News
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SSPI Opens Nominations for Annual Better Satellite World Awards
Awards Given to Industry Companies, Organisations and People Who Make the World Better Through Satellite Technology (New York City and London, 8 June 2023) – Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) today opened nominations for the 2023 Better Satellite World Awards. The winners will be honoured at the Better Satellite World Awards Dinner on 4 December in London. Nominations are due by 18 September 2023. As part of its Better Satellite World Awards Dinner, SSPI and an international panel identify three organizations that have demonstrated the use of satellite to make a significant contribution to human welfare, good governance, safety, peace and security, improved education or other measures of human achievement. The Better Satellite World Awards are produced by SSPI and the Awards Dinner is hosted by its UK Chapter. Click here to learn more about the awards and past winners and to access the nomination forms. The UK Chapter and Board of SSPI also selects and presents an award to the UK Space and Satellite Industry’s “Personality of the Year.” Click here to learn more about the award and past winners. Previous recipients of Better Satellite World Awards include ASTERRA’s potable water detection technology, the United Nations’ Crisis Connectivity Charter, SATMED e-health satellite platform delivered by SES, the Bidi Bidi project in sub-Saharan Africa of Avanti Communications, and Speedcast’s support for Peru’s Willka Yachay nonprofit, among many others. This year’s sponsors include ST Engineering and Astroscale. Tables and tickets are now on sale at https://uk.sspi.org/events/2023-better-satellite-world-awards-dinner. “The recognition in the media and in many quarters of the world of the beneficial role satellites and the companies and passionate individuals linking their business models to space data are playing has grown significantly. SSPI is very pleased to be able to again reward the growing list of companies who genuinely make a difference in human society,” said Louis Zacharilla, Emcee of the London Dinner and Director of Innovation for Space and Satellite Professionals International. About the Better Satellite World Campaign The modern world literally runs on satellite – from data networks and TV to Internet, agriculture, energy and transport – though far too few people know it. The commercial satellite industry is now attracting a new generation of entrepreneurs and investors dedicated to lowering launch costs, downsizing spacecraft, servicing them in orbit and delivering ubiquitous connectivity at competitive prices. The Better Satellite World campaign shows the world why our industry, though often invisible, is indispensable to modern life, through powerful stories and videos that depict space and satellite technologies contributing to the economy, society and sustainability of planet Earth. More at www.bettersatelliteworld.com. About SSPI Founded in 1983, Space & Satellite Professionals International (www.sspi.org) is on a mission to make the space and satellite industry one of the world’s best at attracting and engaging the talent that powers innovation. The space and satellite business has never seen a time of greater experimentation and disruption than we see today. Investment is the fuel for transformation, but people are the engine. SSPI helps the industry attract, develop and retain the talented people it needs to keep the engine turning. People who connect through high-profile events and gain recognition from prestigious awards. People who rely on SSPI for a broader understanding of the industry as much as for individual networking and career mentoring. From young people seeking a career path to industry veterans with wisdom to share, SSPI connects them all. Talent, investment and opportunity flow to industries that make a difference. SSPI is the only organization that also promotes the enormous value of space and satellite through dramatic stories of our technologies and companies making a better world. Those stories overturn misconceptions about the industry that hold it back. They inspire our people and attract new ones to the industry. They help justify investment and give new customers a reason to care about our services and products. Through the stories we tell and the people we serve, SSPI inspires the growth of the $1 trillion space economy of the future. For More Information Victoria Krisman Communications Manager Space & Satellite Professionals International vkrisman@sspi.org -
Safe Space, Episode 5: Sex with Robots? Preempting Sexual Harassment in Space
The greater the value of space, the greater the risks. The rise of the space economy is accelerating the business, operational and human risks. Are we prepared to handle them? The Safe Space podcast series – part of the Reducing the Risks of Space campaign – explores policy, law, technology and operations in development now to manage the challenging space environment of the future. The fifth episode features a conversation on human sexuality in space, including the inherent risks therein, with Maria Santaguida, PhD Candidate and Researcher at Concordia University and Simon Dubé, PhD, Research Fellow at the Kinsey Institute. Maria Santaguida is a PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology at Concordia University, where she conducts research on human sexuality, sexual technology and substance-related sexual behavior. Her doctoral work investigates the associations between alcohol consumption on risky sexual decision-making and behavior. She also explores Space Sexology, and how sex research can be integrated into space programs to promote greater diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her doctoral work was funded by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Société et Culture (FRQSC). In late 2021, they collaborated on a position paper titled The Case for Space Sexology, which was published in the Journal of Sex Research. Their work represents a crucial step toward a comprehensive scientific study of human sexuality and intimacy in space. Simon Dubé, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Kinsey Institute specializing in human sexuality, sextech, and Erobotics, the study of human-machine erotic interaction and co-evolution. His work also explores Space Sexology, and how we can integrate sex research into space programs. He received his doctorate in Psychology from Concordia University. He is the communication representative of the International Academy of Sex Research and a co-Chair of the International Congress on Love & Sex with Robots. His work is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The Safe Space podcast series is sponsored by And the Reducing the Risks of Space 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 -
New Better Satellite World Video from SSPI Explores How Protecting Satellite Communications from Threats is Vital to the World’s Peace
(May 16, 2023 – New York City) – Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) today released The High Ground, its newest video in the Better Satellite World campaign. It tells the story of how one satellite company is attempting to build the world’s first integrated satellite planning and operation system capable of providing an integrated enterprise level view of the satellites, the secure networks that connect them and military forces deployed on the ground, sea and air. The High Ground is made possible by funding from Network Innovations U.S. Government. You can watch the video on SSPI’s website and on Youtube. The High Ground is part of Reducing the Risks of Space, SSPI’s latest campaign that explores policy, law, technology and operations in development now to manage the challenging space environment of the future. Inside the Story In the modern world, satellites have become critical to defense, from monitoring for signs of attack to connecting war fighters and the machines that go with them. Because satellites are vital, they are targets for enemy action. The United States responded to this growing threat in 2019 by creating the U.S. Space Force, a new branch of the military with an ambitious goal to make sure that military satellite networks stay online even as enemies interfere with them, try to hack them or knock them out of the sky. That required something completely new: an integrated satellite planning and operation system of a sort that has never before been attempted. To make the attempt, the U.S. Space Force turned to Network Innovations U.S. Government. The High Ground tells the story of how the company is working to build a platform to respond to the unique needs of the U.S. Space Force, connecting the broadest range of terminals and satellites – including on-the-fly resource management and the ability to keep communications flowing even when under severe attack. About SSPI Founded in 1983, Space & Satellite Professionals International (www.sspi.org) is on a mission to make the space and satellite industry one of the world’s best at attracting and engaging the talent that powers innovation. The space and satellite business has never seen a time of greater experimentation and disruption than we see today. Investment is the fuel for transformation, but people are the engine. SSPI helps the industry attract, develop and retain the talented people it needs to keep the engine turning. People who connect through high-profile events and gain recognition from prestigious awards. People who rely on SSPI for a broader understanding of the industry as much as for individual networking and career mentoring. From young people seeking a career path to industry veterans with wisdom to share, SSPI connects them all. Talent, investment and opportunity flow to industries that make a difference. SSPI is the only organization that also promotes the enormous value of space and satellite through dramatic stories of our technologies and companies making a better world. Those stories overturn misconceptions about the industry that hold it back. They inspire our people and attract new ones to the industry. They help justify investment and give new customers a reason to care about our services and products. Through the stories we tell and the people we serve, SSPI inspires the growth of the $1 trillion space economy of the future. For More Information Victoria Krisman Communications Manager Space & Satellite Professionals International vkrisman@sspi.org -
Safe Space, Episode 2: Our Worst Fears
The greater the value of space, the greater the risks. The rise of the space economy is accelerating the business, operational and human risks. Are we prepared to handle them? The Safe Space podcast series – part of the Reducing the Risks of Space campaign – explores policy, law, technology and operations in development now to manage the challenging space environment of the future. The second episode features a conversation about cyber and nuclear threats to space between Nick Reese, Co-Founder of Frontier Foundry Corporation and former Deputy Director for Emerging Technology Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Tory Bruno, President & CEO of United Launch Alliance and a member of the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame. Before co-founding Frontier Foundry Corporation, Nick Reese most recently served as the first ever Director of Emerging Technology Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he advised the White House and senior Cabinet officials on national security implications of emerging technologies. He is the author of the DHS AI Strategy, DHS’s Post-Quantum Cryptographic Transition Roadmap, and the 2022 DHS Space Policy. He was also the lead DHS representative for the development of Space Policy Directive-5, National Security Memorandum-10, the National Space Policy, and Executive Order 13960. A noted expert in cybersecurity, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and outer space, he currently holds faculty positions at New York University and George Washington University teaching graduate courses related to emerging technology and geopolitics. Mr. Reese has a 20+ year career in the US Military, Intelligence Community & Homeland security with a focus on operations and bringing technical solutions to high stakes national security challenges. From the front lines of the War on Terror to building Quantum Computing Policy he has been an instrumental actor in protecting our nation with eye both on today and the future. Mr. Reese is a graduate of Saint Leo University and Old Dominion University. He lives in the Washington DC area with his wife and their dog. Tory Bruno came to United Launch Alliance (ULA) in 2014 after a long career managing programs for some of the most advanced and powerful weapons systems in the American arsenal. As general manager of Lockheed Martin Strategic and Missile Defense Systems, he led a team of men and women responsible for the Navy’s Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile, the Air Force’s ICBM Reentry Systems and the Terminal High Area Altitude Defense System (THAAD). He managed a joint venture responsible for producing and safely maintaining the UK’s nuclear weapons and has engineered control systems for rockets and hypersonic weapons, for which he holds numerous patents. No words describe him better than Tom Wolfe’s famous phrase, “a steely-eyed missile man.” When he was tapped to lead ULA, the company was at a crossroads. What had been an effective monopoly on national security and NASA missions had turned competitive as new commercial competitors entered the business. The company needed to adapt to survive. This veteran of military space and missile programs might not have seemed the obvious choice of leader, but he was soon to prove doubters wrong. Tory was inducted into the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame in 2020. Learn more about Tory. The Safe Space podcast series is sponsored by And the Reducing the Risks of Space 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
Upcoming Events
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June 8 - Grevenmacher, Grevenmacher
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June 13 - 14
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June 21 ONLINE via ZOOM
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June 22 https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYvf-CurzgoE9QSckQZyEmcC6H5Q3DMSv75
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Featured Video
The High Ground
Protecting satellite communications is vital to protecting the world’s peace, and one company is doing exactly that for the U.S. Space Force.
Featured Podcast
BETTER SATELLITE WORLD
Safe Space
The Safe Space podcast series – part of the Reducing the Risks of Space campaign – explores policy, law, technology and operations in development now to manage the challenging space environment of the future. The fifth episode features a conversation on human sexuality in space, including the inherent risks therein, with Maria Santaguida, PhD Candidate and Researcher at Concordia University and Simon Dubé, PhD, Research Fellow at the Kinsey Institute.