The Dish

Government and defense agencies worldwide are the largest customers of commercial satellite capabilities, but the evolving geopolitical landscape could necessitate more government-owned space assets.

Finnish startup ReOrbit is developing software-based satellites that give nations incentive to own —rather than lease — satellite services, Sethu Saveda Suvanam, founder and chief executive of ReOrbit, tells Connectivity Business News in the latest episode of “The Dish” podcast.

“Today, if you look at how the overall satellite communications market works, largely every government or country has a certain capacity that goes through the [private] space sector,” Suvanam says. “Almost 95% of the countries today are basically leasing this requirement.” 

While placing a nation’s satellite capability through a commercial entity poses the risk of critical data flowing through third-party networks that may be in different countries, many nations can’t afford to buy large, geostationary (GEO) high-gigabyte satellites. These can cost “hundreds of millions of euros,” making leasing the only option for them, Suvanam says. 

Some countries, like Finland, don’t need thousands of gigabytes of capacity and would benefit from less capacity at a lower price, he says.

ReOrbit aims to tackle this conundrum by using a software-based design approach to produce miniaturized GEO satellites that are customizable to the varying requirements of national entities, according to the CEO.

“If you are a country where you have only 75 million [euros], you could actually start with a capacity dedicated for that country, for 75 million [euros],” Suvanam says.

Software-defined satellites provide the flexibility needed for governments that want full control over the source of their data and don’t want to be dependent upon a particular supply chain, Suvanam says. 

“When you’re selling to the government, politics play a big role,” he says.

An outage linked to the cybersecurity platform CrowdStrike affected Microsoft IT systems worldwide on July 19, with major airlines, including Delta Air Lines, left picking up the pieces from massive flight cancellations, app malfunctions and lost baggage a week later.

Leighton Carroll, chief executive at Canadian communications technology company Baylin Technologies, was one of the passengers affected by canceled flights.

“The recent IT outage proves that quality connectivity counts within an airport to communicate and make arrangements in these types of situations,” Carroll, who was stuck in Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport last week, told Connectivity Business News following the event. 

Carroll sits down with CBN in the latest episode of “The Dish” podcast to discuss how Galtronics, Baylin’s antenna-focused subsidiary, has capitalized on the demand for reliable airport connectivity.

The company has supplied its multibeam antennas for major airports undergoing network upgrades, including: 

• Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport;
• London Heathrow Airport;
• Salt Lake City International Airport; 
• John F. Kennedy International Airport; 
• New York La Guardia Airport; 
• Dallas International Airport; 
• Los Angeles International Airport; and 
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. 

Whether travelers are stationary or walking in an airport, they’re almost always on their mobile devices or laptops, Carroll tells CBN. Their mobile devices are looking for a radio frequency signal as soon as they land, necessitating the right type of antenna to accommodate capacity needs.

For carriers working with Galtronics on airport upgrade projects, aesthetics also matter, he says, so indoor antennas in airports may be so small they blend into the ceiling.

Good connectivity should be so seamless that it’s unnoticeable, Carroll says.

Satellite propulsion systems are increasingly critical for maximizing mission lifetime, but the added mass of traditional propulsion systems can add costs.

Madrid-based space mobility startup Ienai Space aims to tackle this problem with its ATHENA (Adaptable Thruster based on Electrospray powered by Nanotechnology) technology. 

“At the end of the day, [electric propulsion] saves a lot of propellant mass, which means that it basically directly translates to saving costs,” Daniel Perez Grande, co-founder and chief executive at Ienai Space, tells Connectivity Business News in this episode of “The Dish” podcast. 

NASA estimates that electric propulsion systems can reduce propellant needed by 90% and save satellite operators millions in launch costs.

CubeSats and nanosatellites, which weigh 10 kilograms or less, are being more widely used but have not traditionally had on-board propulsion, Perez Grande says. 

Electrospray thruster technology enables smallsats to function without large, high-power propulsion systems by using liquid ions in space as propellant. 

As space becomes increasingly crowded with the expansion of constellations, satellites will need propulsion to maneuver in orbit, Perez Grande says.

“Most satellites will require a propulsion system, which means that if you’re investing in satellites, you should also invest in propulsion systems,” he says.  

Ienai Space, which has a commercial pipeline of $32.4 million for its ATHENA thrusters, last month announced it raised $4.2 million — a total of $7.6 million since its 2019 founding — toward the demonstration of its electrospray thruster technology, which is planned for the end of this year.

Software company Ansys is helping satellite operators protect critical data from the dangers of solar storms.  

Ansys in October 2020 announced the $700 million acquisition of Analytical Graphics, which specializes in simulation software for the aerospace and telecom sectors.  

Communications systems are increasingly dependent on software as they become more advanced, Haroon Rashid, senior advisory engineer at Canonsburg, Pa.-based Ansys, tells Connectivity Business News in this episode of “The Dish” podcast. 

“The objective of simulation is to help us prepare for these events at all phases of our development of [communications] systems,” Rashid says.

Simulation software can help design satellites with components durable enough to withstand the harsh space environment and prepare them for the aftermath of solar weather events, he says.

Ansys uses data collected by NASA satellites to track solar activity and develop simulation models so that satellite operators can prepare for various scenarios, he says. 

For example, solar flares can extend millions of miles from the sun, trapping charged particles in the ionosphere, which can affect the performance of communication systems, particularly satellites, Rashid says. 

A solar storm in February 2022 caused SpaceX to lose 38 out of a batch of 49 Starlink satellites before they reached orbit. The cost per Starlink satellite is estimated to be between $200,000 and $800,000, according to business intelligence firm Quilty Space. 

 But satellite operators stand to lose more than money, Rashid says.  

Tune into this episode of “The Dish” to hear more from Rashid on how simulation software can save a satellite operator’s mission. 

U.K.-based IoT provider Wireless Logic is leveraging its global partnerships to capitalize on emerging markets. 

Wireless Logic is looking to capitalize on the growing demand for satellite IoT in developing countries on the heels of a resale agreement announced last month with SpaceX to integrate Starlink into Wireless Logic’s IoT offering, Paul Bullock, chief product officer at Wireless Logic, tells Connectivity Business News in this episode of “The Dish” podcast.

“It’s a perpetual challenge for developing countries to raise the capital to maintain investment in a wired infrastructure,” Bullock tells CBN.  

IoT enables developing countries to “leapfrog” the countries that spent 15 years establishing fiber connectivity, he says.  

Part of Wireless Logic’s strategy for minimizing infrastructure costs is forming strategic partnerships with satellite operators and cellular operators, Bullock says. 

— Paul Bullock, CPO, Wireless Logic

But constellations are capital intensive, and not every satellite operator is able to overcome the cost challenges to penetrate the market, he says.  

The partnership with Starlink is low risk because SpaceX is able to replenish the mega constellation regularly, Bullock says. 

Beyond delivering ubiquitous connectivity to developing countries, Wireless Logic aims to capitalize on emerging IoT business applications such as product passports that can be used for digital supply chain monitoring, he says. 

IoT, whether satellite-enabled, cellular or both, is about more than just providing an internet connection. The goal is for a business’s entire operation to be integrated with an IoT network to streamline efficiency for each business function, Bullock says. 

“If you’re just doing connectivity, you’re not doing enough,” he says. 

Tune into this episode of “The Dish” to hear from Wireless Logic’s Bullock. 

Investment in space in 2022 dropped 58% from a record $47.4 billion in 2021, causing space and connectivity stocks to plummet, but with stocks on the rise in 2024, commercial space firms want to capitalize.  

Investors are drawn to the space market because they find it inspiring, but the pre-pandemic surge in space investment in 2020 was followed by a down cycle in 2022 caused in part by interest rate hikes, Kirk Konert, managing partner at Boca Raton, Fla.-based private equity firm AE Industrial Partners, tells Connectivity Business News in this episode of “The Dish” podcast.

“What happened was, you had a lot of new capital flow into the venture part of the space market and some of the growth stage in 2020 and 2021, maybe early 2022, when money was free and a lot of capital was available,” he says, adding that the trend also spanned other newer markets. 

Konert tells CBN that it could be another decade before the private space sector’s potential materializes. 

“I do think people overpromised on the commercial opportunity [in space],” he says.  

With investment in space slowly picking up, now is the time for companies to be strategic with their business models, responding to existing customer needs, Konert tells CBN.  

The most important customer is the public sector, he says. 

“The biggest buyer of space assets and technologies is the U.S. government and foreign governments around the world,” he says. “To have a viable business model, you need to make sure that you’re solving their problems.” 

Ultimately, commercial space is headed in a positive direction due to the high demand for data that only satellites can deliver, Konert says. 

Applications for commercial satellite data, particularly in the national security sector, are putting institutional investors on notice, Konert says.  

“Valuations might be different than they were a few years ago but there’s still some really interesting business models to fund,” he says.

In this episode of "The Dish" podcast, Reticulate Micro Chief Executive Josh Cryer discusses the dual-use capabilities of its communications technologies, including its Valor electronically steered antenna family and VAST video encoder.

In this episode of "The Dish" podcast, Michele Beck, senior vice president, Canadian sales at satellite operator Telesat discusses the Government of Canada's recent $1.6 billion investment in Telesat's global Lightspeed constellation and how Telesat is collaborating with the Canadian government to subsidize capacity in for Canadian internet service providers.

In this episode of "The Dish" podcast, Tobias Forsell, chief executive at Swedish satellite communications technology developer Forsway shares Forsway's strategy for delivering affordable hybrid connectivity to underserved areas.