She Reaches, Episode 7: Maureen Gannon on Disrupting the Rocket Industry and Visionary Leadership
Release Date: 11/06/2025
How Do You Write the Rules for Innovation? with Mike Thompson, UK Space & Satellite Personality of the Year Nominee
SSPI
In this episode of The People Behind the Progress, we explore a question at the heart of every technological leap: how do you write the rules for innovation? Few people can answer that with more insight than Mike Thompson, who has spent more than thirty-five years shaping the policies and regulatory frameworks that allow new technologies to take flight. From the UK Radiocommunications Agency and Inmarsat to co-founding Access Partnership, Mike has helped define how spectrum is shared, how satellite networks coexist, and how global agreements are built. His work has influenced...
info_outline
Better Satellite World: Who Leads When the Sky Is Changing?
SSPI
This special mini-series, The People Behind the Progress, celebrates the finalists for the UK Space and Satellite – A distinction that honors people whose ideas, integrity, and influence have advanced the UK's role on the global stage. In the first episode of this mini-series, we hear from Dr. Alice Bunn, President of UKspace. Dr Alice Bunn is a globally recognised leader in science and engineering, with a distinguished career spanning strategic leadership, international diplomacy, and public engagement. Awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Honours List in 2022 for her services to the UK...
info_outline
She Reaches, Episode 7: Maureen Gannon on Disrupting the Rocket Industry and Visionary Leadership
SSPI
In this episode of She Reaches, host Tanveer Pujara speaks with Maureen Gannon, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of X-Bow Systems, a company redefining the rocket motor and launch vehicle market through advanced manufacturing and innovation. With over 30 years of experience across aerospace, defense, and commercial sectors, Maureen has built a remarkable career leading high-performing teams, securing hundreds of millions in startup funding, and winning major U.S. defense contracts. As one of the few women co-founders in the solid rocket motor industry, she’s not only...
info_outline
Space & Satellite Futures: Movers in Our Orbit, Season 2: Doing Impactful Work for Earth from Space
SSPI
In the Movers in Our Orbit podcast series, we speak with friends of SSPI who recently made big executive moves. We’ll find out what they’re doing now and what they hope to achieve in their new roles in the industry. In a rebroadcast of the first episode of season 2, we hear from Kelsey Doerksen, GeoAI Postdoctoral Researcher at Arizona State University and . Passionate to do impactful work for Earth, in space, Kelsey Doerksen is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Oxford in the Autonomous Intelligent Machines and Systems Centre for Doctoral Training Program, in the Oxford...
info_outline
Better Satellite World: Everyday Guardians, Episode 5: Celestial Stewardship and the Urgency of Orbital Ethics
SSPI
In Everyday Guardians, the podcast series of the campaign, we speak with people who are helping to build a more resilient, sustainable and secure orbital environment – whether through technology, policy or ethical leadership. Securing the Future of Space is underwritten by the American Space Exploration Fund. In the fifth episode, we hear from Moriba Jah, President and Co-founder of GaiaVerse. Moriba Jah is a world-leading space environmentalist, astrodynamicist, and social justice advocate, a MacArthur Fellow and Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University...
info_outline
Better Satellite World: From Classroom to Community, Episode 3: Strengthening Communities
SSPI
From Classroom to Community – the official podcast of the campaign, underwritten by Hughes, an Echostar company – shines a spotlight on the tremendous difference connectivity can make for schools, especially those isolated by terrain and other factors, and how connectivity via satellite transforms the communities that surround those schools. When a remote school connects for the first time, everything changes. Students gain access to global knowledge, and teachers tap into new tools. Families and communities begin to share in the benefits. In the third episode of our series, we hear...
info_outline
She Reaches: Women in Space, Episode 6 - A Conversation with Kirsten Bartok Touw of New Vista Capital
SSPI
In the sixth episode of She Reaches, host Tanveer Pujara speaks with Kirsten Bartok Touw, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of New Vista Capital, an early-stage venture firm investing in space, aerospace, and defense technology. With a career spanning investment banking, venture capital, entrepreneurship, and national security policy, Kirsten brings a uniquely holistic view of how capital and innovation intersect to shape the future of aerospace and defense. Before launching New Vista, she co-founded AirFinance, served as Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy at Hawker...
info_outline
SSPI-WISE Presents: Connected Schools: How NIGCOMSAT is Enabling Connectivity for Education in Nigeria
SSPI
Satellite connectivity makes all the difference in education, and bridging the gap to deliver high-speed internet to schools in hard-to-reach places creates the opportunity for every student to soar. In this SSPI-WISE Presents podcast, based on the panel conducted at the September 25 meeting of SSPI-WISE, we hear a roundtable discussion from leaders of NIGCOMSAT who share insights on how they are advancing digital inclusion and transforming education through satellite broadband. This episode is moderated by Ruth Okoh, Founder/Managing Director of Spaceboss Aerospace Consulting Ltd., and...
info_outline
Better Satellite World: Accelerate Change, Episode 5 - The SES Playbook
SSPI
In SSPI's Accelerate Change podcast series, sponsored by SES, we explore how creative collaboration is transforming the pace of innovation across the space and satellite industry. SES is championing a new era - one where partnerships, agile technologies, and bold ideas are breaking old cycles and building a more connected future. Through conversations with leaders in cloud, telecommunications, sustainability, and space infrastructure, we dive into the stories shaping the next frontier of global connectivity. In the fifth and final episode, we hear from Nihar Shah, Chief Strategy Officer...
info_outline
Better Satellite World: From Classroom to Community, Episode 1 - The First Signal
SSPI
From Classroom to Community – the official podcast of the campaign, underwritten by Hughes, an Echostar company – shines a spotlight on the tremendous difference connectivity can make for schools, especially those isolated by terrain and other factors, and how connectivity via satellite transforms the communities that surround those schools. When a remote school connects for the first time, everything changes. Students gain access to global knowledge, and teachers tap into new tools. Families and communities begin to share in the benefits. In the first episode of our series, we hear more...
info_outline
In this episode of She Reaches, host Tanveer Pujara speaks with Maureen Gannon, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of X-Bow Systems, a company redefining the rocket motor and launch vehicle market through advanced manufacturing and innovation.
With over 30 years of experience across aerospace, defense, and commercial sectors, Maureen has built a remarkable career leading high-performing teams, securing hundreds of millions in startup funding, and winning major U.S. defense contracts. As one of the few women co-founders in the solid rocket motor industry, she’s not only disrupting technology — she’s reshaping how leadership looks in aerospace.
Tune in to hear Maureen’s entrepreneurial journey — from co-founding Galactic Unite and Firefly Space to scaling X-Bow Systems — and her insights on breaking barriers, building momentum, and fueling innovation in a high-stakes industry.