Tackling the Industry’s Biggest Challenge – By Elisabeth Tweedie, Founder, Definitive Direction
Last week a 23-ton piece of debris from a Chinese Long March rocket came hurtling back to Earth in an uncontrolled descent. Fortunately, it landed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, so no damage was done. This was chance, not design. At one point during its descent, airspace over Spain had to be closed in order to avoid a potential disaster. This isn’t the first time this has happened. In the last few years, debris from other launches have landed in Indonesia, the Ivory Coast and Malaysia. Yet there are no international treaties specifying how this debris is to be handled. Other nations however, take a more conservative approach to launch debris, and either design rockets and launches to ensure that the discarded stages land in oceans or deserts, or, in the case of SpaceX on a raft for reuse. Read More...
 

War and the Supply Chain – By Elisabeth Tweedie, Founder, Definitive Direction
It seems trivial to be talking about supply chain issues for the satellite industry, when Ukraine is being brutally savaged in ways not seen in Europe for over 70 years, and millions of people around the world are predicted to be pushed into poverty and food insecurity as a direct consequence of the war. However, largely, but not entirely due to the war, our industry is facing very real supply chain issues, which cannot be ignored. You only have to think of the ISS and the now defunct Sea Launch to appreciate that the West and Russia are very intertwined when it comes to space. We’re now dealing with the fallout from that alliance. Read More...
 

The Unsung Heroes of Battle – By Elisabeth Tweedie, Founder, Definitive Direction
Climate Change, Global Warming, the Greenhouse Effect, call it what you will, everyone is talking about it; and with good reason, its potential impact on the planet is immense. Venus, about the same size as planet earth, once had an atmosphere that was similar to ours. Then about 700 million years ago, an out of control greenhouse gas effect took over. Now, its atmosphere is 96% CO2 and the surface temperature is circa 460oC. A truly salutary warning. Not that any of us will be around in 700 million years, but most of us will be around in 2030, when, according to Climate Central, multiple cities around the world including Venice, Amsterdam, New Orleans, Ho Chi Minh City and Kalkuta will be below the tideline. But what you hear far less about is the role that satellites are playing in fighting climate change. Call them the unsung heroes of the battle. Read More...
 

To Zoom or not to Zoom? – By Elisabeth Tweedie, Founder, Definitive Direction
That has been the question for most of this year. Almost without exception, every conversation with industry colleagues this year, has opened with the words: “are you going to Satellite/NAB/Cabsat/IBC etc.?” Immediately followed by: “Have you seen the latest exhibitor list?” If the big-name companies at the top of the value chain aren’t going to be attending, then the effect ripples down the chain. Prior to being canceled, it looked as if IBC would have been a seriously scaled down event. According to the last exhibitor list neither Eutelsat, Telesat nor Spacecom were going to be there and SES would only have had a balcony suite. Intelsat on the other hand had booked the same stand as in 2019. Other absent major exhibitors, include Speedcast, Panasonic, Microsoft, Harmonic and Google. Imagine which usually has one of the largest stands, only had a couple of meeting rooms booked, Arqiva similarly, only had a meeting room. However, the decision to scale back was not unanimous; some of the operators were still planning on exhibiting; notably, Arabsat, Azercosmos, Es’hailsat, Gazprom, Intelsat as already mentioned, Turksat and RSCC. Read More...

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