SSPI

In this Better Satellite World episode of the SSPI podcast, Director of Development and Innovation Lou Zacharilla speaks with Abhas Maskey, Project Manager for the international collaboration BIRDS Satellite Project, about his work with the project and how it has led to the establishment of a brand new space agency in his home country of Nepal.  

Abhas Maskey was singularly responsible for igniting a national space program and enthusiasm for space and satellites in Nepal. Thanks to his efforts with BIRDS, Nepal has established and funded its first space agency. Abhas joined SSPI in London for the Better Satellite World Awards Dinner in 2019, where he accepted an award on behalf of the BIRDS Project.

 

The Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite (BIRDS) Project was initiated in 2015 by the Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan with the help of over ten partner institutions. It was envisioned by Dr. Mengu Cho, Professor at Kyutech, who became Principal Investigator for the Project. The BIRDS Project trains graduate students from many developing countries in using innovative and cost-effective systems engineering during the course of a two-year satellite project. The BIRDS project was selected by the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC) as the winner of the 2017 GEDC Airbus Diversity Award for diversity in engineering. The Project has provided training for students from many countries including: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Egypt, Ghana, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, Paraguay, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, and Turkey. One BIRDS project is begun each year, with 2019 marking the fourth generation (BIRDS-4) since the Project’s inception. The yearly projects are carried out by graduate students enrolled at Kyutech for a masters or doctoral degree, and such projects are supervised by four Kyutech faculty members.

In this Better Satellite World episode of the SSPI podcast, Director of Development and Innovation Lou Zacharilla speaks with David Hartshorn, CEO of Geeks Without Frontiers, about why he decided to become Head Geek, how he uses his deep expertise in the satellite industry to make positive changes and how developing countries are able to create sustainable business models through his work.

David Hartshorn is no stranger to the Better Satellite World. He has led two critical industry campaigns for the preservation of spectrum rights. He led the Global VSAT Forum for two decades, where he helped transform disaster preparedness worldwide and was a recipient of the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award. David’s primary responsibilities included enabling expanded access to satellite-based solutions through financially sustainable business models, regulatory & policy advocacy, spectrum coordination, training & education, technology validation, and engagement with private and public sector satellite stakeholders in all nations. Eighteen months ago, he went to Washington to accept a position as the CEO of Geeks Without Frontiers.

Geeks Without Frontiers (Geeks) is a platform for global impact. A technology neutral nonprofit, Geeks’ mission is to bring the benefits of broadband connectivity – health, education, poverty reduction, gender equality and the other UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) – to the estimated 3.5 billion people who remain unconnected. Sponsored by government and private-sector stakeholders, Geeks has developed a commercially sustainable, satellite-based connectivity model, designed to help address forced labor and human trafficking in the commercial fishing industry. In addition to addressing Human Rights concerns via vessel geo-positioning and providing connectivity to the crew, the model has commercial benefits for vessel owners including the ability to transmit catch reports, monitor weather, conduct safe navigation and send distress signals. The same model can also be used to better address Illegal Unreported and Unregulated fishing, overfishing and seafood fraud. The Geeks model supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), particularly in the areas of innovation, industry, infrastructure, life below water, peace, justice, strong institutions, and partnerships.

"In this Better Satellite World episode of the SSPI podcast, Director of Development and Innovation Lou Zacharilla speaks further with Chris Lee, Chief Scientist at the UK Space Agency, about the UK Space Agency's International Partnership Programme, which won a Better Satellite World Award in 2019. Chris Lee oversees the UK Space Agency's International Partnership Programme (IPP). He holds a degree in space science, with his primary concentration on missions supporting astronomy, planetary sciences and earth observation. In 2014, Dr. Lee was invited to join the newly formed UK Space Agency as its very first Head of International Space Policy in order to enact a first-time strategy focused on satellite data services as a showcase for the capabilities of the United Kingdom's science and technology.  The UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Programme (IPP) is a five-year, £30M/year ‘space for development’ programme established in 2016, and currently the largest undertaking of its kind in the world. It focuses on utilising the UK space sector’s research and innovation capabilities to deliver sustainable economic and societal benefits to emerging and developing economies around the world. IPP has so far grant-funded 33 projects in 44 countries across Africa, Asia-Pacific and South America, which are run by a large variety of UK and international organisations across industry, academia and non-profit entities. These projects address a variety of critical issues, including reducing deforestation, climate/disaster resilience, remote learning, land-use monitoring, reducing maritime problems, health and renewable energy. The projects generally take between two and five years to be delivered, and range from £500k to £15M in grant value plus match funding. IPP’s portfolio of partners now include 122 space sector organisations and 132 international organisations."

In this Better Satellite World episode of the SSPI podcast, we hear from Stewart Sanders, Executive Vice President of Technology at SES Networks. In his current role at SES Networks, Stewart is responsible for O3b mPOWER program development, ensuring that all technical and commercial aspects are aligned and running smoothly. His responsibilities also include ground and space engineering, procurement, and technical innovation and product development. Prior to SES Networks, Stewart was CTO of O3b Networks, which has now merged with SES’s data business to form SES Networks.

In his previous role at SES, Stewart was Senior Vice President of Planning & Procurement, making him responsible for satellite and launch vehicle procurement activities, satellite fleet technical planning and innovation program management. His team also performed technical risk analysis as well as support of fleet launch and in-orbit insurance placement activities. In a prior role as Senior Vice President of Customer Service Delivery at SES, Stewart also supported O3b activities. Throughout his career, Stewart has served in various satellite and payload operations roles for BTI, Intelsat, ICO, NEW SKIES SATELLITES and SES. One of the highlights of his career before SES Networks was as a team member of the Intelsat/NASA satellite re-boost mission in 1992. Stewart was instrumental in forming the Space Data Association for which he was the founding Chairman; the unique industry data-sharing organization won both SSPI and World Space Risk Forum innovation awards in 2012. 

In a conversation with SSPI's Director of Innovation and Development Lou Zacharilla, Stewart talked about how a lack of broadband connectivity in remote areas leaves many out of the modern economy and how SES Networks' mPOWER aims to provide the solution - connectivity for even the hardest-to-reach areas of the world via the most powerful and flexible satellite network in the world

In this Better Satellite World episode of the SSPI podcast, we conclude the conversation with Mike Safyan, VP of Launch at Planet. Mike began his career in the space industry at NASA Ames, where he worked on the PhoneSat project, developing low-cost CubeSat platforms that use smartphone technology. In 2011, he joined the eight-person founding team at Planet Labs as a systems engineer. As the company grew from the initial eight employees to a global organization of over 450 people, Mike moved through a wide range of roles, from export regulatory licensing & compliance, overseeing Planet’s global ground station network to managing Planet’s launch strategy, the position he holds today.

In his early career at Planet, Mike was responsible for obtaining the company’s FCC Operational License, the first ever obtained for commercial CubeSats. Since then, he has been involved in the launch of over 300 satellites across twenty different launch attempts, helping Planet’s fleet grow to the largest in the world. Mike has served as an advocate for the SmallSat community as well as for Planet throughout his career, speaking at multiple conferences and workshops and negotiating with satellite operators including Orbcomm, DigitalGlobe, Spire, and NASA to establish fair and equitable spectrum and orbital sharing agreements. In 2017, Mike oversaw Planet’s record-breaking launch of 88 Dove satellites on India’s PSLV. The launch allowed Planet to achieve its Mission One: imaging the entire Earth every day from space. Mike was a member of SSPI's inaugural 20 Under 35 list in 2018 and was a Promise Award winner in that same year. He is also a member of SSPI's Board of Directors.

In this podcast, Mike spoke with SSPI Director of Development and Innovation Lou Zacharilla about Planet's mission, its Dove constellation and how Earth imaging contributes to a better world for us all.

 

 

In this Better Satellite World episode of the SSPI podcast, we hear more from Mike Safyan, VP of Launch at Planet. Mike began his career in the space industry at NASA Ames, where he worked on the PhoneSat project, developing low-cost CubeSat platforms that use smartphone technology. In 2011, he joined the eight-person founding team at Planet Labs as a systems engineer. As the company grew from the initial eight employees to a global organization of over 450 people, Mike moved through a wide range of roles, from export regulatory licensing & compliance, overseeing Planet’s global ground station network to managing Planet’s launch strategy, the position he holds today.  

In his early career at Planet, Mike was responsible for obtaining the company’s FCC Operational License, the first ever obtained for commercial CubeSats. Since then, he has been involved in the launch of over 300 satellites across twenty different launch attempts, helping Planet’s fleet grow to the largest in the world. Mike has served as an advocate for the SmallSat community as well as for Planet throughout his career, speaking at multiple conferences and workshops and negotiating with satellite operators including Orbcomm, DigitalGlobe, Spire, and NASA to establish fair and equitable spectrum and orbital sharing agreements. In 2017, Mike oversaw Planet’s record-breaking launch of 88 Dove satellites on India’s PSLV. The launch allowed Planet to achieve its Mission One: imaging the entire Earth every day from space. Mike was a member of SSPI's inaugural 20 Under 35 list in 2018 and was a Promise Award winner in that same year. He is also a member of SSPI's Board of Directors.

 

In this podcast, Mike spoke with SSPI Director of Development and Innovation Lou Zacharilla about Planet's mission, its Dove constellation and how Earth imaging contributes to a better world for us all.