jennifer previously served as Senior Manager of Product Marketing at the company. Before joining ST Engineering iDirect, she worked as Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Isotropic Systems and Director of the Satellite Group at Sage Communications. Jennifer also served for 7 years as Account Executive for Longbottom Communications, a boutique communications firm specialized in space & satellite clients. She is an active member of SSPI-WISE and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Sustainment & Infrastructure Working Group.

Lee Chew Tan is President of Smart City & Digital Solutions and Chief Commercial Officer (Mkt Development) at ST Engineering, a position to which she was recently promoted. She previously served as President Commercial for ST Engineering. Lee Chew also currently serves as President for the Women in Tech Chapter of the Singapore Computer Society. Before joining ST Engineering iDirect, she served as Managing Director for the Worldwide Public Sector, ASEAN at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Lee Chew began her career at Hewlett Packard Asia Pacific, where she worked as Vice President of Sales, Asia Pacific for 2.5 years before moving on to become Vice President and General Manager, Servers Asia Pacific and finally Senior Vice President, Business Group, Global Sales for Hewlett Packard Enterprise. She dedicates her time to the industry outside of working hours as well, having served as a mentor for the German Accelerator Southeast Asia from May 2019 to February 2021.

In this Making Leaders podcast, we hear from Joe Spytek, CEO of Speedcast and one of three inductees to the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame in 2023. In his 17 years as Co-Founder and CEO for ITC Global, Joe Spytek grew the company from a disaster recovery start-up to a remote communications leader, coordinating the sale of the business to Panasonic in 2015. At Speedcast, he led the company through a complete recapitalization during the height of the global pandemic, while consolidating more than 15 legacy organizations, each with different networks and platforms. Just 18 months later, Speedcast had created something new – a global network delivering the multi-path, multi-orbit, software-defined service that the industry talks about as the future. It has enabled Speedcast to integrate LEO connectivity into managed-service solutions for customers to take advantage of lower latency while receiving guaranteed service levels. Speedcast now operates the industry’s largest global network, topping out at more than 30 Gbps of total bandwidth to customers in 2022 when the company stood up 65 new networks in a matter of weeks to support demand.

In this Making Leaders podcast, we hear from David Kagan, CEO of GlobalStar and one of three inductees to the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame in 2023. Dave Kagan's career began more than 25 years ago when he worked in finance and operations for Norwegian Cruise Line. There, he saw the growing value of satcom to shipboard operations and passenger satisfaction. That led him to accept a position as president and CEO of Maritime Telecommunications, whose founder and fellow Hall of Famer Richard Hadsall invented the motion-stabilized VSAT antenna.

He did the things a good leader is supposed to do: growing the company’s revenues and expanding its customer base to include cruise lines, luxury yachts, oil rigs and government vessels. But he also forged a partnership that would reinvent the company: a deal with AT&T to enable mobile phone usage on cruise ships. When the World Trade Center was attacked, the company made headlines by offering phone and internet service for free aboard dozens of ships to let passengers reach their loved ones.

In part two of Outside In, members of the 2022 “20 Under 35” cohort discuss how to break habits of mind that make it hard to envision pathways into the industry for people who are traditionally outside it.

Talent attraction is a many-faceted challenge that is top of mind for our rapidly expanding industry. We have to fill the talent pipeline, from grade school through to institutions of higher learning. And we need to attract talented individuals already in the workforce to meet immediate talent needs.

Outside In explores all the ways people are outside, and how to invite them in, inclusive of gender, ethnicity or race, nationality, other industries, other disciplines. How do we invite people in? How do we make our industry the most attractive and the most inviting?

Talent attraction is a many-faceted challenge that is top of mind for our rapidly expanding industry. We have to fill the talent pipeline, from grade school through to institutions of higher learning. And we need to attract talented individuals already in the workforce to meet immediate talent needs.

Outside In explores all the ways people are outside, and how to invite them in, inclusive of gender, ethnicity or “race,” nationality, other industries, other disciplines. How do we invite people in? How do we make our industry the most attractive and the most inviting?

In this podcast, members of the 2022 “20 Under 35” cohort join SSPI's Tamara Bond-Williams to explore this concept of “Outside In.”

In this new Better Satellite World podcast series, SSPI's Lou Zacharilla speaks with people whose lives and work inspire us because they walk "the road less travelled," the one leading us to a wider view of space, satellites and our quest for the dwelling of light we call "The Truth." This series will feature people you may have heard about but may not have yet had a chance to actually hear speak.

In the first episode of The Road Less Travelled, Lou speaks with Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ, Director of the Vatican Observatory and co-author of multiple books, including Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? and Turn Left at Orion. Brother Guy holds degrees from MIT, Harvard University and the University of Arizona and has been a member of the Catholic Church's Jesuit Order since 1989. He has authored hundreds of scientific publications in addition to his books. Brother Guy even has his own asteroid - 4597 Consolmagno - and is a recipient of the Carl Sagan Medal from the American Astronomical Society.

The greater the value of space, the greater the risks. The rise of the space economy is accelerating the business, operational, and human risks. Are we prepared to handle them?

The Safe Space podcast series – part of the Reducing the Risks of Space campaign – explores policy, law, technology, and operations in development now to manage the challenging space environment of the future. In the sixth and final episode, SSPI Engagement Director Tamara Bond-Williams pays tribute to the men and women who have lost their lives in the history of human space exploration.