On Orbit

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Startup Space 2022 Entrepreneurs Battle for Million-Dollar Pitch Meeting Feb 23, 2022

Show notes

One of nine startup entrepreneurs will soon find themselves on a 30-minute pitch call with some of the most powerful investors in the space sector, including Tess Hatch, Seraphim Capital, Toyota Ventures, and the former mayor of Washington D.C., now at MaC Venture Capital. To earn this phone call, they must beat out the other eight competitors in this year's Startup Space pitch competition taking place on Tuesday, March 22 at the SATELLITE 2022 conference.

On this episode of On Orbit, we're joined by competition organizer Rafferty Jackson of Jack Industries to talk about the impact Startup Space has made in its six years of existence, helping cultivate fast-growing companies such as Astroscale, LeoLabs, Ursa, Orbit Fab, and dozens more. Rafferty has been a Startup Space judge since its very first year and she has assembled an impressive line-up of competitors and judges participating in this year's event. During this interview, Rafferty and I detail the range of technologies and people that will take the stage at SATELLITE 2022 to convey their potential during a brief, but grueling five-minute pitch.

Rafferty and host Jeffrey Hill also discuss how she came into the space industry from a successful career as an executive at Beats by Dr. Dre, during which she helped push forward the company's business partnership with Apple. She now helps startups overcome the challenges shared by most new entrants in the space sector — the uber-technical nature of their products and the difficulty in communicating the need for these products in the market. Rafferty shares some tips that have helped her clients succeed in an increasingly competitive landscape.

BryceTech's Carissa Christensen Shares the Science of Space Industry Soothsaying Feb 08, 2022

Show notes

As more and more commercial space companies go public and their technologies become more entwined with other industries, the demand for accurate and detailed information on how these businesses prosper has never been higher. This has made veteran space sector analysts like today's guest, Carissa Christensen, founder and CEO of BryceTech, so valuable to everyone from the common shareholder to the largest global investment firms. She's been quoted in several media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Wired. Her data plays an important role in establishing realistic expectations for her clients, the greater business community, and the general public.

In addition to her role as leader of BryceTech, Carissa is a member of the National Research Council Space Technology Industry-Government-University Roundtable, which advises NASA. She also serves on the World Economic Forum Global Future Council, the Advisory Council of the Aerospace Corporation's Center for Space Policy and Strategy, and as an adviser to the annual U.S. Air Force Schriever Wargame.

In this episode of On Orbit, Carissa takes us behind the scenes to explain the methodology of her analysis, which involves creating industry simulations and a comprehensive understanding of how space technology evolves. We talk about her role in creating the Satellite Industry Association's annual state of the satellite industry report, as well as how the two-year long COVID-19 pandemic factors into her equations and the stability of the space industry throughout the crisis. Finally, we talk about why and how she established BryceTech, and why she describes it as both an analysis and engineering firm.

We hope this interview explains how much work space industry analysts put into their reports and encourages you to seek out their help if you're in need of information.

BryceTech's Carissa Christensen Shares the Science of Space Industry Soothsaying Feb 08, 2022

Show notes

We hope this interview explains how much work space industry analysts put into their reports and encourages you to seek out their help if you're in need of information.

GSOA's Satellite Spectrum, Space Sustainability Mission Goes Global Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

This past December, the CEO members of the EMEA Satellite Operators Association (ESOA) announced that the organization was changing its name to the Global Satellite Operators' Association (GSOA) — the second evolution in the near 30-year-old industry alliance. Emerging out of the infancy of the European Union in the '90s, the organization pushed to educate the continent's new governance of the capabilities of satellite connectivity systems. It has since grown to include more than 30 member organizations, including most recently Amazon, APT, ARSAT, Intersputnik, Lockheed Martin, Omnispace, and Star One.

On this episode of Via Satellite's On Orbit, we spoke to GSOA Secretary General Aarti Holla-Maini, who has led the organization since 2004 and has remained dedicated to its mission of bridging the digital divide, creating an essential role for satellites in the 5G future, and achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development goals.

Host Jeffrey Hill asks Holla-Maini to explain the history of the organization, how it functions today, the benefits for members, and why the organization decided to grow from a regional to a global alliance. We also talk about the greatest challenges facing today's established and emerging satellite operators and the upcoming fight for spectrum rights at the WRC-23 conference.

GSOA's Satellite Spectrum, Space Sustainability Mission Goes Global Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

World-Renowned Physicist Dr. Michio Kaku Explains Our Future in Space Jan 11, 2022

Show notes

The very first On Orbit podcast episode of 2022 features a discussion about the possibilities and challenges related to our future in space with one of the most influential physicists in the world today. Dr. Michio Kaku, science correspondent for "CBS This Morning," and an international best selling author of 10 books, was recently awarded a lifetime achievement award by The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation for "exceptional contributions as a theoretical physicist, futurist, and science popularizer."

Just moments before receiving the award, Kaku joined us for a discussion about humanity's recent accomplishments in space and his role in popularizing science education. We chat about his latest book, "The God Equation: The Quest for the Theory of Everything and Future of Humanity, and The Future of the Mind," – his ambitious quest to realize Einstein's dream of a "theory of everything."

We also talk about the need for new global space policy in the wake of recent Russian anti-satellite weapon tests and the need to update 60-year-old treaties that have kept the space environment neutral and cooperative for generations. Finally, we talk about the significance of the James Webb Space Telescope launch and how it could force us to rewrite our science textbooks! (Note - the interview was conducted before the James Webb Space Telescope launch, so we talk about it in the future tense).

Why Does the Space Industry Struggle with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace? Dec 21, 2021

Show notes

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are transforming the modern workplace culture to more accurately reflect the reality of its workforce. It hasn't been an easy transition for today's fast-paced, high-tech global industries, especially compacted with the impact of COVID-19 on business operations.

The increased focus on DEI is a natural result of the increasingly diverse modern workforce, the expansion of STEM education programs, globalization of the tech industry, increasing demand for young talent, and increased awareness of wage gaps between different demographic groups of people.

The space industry has been addressing DEI workforce issues for some time. Throughout the past decade, it has made progress in attracting more young professionals and putting women in more senior executive-level positions. But, it has also seen its share of struggles in regards to hiring people of color, diversifying executive boards, and employee burnout.

In this episode of On Orbit, we're joined by the leaders of two of the space industry's most prominent industry organizations – Kim Macharia, chair of the Space Frontier Foundation, and Robert Bell, executive director of the Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) – to talk about why space needs to put DEI front and center. We examine how and why the industry is succeeding and failing at certain DEI initiatives. We also talk about how industry organizations support industry DEI initiatives, the need for diversity in entrepreneurship, and the responsibility of executive leaders in cultivating healthy work environments.

This was a fantastic, productive, and inclusive discussion. Robert and Kim are both very honest and direct. This conversation provides helpful information for everyone, including companies that don't have a strategy for DEI issues.

Former Blue Origin President Rob Meyerson: Will Private Capital Fund Off-World Infrastructure? Dec 07, 2021

Show notes

On this episode of On Orbit, C5 Capital's Rob Meyerson explains how private investors define "space infrastructure" both as physical constructs and investment opportunities. Meyerson was one of the first employees of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launch company, serving as its president until 2018. Since leaving the launch industry, he has built a broad space sector investment portfolio. He also serves as the executive producer of ASCEND, a new platform created by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) to promote space technology development and infrastructure investment.

Meyerson's roots in the launch sector give him unique insight into how investors view commercial space as a financial opportunity. In this interview, he talks about his early days at Blue Origin, when it was more or less functioning as a commercial space think tank, and how his team created predictions for the long-term future of space.

He also outlines the biggest opportunities for private investors in space, but also what worries financiers about the future of private space. He stresses the importance of executives and entrepreneurs creating realistic timelines for the development of their commercial space systems, and how the recent wave of SPACs combined with COVID skewed those timelines. Meyerson also answers questions about whether or not investors will carry the weight in building infrastructure beyond launch services, a product people can see and understand.

Taiwan's Space Startups are Creating a Global Sandbox for Low-Earth Orbit Nov 23, 2021

Show notes

On this episode of On Orbit, we are joined by the second of our two Startup Space 2021 entrepreneur pitch event winners, TMY Technologies (TMYTek) Co-Founder and Vice President Ethan Lin.

TMYTek is a millimeter-wave total solution and ground systems provider based in Taiwan. Lin and his team at TMYTek are dedicated to solving millimeter-wave challenges in the 5G era. The company incorporates phased array technology with what it calls its advanced "antenna-in-package" technology.

Lin leads TMYTek's software technology and marketing teams and helps the company raise funding. A self-described serial entrepreneur who has founded three companies over the past 13 years, he previously worked for the smartphone maker HTC and collaborated with Microsoft and Qualcomm in developing software and wireless communication. In his first job out of college, he built the world's largest infrared telescope for CFHT in Hawaii.

On Orbit host Jeffrey Hill interviews Lin about his efforts in building tech for an interlinked 5G and Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) world, the company's use of modular design for its products and why modular-based space technologies are attracting investors, and the role that Taiwan plays and could play in the future global space market.

How Meteorologist Meredith Garofalo Caught the Space Bug Nov 09, 2021

Show notes

This past September at the SATELLITE show, leaders from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service joined representatives from privately owned weather forecasting companies for a discussion titled "How State-of-the-Art Satellite Weather Forecasting Saves the World." The group outlined how advancements in satellite weather forecasting technology are responsible for saving millions of lives every year and trillions of dollars in government and private industry costs. It was one of the more fascinating and informative discussions of the conference, and what made it so effective was that the concept for the conference session was conceived, and led, by an actual meteorologist.

Meredith Garofalo, former broadcast meteorologist at Weather Nation, is now heading to New York City for a top-tier weather broadcasting job that will also include space technology and STEM education reporting. Meredith is a true space enthusiast, who successfully integrated her love of satellites and rockets with her full-time career in an effort to educate the broader public about how our activities in space directly impact our lives on Earth.

Meredith joins On Orbit host Jeffrey Hill to talk about how she caught the space bug, what she learned from her panel at SATELLITE, how meteorologists play an important role in space education, the ever-increasing value of visual, analytical data, and her dream of being the first broadcast meteorologist to go to space.

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