Space Situational Awareness in an Era of Weaponized Space
On Orbit
This episode of the Future Space Economy series explores the dangerous, yet increasingly likely hypothetical situation that a space-faring nation breaks the Space Treaty of 1967 and brings nuclear weapons into space. Host Jeffrey Hill interviews space law and policy experts Senjuti Mallick, business operations manager for COMSPOC, and Tatiana Sainati, partner at Wiley Rein. Senjuti and Tatiana weigh in on what governments are doing right now to expand space situational awareness (SSA) capabilities to protect commercial interests in space. And whether these dangerous developments...
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2024 Year in Review With Via Satellite Editors
On Orbit
There’s never a slow news day in the space and satellite industry and there’s a lot to talk about from 2024 — from SES’s acquisition of Intelsat, Starlink’s commercial wins, challenges with some of the biggest manufacturers, and new launch vehicles coming online. Host Rachel Jewett is joined by fellow Via editors Mark Holmes and Jeff Hill for a discussion of some of the biggest storylines of 2024. The discussion centers around the top storylines from operators, manufacturers, and launchers, and why these are the critical stories that we’ll be covering as they continue to develop in...
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Baiju Bhatt on Aetherflux’s Vision to Build a Power Grid in Space
On Orbit
Tech entrepreneur Baiju Bhatt, known for disrupting the investing landscape with Robinhood, has his sights on the space industry. The Robinhood co-founder left his role as chief creative officer in March of this year, and announced space solar startup Aetherflux . Bhatt joins On Orbit this week to talk about why he wanted to start a space company, and tackle the goal of building a power grid in space. He shares his longtime passion for space that started with looking up to his dad who worked at NASA, and being inspired by the pace of innovation in the commercial space industry today....
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Evolving Launch and Delivery Infrastructure to Support an Expanding Space Economy
On Orbit
In the latest episode in the Future Space Economy series, leaders from Rocket Lab, NASA, and Northrop Grumman explain how launch infrastructure is evolving to support an expanding space economy. The discussion covers how industry is evolving to deliver payloads of all sizes beyond LEO/MEO/GEO orbits, and how launchers are scaling up their infrastructure to meet future demand, and the design innovations companies are pursuing to optimize performance and efficiency for beyond-LEO missions. This episode’s guests include: Jeff Brink, flight systems engineer in Deep...
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Acres of Potential: How NASA Acres Works to Bring Satellite Imagery to the Agriculture Industry
On Orbit
NASA Acres is working to bring the value of satellite imagery to farmers and the agriculture industry in the U.S. This episode features NASA Acres Deputy Director Mike Humber for a conversation about how NASA Acres is working to build trust and bridge the gap for greater adoption of satellite imagery within the agriculture industry. Humber explains that a large part of this work is about building relationships — forming partnerships and hearing directly from farmers. NASA Acres recently conducted a survey of more than 1,000 farmers with Trust in Food and in collaboration with Ag Data...
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What a Trump or Harris Election Win Means for the Space and Satellite Industry
On Orbit
This week’s On Orbit podcast is a topical look at space policy in the U.S. election. Host Rachel Jewett is joined by fellow Via editor Jeff Hill for a conversation with Svetla Ben-Itzhak, assistant professor of Space and International Relations and Deputy Director with the West Space Scholars Program at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Ben-Itzhak recently wrote a piece for The Conversation about the implications of Musk’s endorsement of Donald Trump for U.S. space exploration and defense. This is an increasingly pertinent issue as reports from national...
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Via Editors Recap World Space Business Week
On Orbit
This week Via Satellite editors Jeff Hill and Mark Holmes join the podcast to talk about their trip to Paris for the annual World Space Business Week. The annual September show was at a particularly interesting time this year, a month after the Olympics and just weeks before the U.S. presidential election. One of the key themes from the week is just how much the industry is grappling with SpaceX’s dominance and how to compete with SpaceX in launch, satellite communications and even Earth observation with Starshield. There are so many interesting storylines in the works right now with...
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Patti Grace Smith Fellows Share the Program’s Outsized Impact
On Orbit
In this week’s On Orbit podcast episode, we hear firsthand about the impact the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship is making. Patti Grace Smith was a pioneer in the aerospace industry who served as the head of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation. She broke many barriers as a Black woman and was an inspiration to many. The Patti Grace Smith fellowship honors her legacy by working to combat racial inequity in the aerospace industry. In this episode we hear from two fellows about how they have been impacted by the fellowship. AJ...
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Space Robotics: Leading Autonomous Systems for Building, Capturing, and Servicing
On Orbit
This episode in the highlights breakthroughs from leading space system manufacturers in building autonomous robots that inspect, service, assemble, build, and refuel in orbit. The discussion digs into advances in additive manufacturing, shares lessons learned from major in-space demonstrations, and outlines demand for commercially built robotics. This episode’s guests include: Al Tadros, CTO of Redwire; Holly Johnson, vice president of Robotics and Space Operations, MDA Space; Kevin Smith, chief engineer, Orbit Fab; Joe Anderson, vice president of Space Logistics,...
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What’s Propelling the Need for In-Space Mobility?
On Orbit
On-board propulsion is one of the biggest decisions that satellite operators make in the process of designing their spacecraft. The decision impacts the cost, weight, and capability of a satellite. And it can be a challenging decision to make because of the technology and fragmented nature of the propulsion market. In this episode of On Orbit, we talk to Dr. Daniel Perez Grande, CEO and co-founder of in-space mobility company Ienai Space. Daniel breaks down some of the ways the propulsion market is evolving. As the small satellite industry matures and the orbital environment in LEO gets...
info_outlineOneWeb is one of the most compelling stories of the New Space era. From its start as one of the first constellation ventures, and early success, to its fall in bankruptcy and rebirth under new ownership, the company has captured the space industry's attention for years.
Caleb Henry is working to catalog that story, writing a book about OneWeb. Henry is a very familiar face to Via Satellite readers — he is a former reporter for both Via Satellite and Space News, and he is now Director of Research for Quilty Space.
Henry joins On Orbit this week to talk about his OneWeb book project. He spent the last year conducting interviews and recently secured an agent. He shares an inside look at his process — from conducting more than 250 interviews to how he’s adapting his journalistic writing style to the long-form nature of writing a book. And, Henry shares why thinks it's so important to tell the story of OneWeb.