SSPI

In this Better Satellite World episode of the SSPI podcast, we hear 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.

In this Better Satellite World episode of SSPI's podcast, Director of Development and Innovation Lou Zacharilla interviews Viasat's Kevin Cohen about satellites and how satellite and broadband connectivity provide rural citizens with opportunities to participate in the global economy without leaving the place they call home. Kevin Cohen is the managing director of Viasat’s Global Community Wi-Fi business. In this role, he is responsible for driving new business models that will bring economical broadband to unserved and underserved communities globally. Beginning April 2016, under Kevin’s leadership, Viasat began to bring satellite-enabled Community Wi-Fi to the unconnected in Mexico. Today, Viasat’s technology reaches millions of Mexican citizens, where internet service was previously unavailable. With the increase in ViaSat-2 satellite capacity and coverage, and the upcoming launch of the ViaSat-3 satellite constellation, Viasat expects to be able to further help bridge the global digital divide—reaching millions of people in unconnected towns anywhere. Kevin has been with Viasat for more than ten years. During his tenure, he has held multiple positions, moving from engineering to program management, product management, business development and then General Manager, running businesses in both the Government Systems and Consumer Services organizations. Kevin studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan, and received a Master’s in Business Administration from San Diego State University. He speaks six languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Turkish and Russian. In his spare time, he likes to golf, watch soccer (especially Atletico Madrid) and travel internationally."

In this Better Satellite World episode of the SSPI podcast, Director of Development and Innovation Lou Zacharilla interviews Farmers Edge™ CEO Wade Barnes about satellites and how satellite and data-driven technologies help farmers run efficient operations while producing more food for a rapidly growing global population. Wade Barnes’s roots began in rural Manitoba, where his passion for agriculture started at an early age. He has a strong drive to bridge the gap between technology and agronomy; the motivating force behind starting Farmers Edge™. Wade is a strong advocate for the industry with a desire to assist growers across the world to improve their farming practices, increase profits and create more efficient cropping systems. He is an industry leader winning Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) of the Year and is recognized as one of the foremost agronomists in Western Canada. Wade is an inspiring speaker presenting at events across Canada and globally as an expert on the impact of technology on agribusiness and particularly the utilization of Variable Rate Technology by growers, investors and industry players. Some of his speaking engagements include Master Seeders, Global AgInvesting Conferences and TedX.

In this Better Satellite World episode of the SSPI podcast, Director of Development and Innovation Lou Zacharilla interviews Richard Baldridge, Dr. Norman Jacknis and Professor Roberto Gallardo about satellites and how satellite and broadband connectivity provide rural citizens with opportunities to participate in the global economy without leaving the place they call home. Richard Baldridge joined Viasat in April 1999, serving as our Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer from 2000 and as our 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. Prior to joining Viasat, Mr. Baldridge served as Vice President and General Manager of Raytheon Corporation’s Training Systems Division from January 1998 to April 1999. From June 1994 to December 1997, Mr. Baldridge served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for Hughes Information Systems and Hughes Training Inc., prior to their acquisition by Raytheon in 1997. Mr. Baldridge’s other experience includes various senior financial and general management roles with General Dynamics Corporation. Mr. Baldridge holds a B.S.B.A. degree in Information Systems from New Mexico State University. 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. In addition to his regular Looking Forward blog for elected government executives and earlier articles, Dr. Jacknis has recently written articles and book chapters on “Beyond Smarter City Infrastructure – The New Urban Experience”, “A New Kind Of Public Square For Urban America, “Government’s Role In Facilitating An Innovative Economy” and “Transformation of the Local Government CTO/CIO”. He has been a frequent speaker at state/local government and technology industry events, in North America, Latin America, Europe, China, Korea and Australia. He led frequent economic partnership missions to China starting in 1998. He received his Doctorate, Master's and Bachelor's degrees from Princeton University. Among several leadership positions in the technology, education and library communities, he is President of the New York Metropolitan Library Council. 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. He is also the author of the book “Responsive Countryside: The Digital Age & Rural Communities”, which highlights a 21st century community development model that helps rural communities transition to, plan for, and prosper in the digital age. Dr. Gallardo is a TEDx speaker and his work has been featured in a WIRED magazine article, a MIC.com documentary, and a RFDTV documentary. He lives in West Lafayette with his wife and two daughters.

In this Making Leaders episode of the SSPI podcast, we hear from Tony Gingiss, CEO of OneWeb Satellites. Tony holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University and a MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT. He has over 25 years of experience in the satellite and telecom industries, including roles as an Executive, Program Manager and Systems Engineer. Tony began his career at Hughes Space and Communications (now Boeing Network & Space Systems) in 1992 as a Mission Analyst. While in this role, he served as the lead mission analyst for the first three DirecTV satellites and served in analysis and operations roles for more than 15 domestic and international commercial satellite programs. After many years at Hughes, Tony led the Systems Engineering organization for Boeing’s GPS (Global Positioning System) IIF from 2007 to 2011. He served in multiple roles at Boeings Satellite Systems in California from 2011 to 2016, including Program Director of National Space Communications Programs (NSCP) and Advanced Systems Programs (ASP), before ultimately becoming Director of Strategic Integration.

In this Making Leaders episode of the SSPI podcast, we hear from Gwen Sisto, Operations and Planning Manager at OneWeb Satellites. Gwen holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from GIT and a SM in Aerospace and Astronomy from MIT. Her career experience includes nearly 6 years at General Electric Aviation, beginning as a F404 Contract Repairs Manager before becoming a Military Systems Black Belt in charge of initiatives to increase productivity. She continued this path as Continuous Improvement Manager with Parker Hannifin, followed by 4.5 years with Albany Engineered Composites, where she served in a variety of roles, including Senior Continuous Improvement Engineer, Product Transfer Leader and Senior Enterprise Excellence Manager. In this podcast, Gwen spoke with SSPI Executive Director Robert Bell about what it takes to build 10 satellites a week. You can read more about how OneWeb Satellites tackled this challenge in SSPI’s report Staffing the Space Assembly Line.

In this Making Leaders episode of the SSPI podcast, we hear from Bryan Kamm, Founder and Principal GAP Consultant at Kamm Consulting Group and Founder and Lead Advisor for the Space Coast Consortium Apprenticeship Program. Bryan holds an English Literature Bachelor’s degree with a minor equivalent in German literature from Florida Technological University, (currently UCF), as well as a Co-major Bachelor’s degree in International Business Management and German from Florida State University (FSU). His career experience includes 14 years in economic development, (8 years with the Florida Department of Commerce; 2 years managing a start-up economic development program for Seminole Electric Cooperative; and 4 years for the Pasco Economic Development Council managing corporate site selection of companies to Pasco County, Florida). In the private sector, his experience includes 2 years in electric utilities, 11 years in the telecommunications IT software industry, 2 years as an independent software consultant, 6 years with a wholly-owned German deep foundation engineering and construction subsidiary, Bauer Foundation Corp. where he managed the implementation of the German Dual Education apprenticeship system.

In this Making Leaders interview conducted at the Hall of Fame Celebration, we hear from Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium Communications and one of the three inductees to the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame in 2019. Matt became CEO of Iridium Communications in 2006 after a twenty-five year career in the telecommunications industry that included serving as president of Nortel Networks’ wireless business and chief executive of Telcordia Technologies. Since taking the helm, he has led Iridium from the depths of post-bankruptcy uncertainty and looming irrelevancy into a major contributor to the space and satellite industry. Matt has also served as an advocate for safety and responsible traffic management throughout the space, satellite and aviation industries for over a decade.   Three years after Matt joined Iridium, one of its spacecraft was hit by a defunct Russian satellite, Kosmos 2251. He turned a disaster into an opportunity to focus on responsibility and safety in navigation by pioneering a partnership with the US Air Force on orbit/debris coordination and highlighting Iridium’s preparations to de-orbit their original spacecraft safely without posing threats to other orbital systems. Matt’s championing of Iridium’s preparations and the U.S. government recognition that space had become a congested environment, lead to eventual improvements in orbital safety and de-commissioning precautions throughout the industry. In the same year, he also successfully led Iridium through the complicated process of going public, listing the company on the NASDAQ.

In this Making Leaders interview conducted at the Hall of Fame Celebration, we hear from Greg Wyler, Founder and Executive Chairman of OneWeb and one of the three inductees to the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame in 2019. Greg founded O3B Networks, in partnership with Liberty Global, in 2007 with the goal of unlocking MEO orbit to deliver Internet to remote areas without the need for laying fiber. By 2016, O3B had a firm backlog of $350 million with more than $100 million in current-year revenue, and SES exercised its option to purchase the company, whose markets had grown to include maritime, mobility, energy and government based on the success of its MEO fleet architecture.

After the success of his first company, Greg moved on to an even more ambitious venture: creating a network of hundreds of LEO satellites to deliver low-latency, high-speed Internet to remote areas. He founded OneWeb in 2012 with investment support from Softbank, Bharti, Hughes, Intelsat, Virgin Group, Qualcomm, Airbus, Grupo Salinas, Maxar, and Coca-Cola with the vision of connecting all the unconnected schools of the world and providing Internet to fuel economic growth, improve education and social development, advance gender equality and make healthcare more accessible across the globe. To make its vision a reality, OneWeb needed to develop mass-production techniques and a global supply chain capable of assembling 15 satellites per week to launch a 1980-satellite constellation. OneWeb has raised more than $3.4bn to date and the company’s first launch was a success that has been a major milestone for the industry as a proof-of-concept for the viability of LEO constellations.

 

In this Making Leaders interview conducted at the Hall of Fame Celebration, we hear from Henry Goldberg, Partner at Goldberg, Godles, Wiener & Wright and one of the three inductees to the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame for 2019. Henry  is a leading U.S. regulatory lawyer who has been a key figure in shaping the modern commercial space industry through development of U.S. and international legal and regulatory frameworks. Over a more-than-fifty-year career that began at Covington & Burling in Washington D.C. in 1966, Henry has opened legal doors to numerous innovations in satellite and broadcasting throughout the world, carving out regulatory territory for new types of companies and their technologies to grow and flourish. From 1968 to 1970, while at Covington, he participated in the FCC’s first domestic satellite proceeding and established the essential principle that users are eligible to own and operate earth stations that communicate with carrier-owned satellite systems. Henry also filed the first application for a user-owned satellite earth station on behalf of the affiliate associations of major TV broadcast networks. He moved to the White House Office of Telecommunications Policy shortly afterward in 1971, where he eventually succeeded Antonin Scalia as OTP’s General Counsel. While at the White House, Henry played a significant role in the implementation of the “open skies” satellite policy that spawned new satellite-delivered television networks, including HBO, C-SPAN and CNN.