On Orbit Rachel Jewett

We have a special On Orbit episode from SATELLITE 2024 this week, a fireside chat with Impulse Space CEO Tom Mueller. Mueller is considered one of the world’s leading spacecraft propulsion experts. As one of SpaceX‘s founding members, he led the development of propulsion systems for the Falcon 1, Falcon 9, and Falcon Heavy, as well as the Dragon line of spacecraft. His work was crucial in the development of reusable rocket technology.  
Mueller spoke with Via Satellite editor-in-chief Mark Holmes during SATELLITE about his new company Impulse Space, an in-space transportation company working to deliver payloads to LEO, GEO, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Mueller describes his vision for Impulse Space to provide the transportation for the space economy of the future with Mira and the recently announced Helios kick stage. 
Our next episode will also be from SATELLITE. We’ll share the kickoff for the 2024 Future Space Economy series, Building Deep Space Satellite Connectivity Networks. This discussion features experts from QinetiQ, Space Tango, and Kepler Communications. Expect that in your feeds on April 16.

A few weeks ago, space security issues took center-stage in the news after reports of a nuclear satellite weapon. This raised a lot of questions — What would a nuclear weapon mean in space? Why would Russia pursue this?
In this week’s On Orbit episode, we dig into these questions with Dr. Brian Weeden, chief program officer of the Secure World Foundation, an organization that works to promote secure, sustainable, and peaceful uses of outer space. Weeden is an expert on space security issues and conducts research on issues like space debris, protecting space assets, and space governance. He explains the physical and geopolitical consequences of detonating a nuclear weapon in space, implications for the Outer Space Treaty, and how this situation has raised awareness of security issues in space.

We often take for granted how much of our modern lives are underpinned by GPS technology. This episode of On Orbit digs into GPS and the global landscape of GNSS, which stands for Global Navigation Satellite System. Dr. Sean Gorman, CEO of new startup Zephr, joins as this episode’s guest. 
We talk about how much economic value is supported by GNSS technology, the GNSS geopolitical landscape including China’s investment in the BeiDou constellation, private GNSS systems, and why this technology will be important for future use cases. Sean also talks about how Zephr fits into this landscape, and how working at Snapchat and dealing with GPS accuracy on mobile devices led to the idea for the company. 
 

In this episode, On Orbit interviews Sonali Mohapatra, who works in quantum innovation at the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) in the U.K. Sonali breaks down quantum technology and shares some of the future use cases that relate to the space industry. Read more about the quantum use cases for space in Sonali’s cover story in the Via Satellite November edition. 
In Sonali’s role as Quantum Innovation Sector Lead at the center she works to encourage quantum readiness across different sectors including space, healthcare energy, and more. We talk about some of the human implications of the responsibility she feels to contribute to quantum technology development in a way that serves the greater good.
Sonali is a very creative person and deeply passionate about diversity and gender issues. We talk about how she brings all of that together in her work and the importance of a multidisciplinary approach, and mentoring and diversity initiatives she has been a part of.
Read the quantum article here: https://interactive.satellitetoday.com/via/november-2023/imagining-the-future-of-quantum-computing-for-space/
 

There is always an inherent risk when doing anything in space. That said, a handful of space sustainability-minded companies are working hard to minimize those risks and prevent self-inflicted catastrophes. In this episode, we’ll learn about the true scope of the threat posed by space debris, congestion and the lack of situational awareness and about the technologies and solutions being deployed to keep space clean. We’ll also explore the value of space sustainability economy itself, and how government and private investment in green space tech will pay off in the future.
This episode features Patricia Cooper, president and founder of Constellation Advisory; Audrey Schaffer vice president of Strategy & Policy for Slingshot Aerospace; and Kristin Shahady, business development manager for Astroscale U.S.
This episode is part of the Future Space Economy Series which brings together global industries, space leaders, governments, and educators to explore practical applications for space infrastructure and technologies. Season Two kicks off live at SATELLITE 2024 with the session, Building Deep Space Satellite Connectivity Networks, on March 20. Register for SATELLITE to attend in person.

Space has a compelling story to tell, but it can be a challenge to craft the message. As Space is such a technical sector, it can be hard for leadership to communicate the value of what they do to investors, media, and the public. 
It’s Sarah Nickell’s job to craft that message. As a PR professional with her own firm, Nickell works with companies like Voyager Space and York Space Systems to tell their stories. She has worked with Via Satellite for years, and she has had stories placed in national publications like Bloomberg, ABC News, and Vice. In our first episode of 2024, Nickell gives a look behind the scenes at the world of space public relations. 
This episode is an interesting journalism/public relations crossover about what it’s like to be on both sides of the conversation. It’s also a crash course for listeners that aren’t familiar with media and public relations. The conversation covers topics like building a messaging strategy, managing national security concerns in communications, and how Nickell manages running a small business.