The Orbiter Did You Save a Life Today?
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The Orbiter Did You Save a Life Today?
CONTENTS 4
Did You Save a Life Today?
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Making a Better World: The 2016 Better Satellite World Award Winners
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A Night to Remember
Photo Album: The 2016 Better Satellite World Awards Dinner
Recruiting the Next Generation of Talent at SpaceVision 2016
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2016: A Year Full of Promise
Upcoming Events 2017 Hall of Fame Benefit Dinner, March 7, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt Vernon Pl NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA. Click here for more information. 2017 SSPI Chairman’s Reception, March 7, 801 Mt Vernon Pl NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA. Click here for more information. 2017 Chapter Leaders Breakfast, March 8, 555 13th St NW, Washington, DC 20004, USA. Click here for more information. Learn more about upcoming events at www.SSPI.org Cover Photo By One Laptop per Child, used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License. See the original photo here.
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Did You Save a Life Today?
By Robert Bell, Executive Director Did you save a life today? You probably did. Even if you didn’t, you probably made one better. You helped people reach a higher standard of living and, for people who had no future to speak of, you helped provide one. How do I know this about you? Because you work with satellites, and those are the things that satellite technology does best. Of course, it’s not what you think about most of the working day. Depending on your job, you think about radio frequencies and throughput, payloads and launch costs, markets that are growing and markets where pricing pressure is squeezing us hard. It’s what you get paid to think about and to work at – but it is not what you really do.
Making the World a Better Place
Satellites make it possible to forecast the weather, which saves lives, makes travel safer and agriculture more productive. Using satellites, we deliver news and information to billions of people, which makes them better informed, smarter about their life choices, and able to participate in governing themselves. We help farmers grow more food for less money and constantly improve its quality. We drive the success of businesses whose operations extend beyond the edge of the terrestrial network, from maritime to energy, trucking to healthcare. That puts money in people’s pockets today and the promise of greater prosperity tomorrow. We connect billions to the internet, with all the gains of information, education and access to services that come with it. 4
The Orbiter Did You Save a Life Today?
We keep airlines flying safely, computer networks in synch, utilities and pipelines in operation, and monitor the world for dangers natural and human-made. And when all other forms of communications fail, we provide the voice, data and video that save lives, reduce hardship and offer new hope.
The Lives We Save
For two years, our Better Satellite World campaign has been telling the real story of satellite to the world. With the help of our sponsors and the media, we have told those stories in video and text to the next generation that is seeking an exciting technology career. We have told it to policymakers who decide how radio frequencies will be allocated, and to potential customers who need what satellite has to offer but hardly know that our technology exists. On this page are links to some of our best videos. Thanks to the companies that support our campaign, they are yours to use in explaining how your organization makes a difference to the world. At the Hall of Fame Benefit Dinner on March 7, we will showcase the everyday heroics at the heart of our business and introduce you to four satellite industry leaders who have become legends by extending our ability to improve life on Earth. They are the newest members of the Satellite Hall of Fame, and their careers hold lessons for us all. Join us on March 7 for an evening to remember – and a chance to recall the real reasons you do what you do every day. Speaking of saving lives, have you seen the newest Better Satellite World video: Satellite to the Rescue, sponsored by Globalstar?
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A Night to Remember By Cynthia Ritchie The SSPI 2016 Better Satellite World Awards held on December 5 was a night to remember. Ground-breaking projects operating worldwide to support people and communities with the assistance of satellite technology were recognised during the ceremony. The evening was attended by leading companies representing all areas in the satellite communications ecosystem. The satellite industry is experiencing a new golden era, and attendance at the full house event represented a diverse range of technologies and applications. The active participation of SSPI members from the Isle of Man was also recognised as co-hosts of the night’s festivities. The UK Chapter of SSPI also presented its first ever Satellite Personality of the Year Award in 2016 to Catherine MealingJones, Director of Growth, UK Space Agency (pictured right). When accepting her award, Catherine shared behind-the-scenes insights into the workings of the UK Space Agency, and the energy and talent of the people driving the organisation forward. Cynthia Ritchie is the Managing Director at White Tiger Communications and the Director of the SSPI UK Chapter Board of Directors.
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The Orbiter Did You Save a Life Today?
Making a Better World
The 2016 Better Satellite World Award Winners The Better Satellite World Awards honor established companies and disruptive innovators for continuing to make our world a more prosperous, healthier, better-educated, more sustainable and inclusive home for all humankind. At the 2016 Better Satellite World Awards Dinner on December 5 in London, SSPI was proud to present awards to DigitalGlobe, Disaster Tech Lab supported by Globalstar, Global VSAT Forum, and Outernet.
DigitalGlobe DigitalGlobe is the world’s leading provider of highresolution Earth imagery, data, and analysis. The company is a trusted partner of dozens of industries and communities worldwide – from environmental monitoring and mapmaking, to defense and intelligence, to urban planning and public safety. DigitalGlobe has also become a leader in providing humanitarian aid by supplying local, national, and international authorities and media with imagery and information products that support response and recovery activities in the aftermath of earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. In a recent humanitarian victory, DigitalGlobe enabled the Associated Press to expose a slave fishing operation in Papua New Guinea. The company supplied the AP with high-accuracy, highresolution imagery that only DigitalGlobe satellites can collect (pictured right), which showed the slave fishing operation in the act and spurred a myriad of positive outcomes. The Seafood from Slaves investigation led to a series of arrests, the dismantling of a slaving operation, the freeing of more than 2,000 slaves, and a change to U.S. law that had previously allowed slaveproduced goods to be sold in the United States. For its reporting on the issue, the AP won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Watch how DigitalGlobe contributed to the investigation. The Orbiter Did You Save a Life Today?
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Disaster Tech Lab supported by Globalstar Disaster Tech Lab (DTL) is a volunteer-based organization that provides internet access to reconnect disconnected communities in disaster zones across the globe. Established in 2010 after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the organization has grown to over 200 volunteers in eleven countries. Since its founding, DTL has deployed teams to almost every major disaster area across the globe. Disaster Tech Lab makes emergency communications possible in areas where critical infrastructure has been lost, providing reliable satellite technology to NGOs aiding people in crisis. Globalstar provides DTL teams around the world with satellite phones, satellite hotspots, and satellite-enabled tracking and safety devices to enable them to deliver this vital support. Over the last two years, Disaster Tech Lab has provided aid to Europe in organizing and dealing with the migrant and refugee crisis. DTL provided satellite communications to allow coordination and management of resources within the refugee camps in Greece and also gave migrants the ability to contact their families back home via Globalstar satellite phones. Disaster Tech Lab also provided emergency communications during the earthquake in Italy in August 2016, equipping the Italian Red Cross with satellite DTL member configuring a Globalstar SatFi communications tools. DTL assisted NGOs and local unit in Ecuador authorities during another earthquake in 2016, this one along the eastern coast of Ecuador. During the devastating floods in Louisiana, DTL helped install communications networks to support individuals, communities, and NGOs throughout the state. Lastly the organization used Globalstar hardware & services to provide communication services to medical teams deployed in Haiti following Hurricane Matthew. Disaster Tech Lab also provided emergency communications during the earthquake in Italy in August 2016, equipping the Italian Red Cross with satellite communications tools. DTL assisted NGOs and local authorities during another earthquake in 2016, this one along the eastern coast of Ecuador. During the devastating floods in Louisiana, DTL helped install communications networks to support individuals, communities, and NGOs throughout the state. Lastly the organization used Globalstar hardware & services to provide communication services to medical teams deployed in Haiti following hurricane Matthew.
DTL providing aid in a refugee camp in Greece
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The Orbiter Did You Save a Life Today?
DTL helping refugees on Lesbos
Global VSAT Forum
Since 1998, the Global VSAT Forum has provided a platform for satellite regulatory issues and professional training in VSAT technologies for organizations around the world. In addition to promoting market liberalization, licensing reform and spectrum access, GVF has established an online training and certification program for VSAT terminal installers and operators, which has enrolled more than 13,000 professionals. GVF training – developed by the association’s partner SatProf and adopted by the world’s leading satellite communications service providers – equips installers and operators with skills they would not otherwise have and, through their strengthened qualifications, improves the quality of VSAT operations, which promotes continued growth in VSAT applications around the world. GVF has also worked for nearly 20 years to establish a more effective and sustainable paradigm for global disaster preparedness. In coordination with its partners throughout the disaster-response community – including the United Nations Agencies, humanitarian organizations, militaries, national administrations, inter-governmental groups, and others – GVF has facilitated their disaster preparedness and response efforts by training and certifying first responders, identifying qualified local technicians, coordinating satellite industry support, and educating governments on regulatory approaches that enable the use of ICT systems to save lives.
Outernet
Syed Karim, the founder of Outernet, describes it as “a universal information service available to all of humanity.” Founded in 2014 as a private company headquartered in Chicago, Outernet now provides a global data delivery service over three Inmarsat I4 global beams. The company provides a content delivery service which focuses on making the most useful knowledge from the Internet available to those in areas with no connectivity. Syed Karim conveyed this vision to the world as a speaker at TedGlobal 2014. In many places around the globe, Internet connectivity is prohibitively expensive, sometimes costing as much as ten times the average monthly income. Outernet creates offline versions of knowledge found on the web and broadcasts it to people without access to the Internet. The company currently operates a low bitrate global broadcast, which will expand over time to include the delivery of digital curricula and educational videos.
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Recruiting the Next Generation of Talent at SpaceVision 2016 In November 2016, SSPI led industry recruiters from US satellite companies on our first recruiting mission to SpaceVision, the annual conference of the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) USA. It seemed like an obvious win-win: more than 300 graduate and undergraduate students already passionate about space but knowing little about our $200 billion business, all in one place for two days. But as we all know, a good idea does not guarantee a good outcome. It took us six months of work to make it happen, introducing the opportunity to human resource executives and working the details with SEDS. Executive director Robert Bell led the mission, hoping that both companies and students would get what they needed. Did they? Follow this link to a brief video that tells the tale.
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The Orbiter Did You Save a Life Today?
2016: A Year Full of Promise SSPI received an astounding twenty great nominations for the Promise Awards in 2016. The winners were honored at the 2016 Future Leaders Dinner in New York City. With so many strong nominees pouring in, we would like to share the story of each of these extraordinary young satellite professionals in this and future issues of The Orbiter. Last issue, we told you a bit about Sandra Araujo from Elara Comunicaciones and Kevin Cohen from ViaSat, Inc. This month, we are pleased to introduce Matthew Dzugan from Beoing and William R. Gregory from UltiSat.
Matthew Dzugan
Systems Engineer, Boeing Space Systems Since the beginning of his career at Beoing, Matthew has led many innovative efforts to solve a variety of complex problems with a focus in modeling and simulation. His work is regularly used to drive complex, system-level architecture trades and to brief company and customer executives on the performance and behavior of satellite systems. Matthew’s colleagues and managers note that he is a serious team player and a trusted leader who always includes members of his team in problem-solving discussions and implementations. He makes himself available to anyone in need of assistance and responds quickly to project needs even outside of normal business hours. Matthew recently led the analysis team at Boeing Space Systems on a complex, proprietary end-to-end satellite system development program. His team developed many custom tools and methodologies to determine the most effective and efficient architecture to meet mission needs. Matthew kept the team working creatively and efficiently, allowing them to try many different architectures to find the best one for the project.
William R. Gregory
Director, Program Services, UltiSat William has more than eight years of experience in global supply chain management for complex companies delivering hardware to customers around the world. He has worked to design, scale and deploy world-class supply chains on six continents while reducing operating costs, improving fulfillment performance and leading many diverse teams to success. William was the first American to pass the UAE’s customs brokerage exam, enhancing UltiSat’s ability to deliver heavily regulated satellite hardware in compliance with GCC regulations. His colleagues know William as a reliable professional with a passion for serving customers. William is a Chartered Member of the UK’s Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. He was instrumental in building the C3 Summit in New York City into a globally-recognized event for promoting U.S. businesses in the ICT, telecom and other sectors. Most recently, William has overhauled the UltiSat program services department, reorganizing staff, improving lead times, and fostering a culture of accountability and empowerment. The Orbiter Did You Save a Life Today?
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Dine with legends – and come away inspired At the Hall of Fame Benefit Dinner, you will see leaders of the industry become legends. On March 7, SSPI will induct four of them into the Satellite Hall of Fame, where they will join visionaries from Sir Arthur C. Clarke and Rene Anselmo to Mark Dankberg and David Thompson. We will celebrate their role in building successful companies that do what satellite does best: save lives, transform lives sa for for the better and give a future to those who have none. It will will be an extraordinary evening of inspiration and learning that provides vital support for SSPIʟs talent attraction, workforce development and communication programs.
March 7, 2017 Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington, DC 14
On that night SSPI will hold its annual Chairman's Reception. Chai This invitation-only reception welcomes the C-Suite of the most important companies in our industry, including established players, their customers and innovative new entrants, and features the inaugural announcement of the Rising Five - the listing of the five "new space" companies who have made the most progress in the prior year. For more information visit www.SSPI.org
2017 by the Society of Satellite Professionals International The Orbiter Did You Save a LifeCopyright Today?