Better Satellite World: Bits, Bytes and AI, Oh My!

The podcast series of the Digital Space campaign, underwritten by Hughes, delves into the rapidly evolving world of digital technology and its transformative impact on the space of satellite industries. In this series, we explore the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning and space based digital infrastructure with industry leaders and technologists.

Episode 1: Living in Interesting Times

Chris Stott is the Founder, Chair and CEO of Lonestar Data Holdings Inc., the Lunar information, technology, and communications company and the first to send and operate data centers from the Moon for global disaster recovery. A lifetime entrepreneur, Chris is also the Founder and Non-Executive Chair of River Advisors and ManSat, the world’s largest commercial provider of satellite spectrum.

Chris serves as the Chair Emeritus, alongside the late Sir Arthur C. Clarke, of the Space and Satellite Professionals International (SSPI), the largest professional association in the global space and satellite industry, which also named him Satellite Industry Mentor of the Year in 2015.

Chris’s passion for the economics and commerce of space has led him to co-found both the Institute of Space Commerce in Austin in the United States, and the International Institute of Space Commerce on the Isle of Man in the British Isles. He has served on faculty at the International Space University (ISU) since 2003 and is a former co-chair of the university’s school of business and management. Chris is also a guest lecturer in space law and regulation at MIT Media Labs, the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and the School of Law at the University of Houston.

In his spare time, Chris is a multi-award-winning producer, writer and documentary filmmaker. A naturalized Manx American, Chris lives in Florida with this wife and son and their dogs. He enjoys shooting (pistol, rifle, skeet and trap), SCUBA and Free Diving and flying helicopters. He drinks way too much coffee and rarely watches TV. When he needs to sleep, he reads his own bio.

Underwritten by

With Thanks to Our Corporate Partners

Episode 2: Never Bored - From Astrophysics to Game Design and Beyond

Jennifer Seiler is a Ph.D. computational astrophysicist, software developer and open science devotee. She currently works for RKF Engineering as a simulation and model developer and engineer for long-range wireless communication systems (both ground and satellite systems). Prior to RKF Engineering, Jennifer worked for Giant Army as Staff Astrophysicist and Developer on Universe Sandbox, a physics simulator sandbox game currently available on Steam.

She previously worked for the Department of Statistics at Columbia University studying open coding, open data, big data management and statistical issues of reproducibility in the sciences. A major focus was a project called ResearchCompendia.science. ResearchCompendia.science is a web service that allows researchers to run codes associated with scientific publications. The service allows authors of publications to create companion websites on which others may reproduce the paper’s results or run their own parameters.

Jennifer has ten years of experience designing, developing and testing massively parallel numerical simulations that evolve highly non-linear partial differential equations (the Einstein Equations) in three or more dimensions for dynamical systems (close binary black holes and neutron stars). Though her degrees are in physics and astrophysics, she has a very strong and unique computer science background in software development and testing, numerical simulations, analysis, database management and cluster management. From 2010 to late 2012, Jennifer occupied a NASA Postdoctoral Position (NPP) in the Astrophysical Sciences Division at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center doing numerical relativity and gravitational astrophysics related to the (2012 de-funded and soon to be refunded) LISA mission (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) and relevant to LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory). She received her Ph.D. from the Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany for research at the Max-Planck Institut für Gravitationsphysik (Albert Einstein Institute).

Episode 3: The Value of Connectivity on the Move

Brad Grady serves as a Business Development Manager at Hughes, where he enhances airlines’ in-flight connectivity experiences through the comprehensive Hughes In-Flight Connectivity Solutions. Leveraging over a decade of market analysis and insights, Brad collaborates with other industry-leading experts at Hughes to deliver transformative IFC experiences.

With more than 15 years in the satellite connectivity industry, Brad’s career is marked by prominent leadership positions. Prior to joining Hughes, he served as the Chief Operating Officer at Northern Sky Research (NSR) until its acquisition by Analysys Mason in 2022, where he continued as a Research Director. At NSR, an Analysys Mason company, Brad led the mobility and government/military research sectors, providing valuable insights to end-users, satellite operators, service providers, and the financial community.

Throughout his consultancy career, Brad has authored numerous reports on topics ranging from the global space economy’s market opportunities to the impacts of emerging LEO technologies on the mobility sector. He is a recognized speaker at industry conferences, has been interviewed by leading space sector publications, and has contributed to numerous custom consulting engagements.

Brad earned a Bachelors of Arts in Economics from the University of Maryland.