Blog & Updates

Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) has opened nominations for the next “20 Under 35” cohort. The “20 Under 35” will be named on December 18, 2025 and honored in early 2026 on the same night as the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, in a cross-generational Night of Excellence celebration.

On May 4, 2025, the space & satellite industry lost a giant. Pradman Kaul, Former Chairman & CEO of Hughes Network Systems and a member of the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame, was known throughout the industry as a visionary, an inspirational leader and a paragon of engineering breakthroughs.

How space businesses emerge, where they take root, and what conditions turn policy into platforms and vision into viable service

Satellites are the backbone of modern infrastructure, but the rapid expansion of space activities brings new challenges. Orbital debris threatens operational satellites, while policy gaps raise concerns about the equitable and sustainable use of space. By addressing these challenges, we can protect vital satellite services, enable innovation, and lay the groundwork for a secure and prosperous space economy. Through education, collaboration, and actionable insights, this campaign highlights the critical steps needed to safeguard our shared orbital resources.

Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) today released Data from the Ends of the Earth, its newest video in the Better Satellite World campaign. It explores how satellite has brought reliable connectivity to polar researchers, allowing them to deliver valuable data on climate change in a race against time to help understand and combat it.

Last night at the 2024 Better Satellite World Awards Dinner, the SSPI UK Chapter named Dr. David Parker FRAeS, Visiting Professor of Space Systems and Policy at the University of Southampton and former Chief Executive at the UK Space Agency, as its 9th Satellite Personality of the Year

Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) announced today the recipients of the industry’s tenth annual Better Satellite World Awards. The awards honor established companies along with disruptive innovators who make the world more prosperous, healthier, better-educated, more sustainable and more inclusive.

Last night at the Future Leaders Celebration in Silicon Valley, Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) presented the 2024 Promise Awards to Mackenzie Mason of Boeing, Paige Webster of ATLAS Space Operations and Bradley Williams of NASA. The Promise Awards honor the three top-ranked members of the annual “20 Under 35” list of space & satellite employees and entrepreneurs age 35 and under who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the early stages of their career.

Today, when everything is digital, it seems truly remarkable how long we have been commercializing space in analog mode. Sure, the Space Race and defense spending in the 1960s gave birth to microelectronics. But who could forget – if you’re of the right age – the US$1 million that one company spent to create a pen that could write in microgravity? The company’s founder, Paul Fisher, offered the Space Pen to NASA, and it made its first spaceflight in 1967. (Meanwhile, Russian cosmonauts just used a pencil.)

Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) today released Byte-Sized Space, its newest video in the Better Satellite World campaign. It explores how the space and satellite industry is going digital with software-defined satellites, digital ground systems and more. Byte-Sized Space is made possible by funding from Hughes Network Systems LLC and is part of SSPI’s Digital Space topic campaign.

Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) today announced that it will present its 2024 Mentor of the Year Award to Joan Tang Mancuso, Marketing & Business Development Consultant and former marketing and sales executive at multiple global communications enterprises.

The Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) today announced the seventh annual “20 Under 35” list of outstanding young space and satellite professionals age 35 and under. The honorees will be celebrated at SSPI’s 19th annual Future Leaders Celebration on October 21 during Silicon Valley Space Week, produced by SatNews publishers.