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. The fifth episode features a conversation on human sexuality in space, including the inherent risks therein, with Maria Santaguida, PhD Candidate and Researcher at Concordia University and Simon Dubé, PhD, Research Fellow at the Kinsey Institute. Maria Santaguida is a PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology at Concordia University, where she conducts research on human sexuality, sexual technology and substance-related sexual behavior. Her doctoral work investigates the associations between alcohol consumption on risky sexual decision-making and behavior. She also explores Space Sexology, and how sex research can be integrated into space programs to promote greater diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her doctoral work was funded by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Société et Culture (FRQSC). In late 2021, they collaborated on a position paper titled The Case for Space Sexology which was published in the Journal of Sex Research. Their work represents a crucial step toward a comprehensive scientific study of human sexuality and intimacy in space. Simon Dubé, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Kinsey Institute specializing in human sexuality, sextech, and Erobotics, the study of human-machine erotic interaction and co-evolution. His work also explores Space Sexology, and how we can integrate sex research into space programs. He received his doctorate in Psychology from Concordia University. He is the communication representative of the International Academy of Sex Research and a co-Chair of the International Congress on Love & Sex with Robots. His work is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

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. The fourth episode, based on the May edition of the New York Space Business Roundtable, features a conversation with Alex Fielding, Co-Founder and CEO of Privateer, Jack Deasy, VP of Business Development & Advanced Systems at Astroscale and Dr. Chiara Manfletti, Director and COO of Neuraspace. What services are needed to ensure that we succeed in space once there?  What services and innovations will they bring to market that enables the launch sector to become more specialized and less costly? And how do we achieve a circular economy and a safer one in space? This episode delves into all of these questions and more.

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. The third episode features a conversation with Rob Schwarz, Chief Technology Officer at Momentus. Rob Schwarz is the Chief Technology Officer at Momentus and is responsible for the vision and technical direction of the full line of Momentus products. Under his technical leadership, Momentus is commercializing its pioneering and sustainable Microwave Electrothermal Thruster, a new kind of in-space engine that uses water as a propellant. Rob’s background is in spacecraft systems engineering and management, product management and innovation. Prior to joining Momentus, he spent 20 years at Space Systems Loral (now part of Maxar) and Orbital Sciences (now part of Northrop Grumman) working on various commercial and government space projects. Rob was Executive Director of Systems Engineering at SSL from 2010-2015 and then moved to Product Management before becoming CTO of the Maxar Space Division in 2018. He joined Momentus in early 2020 as CTO.   Rob has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from Rutgers University and a Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT.

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. The second episode features a conversation about cyber and nuclear threats to space between Nick Reese, Co-Founder of Frontier Foundry Corporation and former Deputy Director for Emerging Technology Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Tory Bruno, President & CEO of United Launch Alliance and a member of the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame. Before co-founding Frontier Foundry Corporation, Nick Reese most recently served as the first ever Director of Emerging Technology Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he advised the White House and senior Cabinet officials on national security implications of emerging technologies. He is the author of the DHS AI Strategy, DHS’s Post-Quantum Cryptographic Transition Roadmap, and the 2022 DHS Space Policy. He was also the lead DHS representative for the development of Space Policy Directive-5, National Security Memorandum-10, the National Space Policy, and Executive Order 13960. A noted expert in cybersecurity, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and outer space, he currently holds faculty positions at New York University and George Washington University teaching graduate courses related to emerging technology and geopolitics. Mr. Reese has a 20+ year career in the US Military, Intelligence Community & Homeland security with a focus on operations and bringing technical solutions to high stakes national security challenges. From the front lines of the War on Terror to building Quantum Computing Policy he has been an instrumental actor in protecting our nation with eye both on today and the future. Mr. Reese is a graduate of Saint Leo University and Old Dominion University. He lives in the Washington DC area with his wife and their dog. Tory Bruno came to United Launch Alliance (ULA) in 2014 after a long career managing programs for some of the most advanced and powerful weapons systems in the American arsenal. As general manager of Lockheed Martin Strategic and Missile Defense Systems, he led a team of men and women responsible for the Navy’s Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile, the Air Force’s ICBM Reentry Systems and the Terminal High Area Altitude Defense System (THAAD). He managed a joint venture responsible for producing and safely maintaining the UK’s nuclear weapons and has engineered control systems for rockets and hypersonic weapons, for which he holds numerous patents. No words describe him better than Tom Wolfe’s famous phrase, “a steely-eyed missile man.” When he was tapped to lead ULA, the company was at a crossroads. What had been an effective monopoly on national security and NASA missions had turned competitive as new commercial competitors entered the business. The company needed to adapt to survive. This veteran of military space and missile programs might not have seemed the obvious choice of leader, but he was soon to prove doubters wrong. Tory was inducted into the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame in 2020.

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 – will explore policy, law, technology and operations in development now to manage the challenging space environment of the future. The first episode features a conversation between Elizabeth Evans, Partner at K&L Gates – who joins us to speak about the Space Shuttle Children's Trust Fund – and Kathryn Lueders, Former Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA (now retired) and a member of the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame. Elizabeth Evans is a partner at the New York office of K&L Gates. She is a member of the asset and corporate finance practice group and heads the airfinance practice in the Americas. She concentrates her practice in structured asset-based finance, and focuses on aviation finance (both fixed wing and rotary), satellite finance, transportation finance, and project finance. She also engages in related transactional, regulatory and policy work for aviation, aerospace and space industries. Her practice includes private placements of debt and equity, leveraged equipment leasing and all aspects of the law relating to outer space (both domestic and international). Prior to joining the firm, Elizabeth served as a partner in the financial institutions group at an international law firm, where she focused her practice on aviation and other asset-based finance, (including satellite, railcars, trucks and heavy equipment finance transactions), as well as space law policy work. Elizabeth has represented banks, financial institutions, credit capital corporations, private equity investors, governmental agencies, export credit agencies and leasing companies in complex structured financings, including air traffic control system financings, airport and terminal development projects and aviation, rail car and truck financings. She has spent many years working on restructurings (both in court and out-of-court) during economic downturns. She has done both debtor side and lender/lessor side work in numerous aviation restructurings, and has represented private equity funds in the purchase of distressed equity positions in equipment finance. She helped arrange and conduct unique foreclosures and auctions of satellites orbiting in space. She has also played an instrumental role in drafting legislation relating to the laws of outer space. For nearly thirty years, Kathryn Lueders has played an indispensable role in bringing the capabilities of the commercial space and satellite industry to NASA; serving human space exploration missions though new technology, practices of cost savings, and opening valuable opportunities for the industry. Kathryn began her career at NASA in 1992 as the Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System and Reaction Control Systems Depot Manager for the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, after completing two Bachelor’s degrees in Science and Business Administration and a Masters of Science degree. Kathy moved to the International Space Station (ISS) Program next and served in a variety of managerial roles covering space station Logistics and Maintenance, Vehicle Systems Integration and Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Integration. In November 2007, Kathryn became responsible for expanding the range of launch vehicles providing access to the International Space Station. She established the Program's Transportation Integration where she oversaw international partner vehicles, including the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), the Japanese Space Agency's H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), and the Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. In that role, she also managed the development and execution of the Commercial Resupply services contracts which began delivery of cargo to the ISS in 2012 and now have now delivered over 100,000 lbs of cargo to the International Space Station. She was inducted into the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame in 2021.

In this Better Satellite World podcast, originally aired as part of the Making Space for New Space series, we hear from Alex Fielding, co-founder and CEO of Privateer. Alex joins SSPI's Lou Zacharilla to talk about Privateer's goals and strategies, particularly concerning the enormous and vital task of removing already existing space debris and preventing more. Space debris will be a major topic in the coming weeks as well, as we begin the Reducing the Risks of Space Campaign, so stay tuned!   Alex Fielding is the co-founder and CEO of Privateer. Privateer is a data and intelligence platform empowering the future of space sustainability. As CEO and chairman of Privateer, Alex is responsible for supporting the leadership, vision and execution of Privateer. With decades of experience in innovation and growth in the tech sector, he is poised to lead the team in its launch of the first highly accurate space traffic map that aggregates multi-source data on Earth orbiting space objects, as a means to power the new space economy and make space exploration safe and sustainable.   Alex started his career as an engineer at Cisco Systems and Apple, where he worked on multiple generations of MacOS, PowerBook, and network servers and was part of the first iMac team. After departing Apple, he joined Exodus Communications under the leadership of Ellen Hancock, a former Apple CTO who served as Exodus’ CEO. Alex went on to co-found GPS company Wheels of Zeus with Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak in 2001 (sold in 2006), marking the beginning of a fruitful friendship and partnership that brings us Privateer today.   Alex has also worked as CTO at Power Assure and then Vice President at Vigilent before starting Ripcord while a contractor at NASA. Alex served as CEO at Ripcord from 2014-21 and remains on the Board of Directors. Alex is also on the Board of Directors of The Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME). He is on the mentor board of Orange Fab and is an adviser to Astra Space. He is an active contributor to the IETF. He is a founding member of Singularity University at NASA Ames Research Center and co-author on several patent applications.

In this Better Satellite World podcast, SSPI's Lou Zacharilla speaks with Marc Serres, CEO of the Luxembourg Space Agency. Mr. Serres joins Lou to speak about Luxembourg's remarkable space innovation and investment ecosystem, from how it came to be to where the nation sees its programs headed next. Part of this interview was originally aired during the March 2023 edition of the New York Space Business Roundtable. Marc Serres became a director on June 13, 2019. He is currently the CEO of the Luxembourg Space Agency. Previously, he served as Director of Space Affairs at the Ministry of the Economy and as coordinator of the relations with the European Space Agency at the Ministry of Higher Education and Research. Prior to working for the Luxembourg Government, Mr. Serres held several engineering positions at Hitec SA. He is an electrical engineer and holds a PhD in optoelectronics from the Université Catholique de Louvain. Mr. Serres is also Vice-Chairman of the Council of the European Space Agency and a Member of the International Academy of Astronautics. Mr. Serres is a Luxembourg national. He is not an independent director because he represents an important shareholder.

In this Better Satellite World podcast, SSPI’s Lou Zacharilla speaks with Kevin Cohen, General Manager for Global Prepaid Internet & LATAM Fixed Broadband at Viasat, which won a Better Satellite World Award in 2022 for providing satellite broadband connectivity to Ukranian refugees.   Kevin Cohen is General Manager for Global Prepaid Internet & LATAM Fixed Broadband at Viasat, a position he has held for nearly 1 year. He has served in a variety of management positions at Viasat during his nearly 15 years with the company. Kevin previously held the positions of Managing Director for Global Community Internet, General Manager for Community WiFi, Americas, Managing Director and General Manager for Global Community WiFi, General Manager for LATAM Consumer Broadband and Director of Emerging Markets, Space Technologies, among others. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and his Master of Business Administration from San Diego University.   When the war in Ukraine began and the immediate resulting refugee crisis occurred, Viasat partnered with the regional government of Košice, Slovakia to provide free high-speed internet access to Ukrainian refugee sites across Eastern Slovakia. Viasat utilized its satellite-enabled Community Wi-Fi system to connect the areas most in need of connectivity. Once these areas of need were identified by the Košice regional government, Viasat’s Community Wi-Fi systems were installed in a matter of days to provide critical connectivity available to thousands of refugees. Viasat focuses on unlocking the opportunities provided by internet connectivity for everyone, wherever they are, through its network.

In this Better Satellite World podcast, SSPI’s Lou Zacharilla speaks with Jeff Rex, Vice President of Business Development, Earth Intelligence at Spire Global, which won a Better Satellite World Award in 2022 for its usage of satellite-based data and analytics to combat climate change. Jeff Rex is Vice President of Business Development, Earth Intelligence at Spire Global, a position he has held for 1.5 years. He previously served as Vice President of Engineering, Weather. Before joining Spire, he held a variety of management positions in the industry, including serving as Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Business Development at FLYHT, Director of Engineering & Business Development at Panasonic, Vice President of Engineering & Product Integration at AirDat and Vice President of Integration & Operations at L2 Consulting/L2 Aviation. Jeff began his career as a Federal Account Manager for Dell. Climate change continues to be a major and developing threat around the world. Spire Global has responded by using space-based data and analytics, provided by its constellation of over 100 multipurpose satellites, to help governments and the private sector monitor, adapt to and reverse the effects of climate change in several ways. Spire’s Earth Intelligence data provides crucial information on environmental factors, including sea ice levels and soil moisture, which can be used in climate change research and development of solutions. For example, the company’s data is currently being used to monitor soil moisture in Scotland’s peatlands. The peatlands cover 20% of the country and are one of the most efficient carbon stores in the world; they currently contain roughly 140 years of the nation’s total current greenhouse gas emissions. When the bogs are damaged, however, they become carbon emitters instead. Restoring the peatlands is crucial to prevent such emissions, and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) is using Spire’s data to map wetlands and monitor their dynamics, providing necessary information on which areas most require restoration and protection.

In this Better Satellite World podcast, SSPI’s Lou Zacharilla speaks with Elly Perets, CEO of ASTERRA, which won a Better Satellite World Award in 2022 for its Recover satellite-based leak detection system. Elly Perets is CEO of ASTERRA (formerly Utilis), a position he has held for 8 years. ASTERRA provides utilities around the world with cutting-edge satellite scanning technology to detect leaks in their infrastructure. Before joining ASTERRA, he founded and served as CEO of Progressive Labs, Ltd. Elly’s other experience includes serving as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Pageflex and Press-sense, as Viable Vision Expert for Goldratt Consulting and as Sales Director for SA International. He has a M.S.E. in Management of Technology from the University of Pennsylvania and a L.L.B. in Information Technology from Reichman University. Potable water systems around the world suffer an average of 15-20% leakage rate, resulting in wasted energy usage, contamination or, in the worst cases, critically low availability of drinking water in already stressed areas. ASTERRA (formerly Utilis) developed and patented a new technology that uses reflected signals from L-Band polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) to detect potable water underground up to 2 meters. Using ASTERRA’s proprietary algorithm, potable water can be distinguished from naturally occurring or salt/brackish water. The technology can penetrate foliage and asphalt roadways, allowing detection of water leakage from utility pipes. Once the leaks are identified, field leak inspectors can pinpoint where to search for the source of the problem to repair the damage quickly and with the least possible waste. ASTERRA’s new technology, called Recover, is a low-cost alternative for finding potable water leaks that is available even to small and rural water agencies, where they frequently had few options. The company works with small and rural utilities to provide custom packages to meet their needs, as these organizations often do not have GIS programs or a formal leak detection program. ASTERRA received a Better Satellite World Award from SSPI in 2022.

In this Making Leaders podcast, we hear from Kevin Steen, CEO of OneWeb Technologies. Kevin joined OneWeb Technologies as CEO in 2022, after serving as CEO of ST Engineering iDirect for 12 years. Before ST Engineering iDirect, he served in other leadership positions, including as Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions at SAP and as Senior Director of World Wide Business Operations for Aspen Technology. Kevin is an entrepreneur who has co-founded and worked in senior leadership roles at multiple early-stage startups that were later acquired by Fortune 100 companies. He received his MBA from Northeastern University after completing a BSBA at the University of Denver.

SpaceChain CEO Clifford W. Beek and PwC Manager for Enterprise Strategy & Value, Transformation Tim Ford discuss whether or not blockchain is transforming and decentralizing commercial space already and what’s really going on in this radical decentralization of space and asset allocation and management. With a Significant Digits report from SpaceNews Senior Staff Writer Jason Rainbow and SpaceNews Silicon Valley Correspondent Debra Werner. Clifford W. Beek, Spacechain CEOTim Ford, PwC Manager for Enterprise Strategy, Value, and Transformation

Planet was founded in 2010 as Cosmogia by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Dr. Christopher Boshuizen. The three scientists-turned-entrepreneurs had a singular vision: to image the entire Earth every day to make changes visible, accessible and actionable. They were the first to deploy cubesats in a commercial capacity, and over the past decade, they succeeded in revolutionizing the Earth observation (EO) industry and expanding access to satellite-based data far beyond the traditional defense, intelligence and agricultural sectors. The co-founders planned to design and build their own cubesats called Doves for launch into low Earth orbit. Their first satellite was built in the archetypal California garage. Successful fundraising permitted them to launch two demonstration satellites, Dove 1 and 2, in April 2013 and two more in November, by which time the company had announced plans for a 28-satellite constellation called Flock-1. The flock was launched from the International Space Station in 2014. The Doves on-orbit service would be initially be relatively brief due to atmospheric drag, but the low cost of manufacturing and rideshare launches would make possible rapid iteration of new generations. This iterative approach allowed Planet to rapidly improve the spacecraft capabilities and reliability while simultaneously serving customers, which was a wholly new approach in the industry. Latter generation Doves would be launched into higher orbits and see normal service lifetimes. More Flocks followed, including a recording-breaking launch of Flock 3p which consisted of 88 Dove satellites. From the total of over 500 spacecraft launched in the last decade, roughly 200 are currently active, representing continuous evolution in capabilities made possible by a cadence of 2-3 launches per year. By May 2015, Planet had raised a total of $183 million in financing, and used it to acquire Blackbridge, operator of the RapidEye five-satellite EO constellation. Its assets grew again in 2017 with the purchase of Terra Bella and its SkySat constellation of 15 EO cubesats from Google. The Skysat constellation was to grow over the next three years to a design total of 21 spacecraft, all of which are now operational and capturing 50cm data. Combined with the whole-Earth scanning of the Dove fleet, Planet can find an identify any change on the surface of our Planet. By imaging the entire Earth every day, Planet provides a revisit rate never before achieved. The imagery and data drawn from it is used to monitor farmers’ fields, manage crops and improve yields. It enables defense and intelligence agencies to understand events, anticipate their impacts and respond effectively. Governments use it to map land use, manage resources and monitor urbanization. As our climate changes, it guides decision-makers in responding to drought, wildfire, flooding and climate-induced migration. The company’s immense image archive also provides a global window into the past to illuminate the present and help predict the future. The remarkable success in less than a decade of the company founded by Marshall, Schingler and Boshuizen has helped inspire explosive growth in new Earth observation technologies, as well as space data analytics and new companies including ICEYE, Capella Space, Orbital Insight and Descartes Labs. Each successful innovation is adding to our understanding of the planet and better equips humanity to ensure a sustainable future. https://spacebq.org

Planet was founded in 2010 as Cosmogia by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Dr. Christopher Boshuizen. The three scientists-turned-entrepreneurs had a singular vision: to image the entire Earth every day to make changes visible, accessible and actionable. They were the first to deploy cubesats in a commercial capacity, and over the past decade, they succeeded in revolutionizing the Earth observation (EO) industry and expanding access to satellite-based data far beyond the traditional defense, intelligence and agricultural sectors. The co-founders planned to design and build their own cubesats called Doves for launch into low Earth orbit. Their first satellite was built in the archetypal California garage. Successful fundraising permitted them to launch two demonstration satellites, Dove 1 and 2, in April 2013 and two more in November, by which time the company had announced plans for a 28-satellite constellation called Flock-1. The flock was launched from the International Space Station in 2014. The Doves on-orbit service would be initially be relatively brief due to atmospheric drag, but the low cost of manufacturing and rideshare launches would make possible rapid iteration of new generations. This iterative approach allowed Planet to rapidly improve the spacecraft capabilities and reliability while simultaneously serving customers, which was a wholly new approach in the industry. Latter generation Doves would be launched into higher orbits and see normal service lifetimes. The remarkable success in less than a decade of the company founded by Marshall, Schingler and Boshuizen has helped inspire explosive growth in new Earth observation technologies, as well as space data analytics and new companies including ICEYE, Capella Space, Orbital Insight and Descartes Labs. Each successful innovation is adding to our understanding of the planet and better equips humanity to ensure a sustainable future.

Planet was founded in 2010 as Cosmogia by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Dr. Christopher Boshuizen. The three scientists-turned-entrepreneurs had a singular vision: to image the entire Earth every day to make changes visible, accessible and actionable. They were the first to deploy cubesats in a commercial capacity, and over the past decade, they succeeded in revolutionizing the Earth observation (EO) industry and expanding access to satellite-based data far beyond the traditional defense, intelligence and agricultural sectors. The co-founders planned to design and build their own cubesats called Doves for launch into low Earth orbit. Their first satellite was built in the archetypal California garage. Successful fundraising permitted them to launch two demonstration satellites, Dove 1 and 2, in April 2013 and two more in November, by which time the company had announced plans for a 28-satellite constellation called Flock-1. The flock was launched from the International Space Station in 2014. The Doves on-orbit service would initially be relatively brief due to atmospheric drag, but the low cost of manufacturing and rideshare launches would make possible rapid iteration of new generations. This iterative approach allowed Planet to rapidly improve the spacecraft capabilities and reliability while simultaneously serving customers, which was a wholly new approach in the industry. Latter generation Doves would be launched into higher orbits and see normal service lifetimes.

This episode features a roundtable conversation with Richard Baldridge, President and Chief Operating Officer at Viasat, Dr. Norman Jacknis, Senior Fellow at the Intelligent Community Forum and Professor Roberto Gallardo, Assistant Director of the Purdue Center for Regional Development and a Purdue Extension Community & Regional Economics Specialist. Richard Baldridge joined Viasat in April 1999, serving as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer from 2000 and as 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. Learn more. 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. Learn more. 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.

Before 2018, there were few structural ways for communications to be rapidly restored after a major disaster struck a community. But the satellite industry understood how vital communications are as the first response to a disaster. It established the Crisis Connectivity Charter, a collaboration between the satellite industry and the humanitarian relief community to make satellite-based communications more readily available to affected communities. The Charter established a pre-planned set of systems that allow for an immediate response at the time of a disaster. The Crisis Connectivity Charter, which won a Better Satellite World Award in 2018, was developed by members of the EMEA Satellite Operators Association (ESOA) and the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) and their members, in coordination with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC), which was led by the World Food Programme (WFP). At the time of creation, the Charter aimed to foster efficient cooperation between the satellite industry, local governments, non-government organizations (NGOs) and the broader humanitarian community in the initial stages of a disaster, allowing for better communication planning, increased connectivity and support for emergency responses. The Charter prioritized access to bandwidth during disaster responses by allocating pre-positioned satellite equipment and transmission capacity into high-risk countries. It also provides training and capacity-building for the humanitarian community around the world. What have been the results of this historic agreement and Charter to date? In this fourth episode of Bridging the Broadband Gap, we hear from David Meltzer, Secretary General of GVF and James Matthews, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Eutelsat Group, who discuss the Charter and its effects thus far.

For three decades, Wisconsin-based Isotropic Networks has moved the satellite communications industry forward, pushing the speed limits of single and hybrid networks and showing the industry what network uptime should be. Today, it is deploying the most advanced network monitoring and throughput management platform around. In a complex world, where broadband has become an essential utility, they solve the complex satellite communications problems other companies cannot or will not. In this third episode of Bridging the Broadband Gap, we hear from Hank Zbierski, CEO and Chief Catalyst of Isotropic Networks, who co-founded the company in 1992. Hank tells us a bit about Isotropic's vision of what the satellite industry can be and what the company is doing to create more robust hybrid networks to help provide broadband everywhere.

Hellas Sat is in a unique position to eliminate the digital divide in many areas around the world. The company received an award from the International Telcommunication Union (ITU) in 2022 and a Better Satellite World Award from SSPI in 2021 for enabling broadband connectivity to 127 public clinics and hospitals in Zimbabwe and for its efficient collection and distribution of health data to policymakers. Hellas Sat is making a difference, and it does so with a genuine passion for making the world a better place through satellite. In this second episode of the Bridging the Broadband Gap podcast series, we hear from Ken Karantonis, Space Programs Manager at Hellas Sat, who has been with the company for nearly 20 years. Ken tells us a bit about the company’s approach to closing the digital divide in places that have particularly suffered due to lack of connectivity and how Hellas Sat makes such goals financially feasible to pursue.

Broadband connectivity is only the foot of the bridge built by satellite networks. In a world shaken and stirred in ways unimaginable, connectivity has been revealed as THE primary economic enabler and the glue to a connected economy and the corporate enterprise.  The “hybrid” workforce and the rise of video and massive uses of data among even the smallest companies has made enterprise broadband increasingly essential.     So where are the gaps and the opportunities within this sector? What changes have taken place within the company that pioneered and made consumable online access?     In this episode of the Better Satellite World Podcast we take a look at the universe that Hughes created for the current and future enterprise.  We speak to executives who discuss the global trends in satellite broadband, the strategy going forward and how broadband is shaping the world’s most dynamic economy: that of the United States