The annual SATELLITE conference in Washington, D.C. is the gravitational pull of the commercial space & satellite industry. Like every other conference, media outlet and association that gathers the global community, SATELLITE has undergone changes over the past five years that reflect the growth and wonderfully chaotic direction of the space & satellite industry.

Jeffrey Hill, Executive Editor of Via Satellite and Executive Chairman of SATELLITE 2025, has taken a breather from conference planning to talk to SSPI’s Lou Zacharilla about what we can expect this March in Washington, D.C. SATELLITE has adapted to many changes in conference structure and will be bringing exciting new features to the conference this year, such as the “Happy Hour Rocket Show” on the Exhibition floor. Jeff and Lou also discuss the “anxiety, both good and bad” running through the industry as it faces change after change and what we hope to see in the future.

Jeffrey Hill serves as the Executive Editor of Via Satellite and chair of the annual SATELLITE conference and exhibition in Washington D.C. He is also the host and producer of Via Satellite’s On Orbit podcast and the host of Via Satellite’s technology webcast series. Over the course of his nearly 15-year career, Jeff has become one of the most connected people in the space and satellite industry. He has interviewed prominent space and technology leaders such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Bea Perez, Emily Calandrelli and Charles Bolden, as well as hundreds of policy makers, investors, influencers and executives from all over the world.

A native of Philadelphia, he began his career as web editor for Next City magazine, while covering city hall politics for Philadelphia Weekly and Philadelphia Inquirer. He also previously served as a director of communications at Drexel University. He now lives in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife and son, two beagles and piles of books, musical instruments and knick-knacks from countless industry events and conferences. He enjoys making Slack Emojis of his co-workers.

This podcast is sponsored by

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners

In The Space Business is... – the podcast series of The Space Business is Everywhere campaign, underwritten by ST Engineering iDirect – we take a look at the way the commercial space industry has spread itself to parts of the world where space and satellites were once only read about or dreamed of. Each episode will focus on a specific location and features an innovator who is shaping - and reshaping - the industry. In the first episode, we hear from Jane Egerton-Idehen, CEO of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT).

Jane Egerton-Idehen is a seasoned professional Tech Executive, Author and Angel Investor. She is a dynamic executive with over 20 years in leadership roles across telecommunications, technology and satellite industries. She is currently the MD/CEO of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), leading the nation’s foremost agency in charge of managing the operations and services of the communications satellite owned by Nigeria. She has previously held high-level positions at Meta, Avan Communications, Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Network. With proven expertise in driving strategic growth, fostering C-level relationships and implementing revenue-generating sales strategies across multi-national markets, Egerton-Idehen is recognized among Nigeria’s top corporate leaders, with a focus on emerging markets, strategic consulting and innovative technology solutions.

She was the Head of Sales, Middle East and Africa, Meta and Country Manager & Regional Sales Director for the West African branch of Avan Communications Group PLC. She cumulatively spent 13 years in Sales and Management in the telecommunication infrastructure giant — Ericsson. She also worked as a Cluster lead for Nokia Siemens Network in West Africa. Egerton-Idehen was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. She has a degree in Electronics Engineering in 2001 from the University of Nigeria, Nusska; a Master’s Degree from Warwick Business School, US; and an executive education from Yale School of Management, US. She has worked in the telecommunications industry in Africa for more than 17 years.

Being one of the few females heading key business areas in the tech industry has exposed her to numerous professional and personal challenges peculiar to women. Spurred by discussions with fellow female executives round the globe, she organized a forum at Ericsson in which emerging and experienced female leaders could support each other in developing their careers. The overwhelming success of the forum led her to found Women and Career to reach women beyond her organization and to support girls seeking careers after school.

In March 2020, she published a book, Be Fearless: Give Yourself Permission To Be You. She drew from her more than 15 years of experience as a telecommunication executive in Africa to help women build lasting careers, especially in the male-dominated STEM industries.

Egerton-Idehen has continued to be actively involved in speaking to girls and women about STEM careers. She has spoken at TEDx programs, the African Science Academy, Asheshi University in Ghana, and CFA’s Startups Hangout and many more. She was awarded the Most Outstanding Female CEO of 2024 by the 5th Business and Excellence Awards. She is also the recipient of the Womenovate INWED2024 Women Impact Leader Awards.

Egerton-Idehen volunteers for the ACE Foundation’s Young Career and Graduate Mentorship Programme, and she is an aspiring fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Institute. A home girl at heart, she actively gives back to the Ajegunle community of Lagos through the Sozo Network’s #BeforeITurn18 program, which prepares underserved teenage girls for life, career and leadership.

This podcast series is underwritten by

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners

On the night of December 2, 2024 in London, SSPI and its UK Chapter held their annual Dinner to present Awards to three individuals and organizations that have made the world a far better place through their efforts. In this podcast series, you will hear their stories. The first episode features Andre L. Jones, who co-founded WANSAT Networks, Inc. to provide connectivity to underserved and unserved areas in his birth country of Guyana.

Born in one of the poorest regions of the nation, Andre witnessed firsthand the challenges that rural communities faced due to their isolation. When oil was discovered in Guyana, for example, the nation experienced rapid economic expansion, but the benefits did not reach many rural areas. Andre turned the years of expertise in the satellite communications industry he had developed as a successful businessman in the United States toward the problem, securing vital partnerships with leading companies operating in the region like Intelsat, Viasat and Telefonica. Through these partnerships, WANSAT was able to deliver connectivity to remote regions unreached by fiber and terrestrial networks, providing those isolated communities with access to essential services and communication options. Read more about Andre.

This podcast series is sponsored by:

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners

In The Space Business is... – the podcast series of The Space Business is Everywhere campaign, underwritten by ST Engineering iDirect – we take a look at the way the commercial space industry has spread itself to parts of the world where space and satellites were once only read about or dreamed of. Each episode will focus on a specific location and features an innovator who is shaping - and reshaping - the industry. In the first episode, we hear from Steve Matier, President and CEO of Maritime Launch Services in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Stephen Matier, President and CEO of Maritime Launch Services, is the visionary and driving force behind the development of Spaceport Nova Scotia, a world-class commercial space complex that will launch Canada into the global space industry. A mechanical engineer (Bachelor of Science, University of New Mexico, 1989) and an award-winning former NASA contractor engineering manager (NASA White Sands Test Facility), Matier is leading coordination and approval among provincial, federal and international governing bodies, securing financing, leading launch vehicle lease contracts, coordinating launch vehicle integration and selecting best-in-class commercial firms to support launch operations at Maritime Launch.

As part of Steve’s work with Maritime Launch, he is driving the collaboration and partnerships that will support the development of a safe and environmentally sustainable commercial space launch market in Canada. With satellite and launch vehicle clients within Canada and around the globe interested in launching from Spaceport Nova Scotia, Maritime Launch is joining a global industry that will exceed one trillion dollars annually within the next 20 years.

While Steve’s day-to-day focus is squarely focused on developing Canada’s first commercial spaceport, Matier’s interest in space extends beyond the technology and the launch itself. Steve has a passion for teaching, which means he is never far from the classroom, whether guest lecturing at a local high school physics class in Canso or presenting to kids at summer programs in Antigonish. He has driven partnerships with St. Francis Xavier University and Cape Breton University and is a supporter of Dalhousie’s cubesat program. His passion for working with schools began in his early career in the Space Shuttle program, with the recognition that kids can look up into space and see opportunity for themselves on the ground. Steve is a recipient of the prestigious Silver Snoopy Award, an honor in recognition of outstanding achievements related to human flight safety and mission success.

This podcast series is underwritten by

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners

In this Better Satellite World podcast, based on the December 2024 edition of the New York Space Business Roundtable, we take a more comprehensive look at the industry’s need to get its financial mojo back and to make its case to the larger media and the world that it is more than Musk, and as integral to human life and society as anything can be. We look at the ethics behind the great change coming for space and ask – in our typical way – whether DoorDash is more important than the Dart mission!

Our guests include:

• Jonathan Baliff, CFO, Redwire Space
• Tim Fernholz, Senior Space Writer, Payload
• Michael Thate, Research Scholar for Responsible Tech, Innovation and Policy, Princeton University
• Rick Tumlinson, Founder and Chairman, SpaceFund

You can watch the original December 2024 edition of the New York Space Business Roundtable here:

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners

In this Better Satellite World podcast, based on the live November 2024 edition of the New York Space Business Roundtable that took place at the offices of Clyde & Co. in New York City, we hear from a powerhouse panel of guests including top investors, underwriters and space industry experts who examine the core issues shaping the Commercial Space Agenda and the future investment landscape.

As the 2025 presidential term brings a wave of high-level decisions on space policy, the stage is set for pivotal choices that will shape national strategy across space security, development, and exploration. Space technology is poised to open new pathways for bolstering national security and enhancing human welfare. With the infusion of commercial space capabilities into civil and national security realms, government space systems architectures are evolving in response to new opportunities and challenges. Yet, the sustainability of these shifts remains uncertain, with U.S. space leadership facing ongoing pressures. Policymakers and industry leaders alike stand at a critical crossroads.

Our guests include:

• Tom Dinges, Vice President of Investor Relations, Mynaric
• Elizabeth Evans, Senior Equity Partner @ Clyde & Co. | J.D.
• Alex Hamilton, President and Co-Founder, Donald Capital, LLC
• Chris Kunstadter, President, Triton Space LLC
• Michael Sheetz, Space Reporter, CNBC
• John A. Willding II, Corporate and Securities Partner, Stinson LLP
• Hamlet Yousef, Managing Partner, IronGate Capital Advisors

You can watch the original panel from the live November 2024 New York Space Business Roundtable here:

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners

The United Kingdom’s robust and ambitious space sector has many personalities. In this podcast series, we introduce you to three whom the UK Chapter of SSPI is considering for its prestigious Personality of the Year Award in 2024. One of these three finalists will be named the 2024 Satellite Personality of the Year live at the Better Satellite World Awards Dinner in London on 2 December.

Each of the three finalists is a star who has made significant contribution to the UK and global satellite industry and whose career is a study of performance and excellence at the highest level. In the third episode, we learn a bit about Mark Boggett, CEO of Seraphim Space Fund.

Mark Boggett is the CEO and co-founder of Seraphim, an investment firm exclusively focused on SpaceTech domain globally. Seraphim launched the world’s first Space VC fund in 2016. Now operating Seraphim Space Accelerator on three continents, with >$350m raised for the seed stage alumni. Seraphim also operates a space growth fund, listed on the London Stock Exchange. Across these three elements Seraphim has built a portfolio of over 100 SpaceTech startups - the world’s most prolific investor in the space domain.

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners

The United Kingdom’s robust and ambitious space sector has many personalities. In this podcast series, we introduce you to three whom the UK Chapter of SSPI is considering for its prestigious Personality of the Year Award in 2024. One of these three finalists will be named the 2024 Satellite Personality of the Year live at the Better Satellite World Awards Dinner in London on 2 December. Click here to join us there!

Each of the three finalists is a star who has made significant contribution to the UK and global satellite industry and whose career is a study of performance and excellence at the highest level. In the second episode, we learn a bit about Antonio Franchi, Head of the 5G/6G NTN Programme Office at the European Space Agency (ESA).

Antonio Franchi works at the European Space Agency as the Head of the 5G/6G NTN Programme Office in the Connectivity and Secure Communications Directorate. Antonio has over 30 years of experience in the satellite telecommunications industry. Prior to ESA, Antonio worked for over 20 years with Inmarsat, a major global satellite operator, spearheading a new generation of satellite communications systems. Antonio received an MSc in Electronic Engineering from the University of Rome and an MBA from the London Business School. He is author of 30+ articles and papers published at international conferences and professional magazines, and he holds six international patents in the satcom field.

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners

The United Kingdom’s robust and ambitious space sector has many personalities. In this podcast series, we introduce you to three whom the UK Chapter of SSPI is considering for its prestigious Personality of the Year Award in 2024. One of these three finalists will be named the 2024 Satellite Personality of the Year live at the Better Satellite World Awards Dinner in London on 2 December. Click here to join us there!

Each of the three finalists is a star who has made significant contribution to the UK and global satellite industry and whose career is a study of performance and excellence at the highest level. In the first episode, we learn a bit more about Dr. David Parker FRAeS, Non-Executive Board Member of the UK Space Agency and Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton.

Dr. David Parker has led a distinguished thirty-five-year career in the space sector, spanning industry, UK government and the European Space Agency (ESA). Until June 2023, he served as ESA’s Director of Space Exploration at ESTEC in the Netherlands, overseeing astronaut missions to the International Space Station, Europe’s involvement in Artemis and pioneering projects like training an astronaut with a physical disability.

Previously, he was the Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency (2013-2016), where he led Tim Peake’s ISS mission and negotiated ESA’s first UK center in Harwell. Starting in the UK space industry in 1990, he contributed to projects like XMM-Newton and ExoMars. Dr. Parker holds a degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics and a PhD from NASA Langley Research Center. He has received several accolades, including the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Geoffrey Pardoe award. He currently works part-time at ESA, serves on the UK Space Agency Board and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton.

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners

In this Better Satellite World podcast, based on a panel session at the live New York Space Business Roundtable on September 18, we hear a discussion on the role of space and satellite in economic development, both in New York and beyond. Experts share their tips and what challenges they have faced or expect to face in the future.

Our guests include:

• Lou Zacharilla, Director of Innovation, SSPI (moderator)
• Nick Reese, CEO & Founder, Frontier Foundry, former DHS
• Luc Decker, Consul General, Luxembourg Trade & Investment Office NY
• Norman R. Garza, Jr., Executive Director, Texas Space Commission

This podcast is one of many conversations we’ll be having over the next several months about the many ways that the space business has gone mainstream as part of The Space Business is Everywhere campaign! Once the exclusive province of prime government contractors and a handful of commercial satellite operators, the business of space has vastly expanded, accelerated and diversified, as the plunging cost of access to space has attracted unprecedented private investment.

You can watch the original panel from the live September 2024 New York Space Business Roundtable here:

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners

In the podcast series of Reducing the Risks of Space, Part 2: New Ideas in Space Safety, we explore policy, law, technology and operations in development now to manage the challenging space environment of the future. Episode 4 features a conversation with Dr. Grant Cates, Senior Project Leader for the Space Architecture Department at The Aerospace Corporation.

Dr. Grant R. Cates is a senior project leader for the Space Architecture Department at The Aerospace Corporation. In this role, Cates leads discrete event simulation analysis capabilities for NASA’s Human Exploration missions, Space Force launch ranges, and other customers. He provides launch probability assessments, forecasts of future launches, optimization of complex multi-launch space missions, and advocates for in-space rescue capabilities.

Cates joined Aerospace in 2014 and developed a model to determine launch range throughput and for forecasting future launches, both domestic and international. He led development of a model that estimated launch probability for the Atlas, Delta, and Falcon launch vehicles.

Cates was a chief scientist at SAIC where he built simulations to analyze human space flight architectures and to estimate the launch probability for NASA's Space Launch System. He held various positions at NASA in the Space Shuttle Program, including payload integration manager, landing convoy commander, flow manager, and flow director for the Columbia space shuttle orbiter. He was a member of the technical committee for the joint NASA/Air Force Source Evaluation Board for the initial Shuttle Processing Contract, served as a board member for the Space Program Operations Contract, was a member of the mishap investigation board that investigated a fire on the space shuttle Endeavour, and led the Jasper, Texas recovery site after the loss of Columbia. Cates was also an Air Force AWACS weapons director. He participated in Red Flag air warfare exercises, controlled F-15s intercepting Soviet bombers, and flew combat support missions during Operation Earnest Will.

Cates is the author, lead author, and coauthor of numerous papers. His peer reviewed journal articles include the “Project Assessment by Simulation Technique” and “The In-Space Rescue Capability Gap.”

The Reducing the Risks of Space, Part 2: New Ideas in Space Safety campaign is underwritten by

The American Space Exploration Children’s Trust Fund

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners

In this Better Satellite World podcast, based on a panel session at the live New York Space Business Roundtable on September 18, we hear a discussion on how New York State has moved forward on its journey to become a commercial space industry center, the pace of its development and what it needs to really get this going faster.

Our guests include:

• Joe Fargnoli, Founder, New York Space Alliance (moderator)
• Michael Clouser, Director, The Startup Race / Researcher, International Triple Helix Institute
• John Neal, Executive Director, Space Policy, Cyber, Space and National Security Division, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Barry Safier, Engineering Manager, Moog Space and Defense Group
• N. Darius Sankey, Managing Director, Innovation Acceleration Capital

This podcast is one of many conversations we’ll be having over the next several months about the many ways that the space business has gone mainstream as part of The Space Business is Everywhere campaign! Once the exclusive province of prime government contractors and a handful of commercial satellite operators, the business of space has vastly expanded, accelerated and diversified, as the plunging cost of access to space has attracted unprecedented private investment.

You can watch the original panel from the live September 2024 New York Space Business Roundtable here:

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners

Bits, Bytes and AI, Oh My!, the podcast 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. In episode 5, we hear from Carla Filotico, Partner and Managing Director at Novaspace.

Carla Filotico has 20 years of experience in management and strategy consulting. In her current role, she leads Novaspace strategy practice. She has extensive knowledge of the space sector, its ecosystem and applications/domains and more generally of the issues related to the space industry along the entire value chain from R&D, to manufacturing, launch, operations and to downstream applications. Ms. Filotico has been supporting space public institutions on space and industrial policy, market development and entrepreneurship fostering, as well as key global and European industry players to grow their business and shape their investment strategies. She is an active member of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Jury. Prior to joining Novaspace (formerly SpaceTec Partners and Euroconsult), she led Booz&co’s (now Strategy& PWC) Aerospace and Defence practice in Italy and the Space Strategy team in Europe. Ms. Filotico is an Aerospace engineer, with MSc in space system engineering.

This podcast series is underwritten by

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners

In the podcast series of Reducing the Risks of Space, Part 2: New Ideas in Space Safety, we explore policy, law, technology and operations in development now to manage the challenging space environment of the future. Episode 3 features a conversation with renowned industry journalist Peter B. de Selding, Co-Founder and Chief Editor of SpaceIntelReport and Member of the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame.

Peter B. de Selding is Co-Founder and Editor of SpaceIntelReport.com. He started SpaceIntelReport in 2017 after 26 years as the Paris Bureau Chief for SpaceNews where he covered the commercial satellite, launch and the international space businesses. A must read for space executives, Peter has broken numerous stories that changed the course of the industry. Among them was his investigation of the February 1995 launch accident at Xichang in China that destroyed the Intelsat 708 satellite. Peter also led coverage of the privatization of Intelsat and Eutelsat – and of the flurry of merger and acquisition activity that followed them – which further transformed the industry. His reporting could also change the fortunes of companies large and small. Read more about Peter.

The Reducing the Risks of Space, Part 2: New Ideas in Space Safety campaign is underwritten by

The Space Shuttle Children’s Trust Fund

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners

Bits, Bytes and AI, Oh My!, the podcast 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. In episode 4, we hear from Kidsan Barnes, Senior Vice President of Cruise & Ferry at Neuron.

Kidsan Barnes is a distinguished leader in the satellite communications and cruise connectivity industries. She currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Cruise & Ferry at Neuron. With a career marked by innovation and strategic vision, Kidsan has played a pivotal role in driving growth and transformation within her sector.

Kidsan’s leadership philosophy centers on strategic intent, mental clarity and the joy of leading. Her contributions have not gone unnoticed; she was honored on the South Florida Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list, recognizing her significant impact on her industry, the economy and community, and also recognized on their Influential Business Women’s list for 2022.

Under her leadership, Neuron’s Cruise & Ferry division has seen remarkable advancements, solidifying its position as a leader in the fast-evolving world of satellite communications. Kidsan’s dedication to excellence and philanthropic contributions are seen in her voluntary board roles for both SSPI and Florida International University where she gained her Executive MBA. She remains an inspiration for those in the industries she serves.

This podcast series is underwritten by

SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners