Constellations - Explore Space Network Technologies with Industry Leaders - 95 - Flat Panel Antennas, Adapting to the Mega-Constellations and the Lego Analogy

95 - Flat Panel Antennas, Adapting to the Mega-Constellations and the Lego Analogy

02/10/21 • 22 min

Constellations - Explore Space Network Technologies with Industry Leaders

In this episode of Constellations we discuss the growing push into Low Earth Orbit with new non-GEO satellite mega constellations that are bringing flat panel antennas to the forefront. Not a new technology, these fast-switching antennas historically have been only used by the military due to their complexity and cost. Through his favorite Lego analogy and valuable insights Carl Novello, Chief Technology Officer at NXTCOMM shows us a different approach to the flat panel antenna market, opportunities and challenges.

Previous Episode

94 - Inclined Orbits, Detecting Change and Having a GPS Moment

Listen to Brian O’Toole, CEO of BlackSky, a company using the economics of small satellites to monitor the Earth and bring data down in real-time. Mr. O’Toole discusses cloud computing, high-performance computing, advancements in AI and machine learning algorithms as key enablers to using this data. The CEO describes a recent launch where BlackSky went from lift-off to delivering imagery in 58 hours, an impressive feat. He extols the virtue of AI and machine learning to monitor activities and automatically transport relevant data to customers through a real-time feed. This kind of data will cause an explosion of commercial applications not yet considered or developed, like what happened with GPS when it became available on a phone. Mr. O’Toole conjectures about a next level of convergence around data that is collected and combined from a multitude of source, which in turn leads to better predictive analytics. In addition, he discusses finding the ability to detect emerging events and what their impact can be to our planet, with COVID being a prime example.

Next Episode

96 - Ground- and Space-based Telescopes, Space Factories and the New Space Economy

Earth Observation, Space Situational Awareness and Contested/Congested Space are terms increasingly heard in satellite and space media, brought about, in part, by the growing accessibility and democratization of the space industry. Our guest, Gino Bucciol - Co-founder and Chief Development Officer at Officina Stellare, a company based in Italy active in the design and production of telescopes, optomechanical, and aerospace instrumentation for ground and space-based applications will touch on each of these.

Listen as Gino discusses the difference between ground-based and space-based telescopes; the former best suited for research, astronomy and defense applications like weapon tracking; while the latter is most often used for debris tracking, satellite collision avoidance, or laser communication. Gino further discusses why telescopes are perfect to provide information on an object’s angular position, thanks to their extremely high resolution, while radar is perfect to obtain a precise measurement of the object's distance.

Gino attributes launch reduction costs and availability of space compliant technologies as key contributors to the creation of the “New Space Economy” where private companies can now do business in space.