Industry Innovator Awards
The Industry Innovator Awards program was initiated in 1993 to identify and recognize outstanding new contributions to the field of satellite communications by both private-sector and public-sector organizations. Honorees are chosen for accomplishments ranging across a broad spectrum of advanced satellite technology and business applications.
2012 Awards
INNOVATION IN KA-BAND SERVICES
KA-SAT and ViaSat-1
SSPI honors two for-profit companies and strategic partners for the development and launch of transformative high-throughput satellites that seek to provide broadband Internet access to homes and small offices at rates and speeds comparable to terrestrial alternatives. More...
INNOVATION IN THE MITIGATION OF GALAXY-15
Intelsat and SES
SSPI honors a satellite operator that forged an unprecedented collaboration with another leading operator to prevent a perfect storm of radio frequency interference over the US domestic arc. More...
INNOVATION IN INDUSTRY COLLABORATION ON THE SAFE USE OF SPACE
Space Data Association
SSPI honors an association formed by satellite operators to make operations in space safer for themselves and more reliable for their customers. More...
INNOVATION IN IDENTIFYING THE SOURCE OF INTERFERENCE
Comtech EF Data
SSPI honors Comtech EF Data for developing, on its own initiative and at its own expense, a critical component of a long-term solution to the problem of satellite radio frequency interference (RFI). More...
2010 Awards
SERVICE DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
The US Broadcast Networks
In the for-profit sector, SSPI honors the four US terrestrial broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX – for successful completion of a nationwide conversion from analog to digital over-the-air broadcasting. More...
Télécom sans Frontiéres
In the non-profit sector, SSPI honors Télécom sans Frontiéres, or Telecommunications Without Borders, a relief organization in southern France founded by Monique Lanne-Petit and Jean-Francois Cazenave. More...
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
Inmarsat 4 Spacecraft
In the for-profit sector, SSPI honors Inmarsat as the creative innovator and EADS Astrium as systems engineer and project manager for the complex, multi-year effort to develop and launch the Inmarsat-4 system of spacecraft. More...
Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group and WBU-ISOG
In the non-profit sector, SSPI honors the Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group (SUIRG) and the World Broadcasting Union – International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG) for leadership over many years in the effort to reduce the impact of satellite radio frequency interference (RFI). More...
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
Cisco Systems Internet Router in Space
In the for-profit sector, SSPI honors Cisco Systems for developing and placing into operation a hosted satellite payload offering the ability to route IP traffic on the satellite, which eliminates the need to send the data to and from an extra ground station to implement the circuit-switched function. More...
NASA Innovations in Space Communications and Robotic Operations Related to the Deep Space Network, Mars Exploration and the Hubble Space Telescope
In the non-profit sector, SSPI honors the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for innovations in deep space communications and robotics in support of Mars exploration programs and the reconditioned Hubble Space Telescope. More...
Events
Upcoming Events
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June 3 54 Rte de Trèves, 6793 Grevenmacher, Luxembourg
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June 6 - 100 Broadgate, Liverpool St, London EC2M 2AT, UK
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June 15 Online via Zoom
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June 23 Online
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August 25 Westfields Golf Club, Clifton VA
Articles
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Better Satellite World Podcast: Untangling the Supply Chain, Episode 4 - Humanitarian Guidance from Above, Part 1
How do satellites support supply chains for humanitarian efforts? Satellites can help to facilitate the communication that enables humanitarian agencies and regions to establish corridors and logistics chains, while monitoring the effort, managing data, chronicling refugee flight and resettlement. In this fourth episode of the Untangling the Supply Chain podcast, David Myers, President and CEO of UltiSat, and David Meltzer, Secretary General of Global VSAT Forum, join SSPI’s Lou Zacharilla to discuss how satellites have and continue to support supply chains in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after major disasters and in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. David Myers is the President and CEO of UltiSat (a Speedcast company), a position he has held for nearly 2 years. He is a senior executive with a track record of leading both public and private-equity businesses through transformations and rapid growth. His 20+ year career spans the aerospace, telecommunications, and information technology industries in both commercial and government markets. To drive growth, David focuses on building a strong sales engine, investing in product innovation and fostering a collaborative customer-service oriented culture. David joined UltiSat from Peraton, a Defense Top 100 company, where he served as President of the Communications Sector, providing advanced network services for defense, intelligence and civilian customers. Prior to Peraton, David served as President and CEO of Datapath, where he led the public to private spin-out of a Rockwell Collins division into an independent company, providing military-grade satellite ground systems and field services. He has held executive roles in a number of organizations including ITC Global, Harris, CapRock Communications, and Spacenet. David also served as Chairman and President of the Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI), where he led the industry association rebrand and expansion from focus primarily on satellites to the broader “commercial space” arena. David Meltzer is the Secretary General of Global VSAT Forum (GVF), a position he has held for nearly 4 years. In his current position, he leads GVF’s primary efforts to facilitate expanded access to satellite-based connectivity solutions through regulatory, policy and spectrum advocacy, training and certification, product quality assurance and collaboration with user groups and other satellite stakeholders. David has over 25 years of experience in the satellite industry, including serving as a board member for both a regional satellite operator and for a mobile satellite operator. Previously, he served for 16 years in various business and legal roles at Intelsat, culminating in serving as Intelsat’s General Counsel and Executive Vice President for Regulatory Affairs. Most recently, David served as the General Counsel and Chief International Officer of the American Red Cross where he led its legal, international disaster relief and development activities. Before achieving that position at the American Red Cross, he served for 7.5 years as Senior Vice President of International Services. Untangling the Supply Chain is underwritten by SSPI’s Better Satellite World campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners -
Making Leaders Podcast: Untangling the Supply Chain, Episode 3 - Satellite Solutions for Supply Chain Woes
Communication and earth observation satellites play an essential but too-little-known role in managing the world’s supply chains. The solutions call on spacecraft in every orbit, carrying every payload and operating in every commercial frequency band. They also call on the ingenuity and determination of experts in engineering, manufacturing, operations and analytics to provide the crucial data and communications that help their customers keep the world supplied. In this podcast, based on the May 12 Webinar: Satellite Solutions for Supply Chain Woes, SSPI’s Robert Bell is joined by Matt Desch, CEO, Iridium Communications, Inc.; Nicole Robinson, President, Ursa Space Systems; and Jean-Michel Rouylou, Head of Enterprise and Broadband, ST Engineering iDirect to discuss satellite’s vital role in world trade and the global opportunities the industry’s unique technologies are able to tap. Matt Desch became CEO of Iridium Communications in 2006 after a twenty-five year career in the telecommunications industry that included serving as president of Nortel Networks’ wireless business and chief executive of Telcordia Technologies. Since taking the helm, he has led Iridium from the depths of post-bankruptcy uncertainty and looming irrelevancy into a major contributor to the space and satellite industry. Matt has also served as an advocate for safety and responsible traffic management throughout the space, satellite and aviation industries for over a decade. Three years after Matt joined Iridium, one of its spacecraft was hit by a defunct Russian satellite, Kosmos 2251. He turned a disaster into an opportunity to focus on responsibility and safety in navigation by pioneering a partnership with the US Air Force on orbit/debris coordination and highlighting Iridium’s preparations to de-orbit their original spacecraft safely without posing threats to other orbital systems. Matt’s championing of Iridium’s preparations and the U.S. government recognition that space had become a congested environment, lead to eventual improvements in orbital safety and de-commissioning precautions throughout the industry. In the same year, he also successfully led Iridium through the complicated process of going public, listing the company on the NASDAQ. Matt was inducted into the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame in 2019. Read more about Matt. Nicole Robinson is President of URSA Space Systems, a position she took on in February of 2021. In her previous role as Senior Vice President of Global Government for SES Networks, she was responsible for the company’s global business portfolio of government customers in the areas of defense, security, humanitarian, federal, civilian and institutional organizations. Nicole also serves as Chairman of the Board of Redu Space Services and Director of the LuxGovSat Board of Directors. She served in a variety of executive roles during her 12 years at SES, including leading teams in the areas of government product development, sales and business development, government affairs and marketing. Before joining SES, she served as leader of the Strategic Communications function for the U.S. Joint Forces Command’s Standing Joint Force Headquarters (SJFHQ). In 2012, she received a Promise Award from SSPI as a leader among the 20 Under 35. Nicole has previously served as Chair of the Board and President of SSPI. Jean-Michel Rouylou is Head of Enterprise and Broadband at ST Engineering iDirect, where he is responsible for the company’s Enterprise strategy with a focus on Energy, Banking and Consumer Broadband. Previously, Rouylou spent 3 years at ITC Global as the Executive Vice President for the Maritime market, where he helped the company to establish a worldwide maritime Ku-band network. Rouylou spent 20 years at Schlumberger where he held various roles in engineering, marketing and sales, including head of VSAT services in Aberdeen. Rouylou holds an engineering degree from Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts & Métiers in Paris. Untangling the Supply Chain is underwritten by SSPI’s Making Leaders campaign is made possible with the support of our corporate partners -
SSPI Launches Untangling the Supply Chain, a Six-Week Online Exploration of How the Space & Satellite Industry Makes Supply Chains Work and Copes with Disruptions
(May 2, 2022 – New York City) – Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) today announced the beginning of Untangling the Supply Chain, a six-week campaign featuring videos, podcasts, live online conversations and a new issue of SSPI’s digital magazine, The Orbiter. The campaign explores how space and satellite is coping with sometimes dramatic supply chain problems while continuing to provide the communications and information that makes supply chains run more efficiently and effectively in good times and bad. Untangling the Supply Chain is underwritten by Airbus OneWeb Satellites. The campaign begins today with a podcast interview with Airbus OneWeb Satellites Chief Supply Chain Officer John Meikle. SSPI will feature videos on supply chain disruptions and management in SSPI’s Better Satellite World series on the same day. New content will be published weekly at www.sspi.org/supplychain. About Untangling the Supply Chain The pandemic was expected to put a sharp dent in economic activity. It did for many industries and places – by closing factories and emptying out business districts, restaurants, hotels, sports stadiums and entertainment venues. But it also brought unexpected surges in online shopping and home renovation that caught supply chains by surprise and caused massive delays in shipping. The space and satellite industry was not immune. Depending on global networks of technology suppliers, manufacturers of rockets, spacecraft and ground technology were all affected. In Untangling the Supply Chain, SSPI explores how space and satellite is copying with sometimes dramatic supply chain problems and how the industry providing the communications and information that makes supply chains run more efficiently and effectively in good times and bad in a series of podcasts, webinars, videos and articles. “Most of the world is unaware of the critical role that communications and earth observation play in managing supply chains, keeping them moving and responding fast and effectively to disruptions,” said executive director Robert Bell. “SSPI set out in 2016 to educate customers, investors, regulators and our next generation of talent on the massive positive impact of space and satellite technology. Today’s supply chain problems present a perfect opportunity to spread the word in support of the industry’s growth.” You can learn more about the Untangling the Supply Chain campaign on SSPI’s website. 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 -
New Better Satellite World Video “Connecting the Countryside” Tells the Story of How Satellite Brings Connectivity to the Rural Places that Generate Much of the World’s Wealth
(April 5, 2022 – New York City) – Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) today released Connecting the Countryside, its newest Better Satellite World video. It tells the story of how satellites in Earth orbit can bring the benefits of broadband connectivity to even the remotest regions of the world. Connecting the Countryside is made possible by funding from SES, with additional support from AvL Technologies and RKF Engineering. Like magnets attracting steel, cities attract people. Because most people live in cities and suburbs, broadband and mobile service tend to be good there. But not everyone everywhere has the same opportunities. In nations around the world, prosperity comes from the countryside in the form of natural resources, food and materials. Yet long distance and challenging terrain are the enemies of connectivity, leaving people in the countryside cut off from the services and connections the rest of us depend on. Unless their broadband connection comes to them from the sky, from the satellite network of companies like SES, as told in Connecting the Countryside on SSPI’s website and on Youtube. “Everyone needs work and play, shelter and safety, education and information,” said executive director Robert Bell. “Today, more and more of those needs are met by the devices in our hands. It takes companies like SES to ensure that everyone has the connectivity they need to benefit from what they produce for the world.” 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
2008 Awards
SERVICE DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
Wildblue
In the private sector, SSPI recognizes Wildblue for the successful introduction of two-way broadband Internet service to homes and businesses across the United States via Ka-band satellite. More...
Global VSAT Forum
In the nonprofit sector, SSPI recognizes the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) for its leadership role in the successful effort to protect C-band satellite spectrum at the ITU's 2007 World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-07). More...
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
Hughes Network Systems
In the private sector, SSPI recognizes Hughes Network Systems for the development and initial deployment of the Spaceway 3 satellite. More...
Edusat and Mindset Networks
In the nonprofit sector, SSPI issues a joint award to two projects that are using satellite communications to transform education on national and international levels. More...
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
ATCi
In the private sector, SSPI recognizes ATCi for the introduction and successful deployment of Simulsat, the world's only true full-arc multiple antenna system. More...
Motion Picture Experts Group of ISO/IEC
In the nonprofit sector, SSPI recognizes the Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) of the International Standards Organization/International Electro-Technical Commission (ISO/IEC) for the development of the MPEG digital video compression and transport standards. More...
SPECIAL AWARD: WEB ONLY
Sputnik 1 and Explorer 1
In the mid 1950s, a period of remarkable scientific and technical cooperation occurred as an outgrowth of the International Geophysical Year (IGY). More...
2006 Awards
SERVICE DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
Telenor Satellite Broadcasting
In the private sector, SSPI recognizes Telenor Satellite Broadcasting, a unit of Telenor, for continuous innovation in its primary service areas of the Nordic countries, Europe and the Middle East. More...
The American Red Cross
In the public/nonprofit sector, SSPI recognizes the Disaster Assessment/GIS and the Response Technology Units of the American Red Cross for use of VSAT-based systems to direct and manage deployment of relief teams in the US and overseas, and to provide for direct assistance to thousands of people affected by the Gulf hurricanes of 2005. More...
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
XTAR
In the private sector, SSPI recognizes XTAR for introducing a new model for meeting the specialized needs of government and military customers through a commercially developed and operated satellite system operating in the X-Band rather than conventional commercial satellite bands. More...
e-Mexico
In the public/nonprofit sector, SSPI recognizes the e-Mexico Project of the Ministry of Communications and Transportation of Mexico for using satellite technology to provide that country's large rural population with Internet access and IP-based services. More...
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
IPSTAR
In the private sector, SSPI recognizes Shin Satellite for design and implementation of the first satellite and ground system dedicated to the next generation of broadband satellite services. More...
ViaSat
In 2006, SSPI makes a special award in the field of standards to recognize ViaSat, Inc. for its application of the DOCSIS® standard to satellite communications. More...
2004 Awards
SERVICE DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
BBC World
In the private sector, SSPI recognizes BBC World Ltd. for the innovative use of digital technology and creative application of satellite transponder capacity to distribute global and regional TV channels to 255 million households BBC World is the BBC's commercially funded 24-hour international news and information channel and a member of the BBC's commercial group of companies. More...
Global Meterological Satellite Services
In the public sector, SSPI recognizes the profound impact of the global network of meteorological satellites on science, commerce and the lives of citizens around the world. More...
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
NDS
In the private sector, SSPI recognizes NDS for fifteen years of innovation in conditional access systems for satellite broadcasting. More...
The Global Positioning Satellite System
In the public sector, SSPI recognizes the Global Positioning Satellite space navigation network. More...
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
TANDBERG Television
In the private sector, SSPI recognizes TANDBERG Television for its development of compression technology that makes possible an unprecedented level of flexibility, without sacrificing quality, in satellite-based newsgathering. More...
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization
In the public sector, SSPI recognizes the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), an R&D organization owned by the Australian government, for development of its MultiBeam antenna. More...
2002 Awards
SERVICE DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
XM Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio (joint award)
In the for-profit sector, SSPI salutes Sirius and XM Radio for their introduction of the new direct broadcast satellite Digital Audio Radio Service(DARS) into the United States market. More...
National Science Foundation and Comsat General (joint award)
In the nonprofit sector, the US National Science Foundation and Comsat General are recognized for defining and implementing a program that brought enhanced communications capabilities to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, operated by the US Antarctic Research Program. More...
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
SES Astra
In the for-profit sector, SSPI recognizes SES Astra for developing and bringing to market the Broad-Band Interactive System (BBI), which was the first commercial use of the Ku-band spectrum to forward multimedia information via geostationary satellite to small dishes, and of the Ka-band spectrum to receive in the return direction similar information or to transfer files using the same satellite and dishes. More...
The Malaysian University of Sarawak and the Canadian International Development Research Council (joint award)
In the nonprofit sector, the Malaysian University of Sarawak (Unimas) and the Canadian International Development Research Council (IDRC) share an award for the E-Bario project in Malaysia, in which Internet access was provided to a generator-powered PC via a Telekom Malaysia satellite circuit in Bario, a village located in the remotest highlands of Borneo. More...
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
Space Systems/Loral
In the for-profit sector, SSPI salutes Space Systems/Loral for the restoration of one of the redundant command receivers aboard an SS/L LS-1300 spacecraft in orbit. More...
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
In the nonprofit sector, NASA is recognized for proving the viability of a number of first-time satellite communications technologies using the Advanced Communication Technology Satellite (ACTS), launched in September 1993 as an experimental platform. More...
2000 Awards
SERVICE DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation
As the first broadcasting organization in the world to introduce HDTV broadcast services to subscribers by DBS satellite. More...
The National Technological University
As the first satellite-distributed educational system to employ digital compression technology and low cost codec equipment throughout its nearly 1000 service locations in North America and the Asia-Pacific. More...
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
iBeam
As the first company to develop specialized software to allow satellites to use digital video broadcast (DVB) technology to update ISP's caches and to support data streaming for corporate enterprise networks on a virtually instantaneous basis. More...
Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA)
As the first nonprofit organization to actually operate, on a systematic basis, a global micro-satellite network with low cost terminals to support national economic development and engineering for new infrastructure in developing countries. More...
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATIONS
COMSAT Laboratories
For its Linkway transmission system, which allows the effective creation of mesh VSAT networks for speeds ranging from 64 kbps to 7 Mbps. More...
The University of Surrey Space Technology Center
For its world leadership in micro-satellite technology development. More...
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Lucent Digital Radio
For its Perceptual Audio Coder to support Digital Audio Broadcast Satellite Systems.
Mentat
For its SkyX Gateway system that provides TCP optimized and digitally compressed transmission capabilities for communications satellite networks.
The Spaceconnection
For its Mobile Uplink-Downlink System that supports Audio and Digital Service in both C and Ku-bands.