On Orbit

Kerbal Space Program (or KSP as it's more commonly known by fans) is a tremendously successful space flight simulator. It has been hailed by game industry critics and space industry leaders such as ULA's Tory Bruno and SpaceX's Elon Musk as providing the "perfect blend of science and slapstick," as well as for its ability to create fun out of failure.  Grant Gertz is a game producer for Private Di...

Identifying affordable options to connect to the internet remains a challenge for billions across the globe. In urban areas, internet connectivity is usually provided by a high-speed cable or fiber direct to each home or business. However, a single-user-per-terminal model is not economically justifiable in areas unserved or underserved by terrestrial access. This is due to two primary obstacles to...

Bandwidth is by no means an unlimited resource. Your family's smartphones, your in-home WiFi, and the dozens of Bluetooth devices in your automobile all take bites of different slices of the larger bandwidth pie. The rollout of 5G wireless is like someone walking up to that pie and shoveling a big scoop out of the center with both hands. Who determines how to split the remainder of the pie? Who de...

According to the ITU's The State of Broadband 2019 report released in late September, the world achieved greater than 50% global broadband Internet penetration in 2019 — a major milestone. However, significant challenges remain, and a significant portion of the population remains disconnected from even the most basic form of internet connectivity.    We've been exploring the topic of bridging the...

As a holiday gift, we're bringing our last On Orbit episode of the year a day early! Via Satellite Editor-in-Chief Mark Holmes and Managing Editor Annamarie Nyirady join us to discuss the biggest space and satellite news stories of 2019. It definitely wasn't a boring year! Constellations, C-band drama, 5G, 3D printing, and mergers and acquisitions are just a few of the items that made the final li...

Microsoft Azure wants to craft its own space business vertical. But instead of building their own satellites, they've opted to build the business through partnerships. William Chappell, CTO of Microsoft Azure Global, is the innovation leader behind the software giant's efforts to provide satellite operators with a powerful, automated, and secure cloud layer to their networks.  Microsoft recently a...

If you think your maritime satellite terminal is safe from hackers, give Ken Munro a call to make sure. He's probably already found a backdoor to your system on the internet.  Ken is the founder of Pen Test Partners , a network security consultancy firm, as well as a widely respected and very entertaining public speaker on all topics cybersecurty. His presentations include live hacks on local devi...

NanoAvionics CEO Vytenis Buzas defines his small satellite-building business as an homage to the smart industrial practices of the American automobile industry. What emerged as a spinoff of Lithuania's Vilnius University, NanoAvionics is now thriving and Buzas sees an opportunity to achieve success in the land that inspired his business. He hired industry veteran Frank Abbott as his U.S.-based CEO...

With the unveiling of the SATELLITE 2020 Conference Program this week, we have a very well-timed episode of On Orbit featuring an interview with Scott Chase, Chairman Emeritus of SATELLITE and former Editor-in-Chief of Via Satellite, detailing the evolution of the commercial satellite industry through the late 20th and early 21st century. Scott tells On Orbit host Jeffrey Hill the SATELLITE show's...

How important are precision agriculture and global food and water supply monitoring applications to our future? Via Satellite's On Orbit podcast takes a look at the numbers: The world's population will go from 7.5 billion to 9 billion people in 30 years. Because of this, American farmers alone will be tasked to increase food production by 80 percent to 100 percent over a very short period of time,...

Virgin Orbit 's LauncherOne is a rather unique launch vehicle. It's a rocket that deploys, or drops, from a customized Boeing 747 -- a "Flying Launchpad," so-to-speak. One of those aircraft, a former passenger airliner operated by Virgin Atlantic, was purchased by Virgin Galactic in 2015, renamed "The Cosmic Girl" and designated to be used as the first stage launch platform for the Mark II Launche...

It's frustrating for environmental scientists to watch politicians mangle and regurgitate climate change data into stump campaign speeches. When Capella Space CEO Payam Banazadeh co-founded the San Francisco-based satellite constellation company in 2016, he set out on a mission to tell a clear, visual story about how our planet is changing, directly to the people who would be most impacted by thos...

Connecting the world's disconnected is a mission we take to heart at On Orbit . After all, our debut episode focused on bridging the digital divide . We like to think of this endeavor as satellites enabling global economic equality. In this episode, Hughes Network Systems' Dave Rehbehn and Peter Gulla join On Orbit host Jeffrey Hill for a granular look at the global effort to bring the world onlin...

On this episode of On Orbit, we're joined by Melissa Wuerl, Vice President Business Development for Spaceflight Industries, and Jason Armstrong, Director of Small Satellites for TriSept , for an episode dedicated to rideshare launch services and the impact they've made on opening access to space. Rideshare launching is like the carpooling of launch services. By placing very small satellites in the...

As global space activity expands and accelerates, our space environment, naturally, becomes more congested. There have been nearly 9,000 satellites launched to date. Out of those 9,000, only 5,000 are currently maintaining orbit, and out of those, only 1,950 are operational – leaving a lot of unknowns. Efforts to maintain our orbital environment aren't keeping pace, and an upcoming wave of constel...

Mechanical Aerospace Engineer Grace Graham does it all! In addition to being a 2019 Brook Owens Fellow and full-time student Utah State University, she also interns at The Aerospace Corporation, and helps run her own startup Elements Meals – a company she co-founded that creates healthier snack foods for athletes.  Like many emerging space professionals of her generation, Grace is combining engine...

What does it mean when people say that the satellite industry is becoming more "software-defined?" Does it mean that physical infrastructure is being replaced with more flexible, adaptive software? Does it mean that the satellite industry is becoming a lot more like the software industry? Or both?  On Orbit Host Jeffrey Hill interviews Kratos Defense and Space Vice President of Product Management...

The telecommunications sector is at an inflection point between the peak of the 4G LTE market and the on-ramp for next-gen 5G wireless services. Does the roll out of 5G services change the market landscape for satellite operators?    SES Networks' Karl Horne sees 5G as a tremendous opportunity not only to drive innovation and create new business opportunities, but also as a way to collaborate with...

Most people are aware of the Trump administration's plans for a "Space Force," but few are clear on how it will fit within DoD structure, how it operate differently than existing organizations like the Air Force Space Command, and what it will look like if and when it survives scrutiny in Congress. To explain everything you need to know about Space Force, and other recent government/military space...

At SATELLITE 2019, Jeff hosted a fireside chat on 3D Printed rockets with Tim Ellis, CEO and Founder of Relativity, a unique launch service company that aims to print and launch entire rockets within 60 days. Tim tells the story of why he left a promising career as a 3D printing specialist at a major launch company to disrupt 60 years of established aerospace industry practices. He explains why in...

Jeff asks Spire's launch manager Jenny Barna why the satellite industry can't just sent satellites into orbit whenever they want. This episode addresses the launch bottleneck faced by operators looking to put tens of thousands of constellation satellites into space during the next few years. Jeff also speaks to Via Satellite editorial director Mark Holmes about the highlights of the first two days...

Deloitte's Specialist Leader in Space Jeff Matthews sits with On Orbit host Jeff Hill to explain why all of these new industries are interested in investing in space. Commercial space customers used to be limited to military, broadcast networks, and ISP resellers. Now, insurance companies, manufacturers, transporters, retail, city planners, farmers... the list of commercial space "customers" is gr...

Our inaugural episode of  On Orbit , titled  "Building Bridges Across the Digital Divide: Hybrid Satellite Networks,"  focuses on the growing economic disparities between those with and without access to "affordable" high-speed internet. Host Jeffrey Hill opens the episode with a comparative review of the latest digital divide statistics from the ITC, FCC, and Microsoft, and a clear explanation of...