The Orbiter July 2016
JULY 2016
CONTENTS
Feature: An SSPI “Covert Op” 4 Attracts Students to Satellite
6
Better Satellite World: How Satellite Puts a Better Wine in your Glass
8
Submit your nominations for the 2016 SSPI Promise and Mentor Awards!
10
The 2016 SSPI Scholarship Recipients
Upcoming Events VSAT 2016, September 12-16, Royal Garden Hotel 2-24 Kensington High Street, London, United Kingdom. Click here for more information. SES Northeast Chapter Tour and Mixer, September 22, The SES Satellite Operations Centre, 4 Research Way, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA. Click here for more information. SSPI 2016 Future Leaders Dinner, November 9, The Penn Club, New York City. Click here for more information. Learn more about upcoming events at www.SSPI.org
The Orbiter July 2016
3
An SSPI “Covert Op” Attracts Students to Satellite
A Conversation with Hall of Famer Denis Curtin This year, SSPI is hosting a competition for teams from the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space. This student-led group of graduate and undergraduate students form local chapters at universities and colleges across the US, each devoted to space studies from building cubesats and rockets to human exploration. Solving Space Solar Power We challenged five student teams with “Solving the Space Solar Power Puzzle.” We asked them to identify current and future advances in launch systems, smallsats, asteroid mining, space manufacturing and other fields that will make it possible to place solar power generating stations into GEO orbit. We want them to report on engineering and technology requirements, communications, regulatory and political issues, timeframes and costs. What our student contenders probably don’t know is that the SSPI-SEDS competition is a covert op. We pick topics that we think will engage young people and make sure that each topic provides a healthy side dish of satellite issues, technologies and challenges. For all of their interest in space, SEDS members know much less about industry than you might think. If you ask them what careers they want to pursue, you will hear about NASA and JPL but not about SES or Encompass Digital Media. That situation changes after they realize what an extraordinary industry this is and how much it needs their talents. Mentoring the Future We couldn’t do this work without the support of SSPI members who serve as mentors to the teams. Mentors provide feedback on ideas, guidance on decisions and the all-important dose of reality that keeps teams on track. In this issue, we speak with mentor Denis Curtin, former COO of XTAR and a member of SSPI’s Satellite Hall of Fame (pictured left).
4
The Orbiter July 2016
Question 1: This is your second year as a mentor in our program. How would you describe the experience of working with the student teams?
Denis Curtin: My experience is that the two teams I have worked with have smart, motivated students who do not need much guidance. I have served as mentor as needed but really to answer questions and to provide information in areas where the data may not be readily available. These are really motivated teams. Question 2: As a mentor for the competition, you also serve as one of the judges who select the winners. What distinguishes the Number One entry from the others in your experience? DC: This is only my second year so I was only a judge for the Competition in 2015. Last year there were some good proposals and two teams with excellent proposals. The Number One proposal was thorough, very creative and clearly showed a significant amount of detailed thought and analysis. Question 3: You could be playing golf or sailing a boat instead of spending time with university students. Why is it worth it to you to help with their projects? DC: I have been very fortunate to have had an interesting career with a lot of fun along the way and some significant help from the teams working with me and some superb mentors. I find these projects keep me interested, give me an opportunity to give back to the industry and to meet and work with some outstanding students who represent the future of our business. Question 4: Your entry into the Satellite Hall of Fame marked you as one of the leading innovators in our business. Who mentored you along the way and helped make that achievement possible? DC: My parents were immigrants and like many immigrants they saw the US as a special country offering opportunity. I have been blessed to have been mentored by many people along the way. My parents pushed me toward getting educated. Normally I would have been expected to train for a ‘blue collar’ job. My parents wanted me to do more than that. Then in grade school, high school and college some terrific teachers took me under their wing and pushed me to succeed and in some cases would not stand me for getting less than excellent grades. Again, in graduate school some professors went out of their way to mentor and push me. When I joined COMSAT Labs the communications satellite industry was just in its infancy. At the Labs there was a huge amount of interesting and challenging work underway. I was fortunate to be thrust into the key field of how to power the satellites. With the tremendous encouragement of several managers and senior engineers I was able to foster an effort to break new ground in primary power performance and how to build and operate the solar arrays for the new larger satellites. It was very satisfying. That initial work led to other opportunities, where again, within COMSAT and elsewhere, I found mentors. I never forgot that and, as I gained experience, I have tried to be a mentor to the staff working for me and overall in the field through networking. The Orbiter July 2016
5
6
The Orbiter July 2016
“Wine is nature’s magical accident,” wrote former champion jockey and mystery writer Dick Francis. We enjoy wine today because naturally occurring yeast on grapes turns the sugar within them into alcohol. For centuries, vineyard owners and winemaker have done their part, but for wine-lovers everywhere, the unsung hero is nature. Growing grapes for wine depends on a deep and intimate knowledge of what the French call the terroir (ter-WAH): how the region’s soil, climate and terrain affect the taste of the grapes grown there and the quality of the wine. Terroir is one reason that the regions of Burgundy in France, Mendoza in Argentina, Tamar Valley in Australia and Napa Valley in America produce distinctly different wines that compete on the global stage. The Right Amount of Vigor Traditionally, knowledge of the terroir was gained by endless walking of the rows of vines, inspecting and pruning the plants, arranging the trellis on which the vines are suspended, irrigating the dry spots and draining the wet ones. Pruning is among the highest of the winegrower’s arts, because it sets the stage for what they call vigor: the amount of leaf that vines put on in the growing season. Vines need to be vigorous – but not too much so – to produce a good-quality grape. Such methods work well for the small, family-owned vineyards that have dominated the trade throughout history. They are an increasingly poor fit, however, for the global business that wine has become. More than one million wine producers around the world bottle and ship close to 3 billion cases per year. Forty percent is for export, and world trade in wine generated $30 billion in 2012 alone, with the US and China being the two biggest importers. The “new world” vineyards of the US, South America, South Africa and Australia in particular cannot afford to build understanding of their terroir through centuries of trial and error. They want to profit now from serving a thirsty world – and have turned to a combination of satellite and information technology called “precision viticulture” to do it. Click here to read the rest of the story, and more like it, at www.bettersatelliteworld.com.
The Orbiter July 2016
7
Submit your Nominations for the 11th Annual Promise and Mentor Awards Recognizing young satellite industry employees with leadership potential and the mentors who guide them
SSPI is accepting nominations for its eleventh annual Promise and Mentor Awards, which will be presented on November 9 at SSPI’s Future Leaders Dinner in New York City. Every year, SSPI presents three young satellite professionals with its Promise Award in recognition of their potential to play a leadership role in the industry. SSPI also presents a Mentor Award to an executive who is recognized for fostering young talent, both within his or her own organization and throughout the industry, and also for volunteering time and energy in support of the industry. “The Promise and Mentor Awards are part of what SSPI calls the Leaders Quest.” said executive director Robert Bell. “We identify proven and potential leaders and learn from their experience how to innovate and grow this industry in the exciting and disruptive days ahead. We are a technology business, but the innovation that makes it work is the product of the people we hire. Our mission is to make satellite one of the world’s best industries at attracting and engaging the talent that powers innovation.” Nomination criteria and forms can be downloaded from the SSPI Website. Nominations close August 1, 2016. Nominees for the Promise Award must demonstrate initiative, innovation, creativity and problem-solving skills that positively impact their company’s financial performance, marketing effectiveness, technical advancement or research capabilities. Past winners of Promise Awards have included young employees of SES, Intelsat, SpaceX, Hughes Network Systems, the Space & Missile Systems Center of the United States Air Force, RR Media, Space Systems/Loral, CNN, Boeing Satellite Systems, CapRock Government Solutions, Willis Inspace, Wiley Rein LLP, Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, and Futron. Mentor Award nominees are distinguished by their voluntary contributions to industry causes and track record of coaching, motivating and fostering young 8
The Orbiter July 2016
professionals to elevate their professional capabilities and leadership potential. Past Mentor Award winners have included Chris Stott of ManSat, Clayton Mowry of Arianespace Inc., Richard Wolf of ABC Television, Tom Eaton of Harris CapRock, Satellite Hall of Fame member Dick Tauber of CNN, Dom Stasi of Avail/TVN, Francesco Frenza of the Cisneros Group, and Andrew Werth of Hughes Network Systems. The SSPI Future Leaders Dinner, sponsored by Ericsson, Boeing, AvL Technologies and Walton De-Ice, will be held on Wednesday, November 9 during NAB Show New York 2016 featuring SATCON. NAB Show New York 2016 is a proud supporter of the Future Leaders Dinner. Contact Tamara Bond-Williams (tbond-williams@sspi. org) for sponsorship opportunities.
(Photos from the 2015 Future Leaders Dinner) The Orbiter July 2016
9
Meet the 2016 SSPI Scholarship Recipients Anne Aryadne Bennett
Anne Aryadne Bennett is currently an engineer in the Advanced Technology Lab at Orbital ATK. She began working for Orbital right after her undergraduate studies and has been pursuing a Masters degree in Astronautical Engineering at USC while serving as an engineer. Anne has found her niche in Research and Development work, particularly in conceptual design and pre-PDR proof-of-concept testing. During her four years at Orbital, Anne has worked on a number of very successful projects, prompting one customer to claim that “The Orbital Customer Team is doing the most innovative work in space.” In the future, she hopes to contribute to Friedman’s concept of “a free world and a flat world” by designing technologies such as more capable small satellites and tackling the orbital debris problem to bring satellite Internet technology to the whole world. Anne’s SSPI Scholarship will help her to finish her Masters degree and help to fund her pursuit of a PhD in Aerospace Engineering next year.
Julia Josephine Gull
Julia Josephine Gull received her LL.B. Honours degree at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands and is currently pursuing an LL.M in Space, Satcom and Media Law at Tel Aviv University in Israel. Before attending Tel Aviv University, she spent six months as a trainee at the law department of the city of Zeist. While at TAU, she has been an active participant in a seminar on Law & Technology, which focuses on intellectual property and cyberlaw. Julia has proposed and is currently working on a paper on ‘legality of the zero day market’ as part of the seminar. She has also participated in a workshop on law and technology, which hosts leading scholars from various fields and disciplines who discuss their works in progress. Julia’s scholarship from SSPI will help her attend the International Space University.
10
The Orbiter July 2016
Jillianne Pierce
Jillianne Pierce is currently a Government Affairs Associate for the Space Foundation in Washington D.C., where she has worked for two years. She earned her law degree from the University of Miami School of Law after graduating magna cum laude from the University of Central Florida. Jillianne was on the Dean’s List at Miami Law and was a member of the Society of Bar & Gavel, the Public Interest Leadership Board, and the Honor Council and was president of the International Law Society. Jillianne has led a number of discussion panels on international and space law, including a 2012 discussion titled “When Diplomacy Fails: The Syria Dilemma” and a panel at Embry-Riddle’s annual Space Traffic Management conference in 2015. She also attended the 66th International Aeronautical Congress in Jerusalem, where she presented “Satellite Images and Their Impact on the Development of R2P.” Jillianne’s scholarship from SSPI will help her attend the International Space University’s Space Studies Program.
Niccolo Porcari
Niccolo Porcari recently completed his undergraduate studies at Cornell and will be pursuing a Masters of Engineering in Astronautics at Cornell this fall. He hopes in the future to design cheaper, lightweight satellites capable of reaching further orbits than most large-scale satellites. To this end, Niccolo completed an internship at a mechatronics startup in Philadelphia, where he worked as a researcher on USB data protocols. He has also studied Cornell Professor Mason Peck’s work on electrolysis propulsion and believes that it offers an optimal solution to many of the current issues with small-scale craft space exploration. Niccolo’s scholarship will help to fund his graduate studies, allowing him to further explore the possibilities of electrolysis propulsion for Professor Peck’s CubeSat design. His graduate project will be designing a Single Stage To Orbit craft using electrolysis propulsion to open up further orbits and coverage of more distant planets in the solar system.
The SSPI Scholarship Program assists deserving students with meeting the high costs of undergraduate and post-graduate study in satellite-related disciplines. Through the generosity of Scholarship Sponsors, SSPI provides scholarships ranging from $2,500 to $3,500 to high school seniors, undergraduate and graduate students from locations around the world. Click here to learn more. The Orbiter July 2016
11
Nine Grant Winners Announced By Future Space Leaders Foundation Dedicated to the career development of young satellite and space industry professionals, the Future Space Leaders Foundation 501(c)(3) non-profit organization raises funding for grants for deserving graduate students and professionals seeking careers in the space industry. The foundation has just announced the nine winners of their annual Future Space Leaders Grant Program, which will cover the expenses associated with participating in the 67th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Guadalajara, Mexico. The nine grant winners will also have access to other industry events including: Future Space 2016, the AAS Goddard Memorial Symposium, NSC Goddard Memorial Dinner, Satellite 2017, SGAC Congress and Fusion Forum, SSPI Gala, SSPI Future Leaders Dinner, AIAA Spotlight Awards Gala and ISPCS. Read the full story at satnews.com.
Advertising Opportunities are available! As you know, SSPI has transformed its monthly news vehicle, The Orbiter, into a beautiful, page-turning digital magazine you can read from your desktop, tablet or phone, or as a handy print-out to carry with you on travel trips. The Orbiter brings Society news, coverage of the Better Satellite World campaign, and the annual Workforce Study to more than 6,000 members and industry contacts. Advertise With Us We invite companies to advertise in the new Orbiter. Full-page and half-page ads are available Some SSPI sponsorships include one or more ads with the sponsorship – but now you can purchase an ad directly! Download the media kit or email Tamara Bond-Williams for more information.
12
The Orbiter July 2016