Satellite Innovation Symposium

October 2-3, 2017 | The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA

Rapidly evolving technology coupled with mergers and acquisitions are changing satellite market dynamics at an accelerating pace.

The 2017 Satellite Innovation Symposium aims to pinpoint key imminent market changes that will become obvious in years to come. While infrastructure and capital status have dominated for decades, key innovations will continue to cause major disruptions to the established marketplace. What innovations will define the satellite communications industry going forward?

AGENDA

Day 1  — Monday, October 2nd, 2017

7:00  am 
Registration Opens

Sponsored Breakfast — The Aerospace Corporation

8:00  am
New Horizons in Space: The Innovation Landscape of Today

As the market for satellite services has increased, so has competition from a multitude of providers from small satellites to drones and everything in between.  To remain economically competitive, all satellite systems will need to keep pace with innovations on all fronts and pay close attention to economic trends that will affect their established revenue streams.  The transition from hardware development to software development and complex data analytics is key.  Early adapters leveraging proven technologies, such as 3D Printing, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), data analytics and IOT will continue to gain market share quickly. AI will soon be part of nearly every company’s technology stack. It is therefore imperative to examine how these innovations affect the satellite industry.
 

 

8:50 am

Ground-Based Ecosystems of the Future
Ground systems and end-user equipment are making tremendous advances, often merging in form, fit and function. With continued improvements in size, efficiency and power consumption, how closely will the ground architecture of the future resemble what’s available today? How does the potential for increasingly robust autonomous TT&C change the design of satellites and the mechanics of ground segment management? With improving modulation techniques is there a limit to bits per hertz? How can equipment manufacturers best adapt to changing demands? What new manufacturing technology & new equipment in development are coming to market and are likely to provide the most disruption to this long established bedrock of the satellite communications industry? How might alternative antenna designs influence large-scale ground systems?
 
 
9:40  am 

Sponsored Refreshment Break — Aerojet Rocketdyne

10:10  am
The VC Role in Satellite Innovation

Rapid growth in capacity supply has caused major reductions in price points and at such a pace that realistic ROI projections are increasingly difficult to make. Our panel will analyze the real-time industry data regarding supply trends, demand trends and realistic innovation timelines. Capacity purchasers such as Facebook, Google, Amazon and Netflix are already making plays. The panel will analyze the voids that may result in the industry’s best available projections of opportunities for profitability.
 

 

11:00 am

Keynote Interview — Mark Dankberg, Chairman & CEO, ViaSat

Mark Dankberg co-founded ViaSat Inc. in 1986, and has held the position of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer since inception. Under his leadership, ViaSat has consistently been recognized as one of America’s fastest growing technology companies.

Mark is an acknowledged industry expert in communications technology, satellite, aerospace and defense, and is the leading visionary for a new generation of high-capacity satellite systems that are poised to deliver worldwide broadband coverage by 2021. He has co-authored several military standards on satellite networking, and holds a number of patents in communications and satellite networking technologies. He has participated on Department of Defense advisory panels and has testified before a Congressional committee on high technology growth companies and IPOs as well as before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications regarding communications technologies for rural broadband.

FULL BIO

 
11:45  am 

Sponsored Lunch — Ball Aerospace

1:00  pm
Manufacturing and Servicing in Space: New Solutions that Change Everything

Satellite life extension (including refueling and servicing), new satellite propulsion technology, space-based manufacturing and other AI/robotics in space have gone from the drawing table to the beginnings of implementation. How and when will robust assembly of space hardware occur in space? These ideas most certainly make sense for the ISS for long-term space travel, but how do they fit within the commercial space model? What special considerations need to be made when considering robotic assembly either in space or on the ground? Are such endeavors justified and do they represent a strong business case? What will the role of additive manufacturing be in the growth of this production? The continuing revolution in robotics stands to improve many elements of space equipment manufacturing. Which areas will be most impacted and how will innovations result in improved costs?
 

 

1:50 pm
Staying Ahead of Technology: Robotics, AI, 3D Printing, Big Data Analytics & More

Join our panel of Silicon Valley Innovators and leaders of space innovation for a deep dive into the technology innovation reality today, and looking into the new reality of tomorrow for the space industry. This panel will review some of the newest innovations facing Silicon Valley which will be the largest market interruptors in Space moving forward. Utilization of AI in applications development, leveraging big data with minimal infrastructure, and algorithm development platforms are some of the topics that have already emerged from Silicon Valley, and will continually disrupt the SatCom industry.
 
 
2:40  pm

Sponsored Refreshment Break — Aerojet Rocketdyne

3:05  pm
New Services & The Internet of Things

Once services reach a certain price point, markets open up that may not even be on the radar for many organizations. Everything along the value chain is changing and today, many satellite companies (and large Silicon Valley innovators) are proposing global broadband space systems. These systems will most certainly come with innovative and disruptive features. In connection with these new systems, and others, what key services are price trending downwards, and what markets are approaching feasibility? Does broadband demand, spurred by IoT represent an area of growth? What role might satellites play in the evolving IoT environment? Is strong point-to-multipoint a help or hindrance to typical IoT applications? Will the ubiquitous presence of IoT devices spike a demand in remote satellite bandwidth? To what extend will big data specialists be the clients of satellite data? Will satellite data providers need to become versed in processing, analyzing and presenting data in order to improve their business model?
 

 

3:55 pm
Satellite Constellations – the New Roles of LEO & MEO
As new LEO & MEO constellations spread across the skies, questions about threat or opportunity arise. Are the proposed constellations worth all the attention and will they bring meaningful benefits versus GEO systems? What is involved in designing, implementing and maintaining a satellite constellation? How does operating a constellation differ from the more traditional satellite systems in terms of cost and usefulness? What are the most important applications flying in constellations today and what might they be tomorrow? Where is there opportunity for bridging the gap between existing systems and new constellations to maximize the utility of their respective strengths?
 

 

4:45 pm
Government as Innovators: Incubators, Investors & Customers
Globally, governments are investing in space innovation, by developing and nurturing nascent space industries, interfacing with not-for-profit investors, and determining how to ensure that their space intelligence does not fall behind the learning curve. What are the areas of research and design that will change the satellite industry the most? What is the role of DARPA and other innovative government-supported vehicles in directing this research in the SATCOM world? What are the advantages to working on government projects vs. private equity ventures? What satellite demand will there be for land, naval, UAVs and manned aircraft in the future? The trend to using commercial satellites by the military has increased in recent years – what are the expectations that this will continue? And what is happening in other countries for their space innovation – which countries have made the most progress and/or innovative thinking vis a vis the US?
 
 
5:35 pm to 7:35 pm

Sponsored Evening Reception — Kratos

 

 

Day 2  — Tuesday October 3rd, 2017

7:00  am 
Registration Opens

Sponsored Breakfast — The Aerospace Corporation

8:00  am
Mobile Satellite Connectivity

At few points in history have the tea leaves of mobile connectivity been more difficult to read. HTS & traditional satellite internet providers potentially face significant competition from new constellations offering wider coverage and comparable connectivity. What role could “mothership” type satellites play in terms of constellation management? Ground equipment is facing similar disruption with the seemingly near term introduction of flat panel antennas. What does the future of mobile connectivity hold? How will satellite be an integral component of the 5G and terrestrial wireless world of the future? What does the broadband connection of tomorrow look like?
 

 

8:50 am
Satellite Operator Challenges
– The rapidly lowered cost of launch points to changing fleet dynamics and new types of satellites providing bandwidth. What should we expect in the future and what plans are there for LEO and MEO operations?
– One of the scarcest and most competitive of resources is spectrum. For this reason, as well as differing abilities of alternative means of communications, the space systems of tomorrow are creatively looking at spectrum. How do operators optimize spectrum usage with digital and high throughput techniques repurposing outdated uses and/or opening up new spectrum bands for satellite uses?
– As consumer media consumption shifts from traditional cable to new streaming platforms, satellite operators face new challenges in supplying distribution diversification and responsive feedback methodologies. How have Over-the-Top (OTT) disruptors (like Netflix) impacted the amount of satellite capacity that DTH operators can sell and where is demand trending?
 
 
9:40  am 

Sponsored Refreshment Break — Hogan Lovells

10:10  am
Intersection of Launch Innovation & Economics

Innovations in launch technology combined with increasing globalization have already changed the economics of SATCOM in major ways. While reusable rockets and shared rides are the most prominent game changers, the multitude of new entrants to the market investing outside capital in R&D have a multitude of promising avenues. How long will it be until most satellites are launched on reused rockets, and what is the timeline on real financial impact? Who are the players today (companies and nations), and where is capital being invested in an attempt to thrust ahead? How will US military spending increases affect this horizon? Speakers from a diverse array of launch providers will explore these topics and more.
 
SpeakerPat Bahn, CEO, TGV Rockets & Propulsion Systems

 

11:00 am

Keynote — Greg Wyler, Founder and Executive Chairman, OneWeb

In 2012, Greg founded OneWeb with the mission of enabling Internet access for everyone. Setting a goal of connecting every unconnected school in the world by 2022, he built a team and designed a satellite constellation to achieve that vision. After the system was designed, in 2014 OneWeb raised over $500,000,000 USD in its A-Round from investors including Qualcomm, Bharti, Airbus, Coca-Cola, Echostar, Virgin and Intelsat, and $1.2bn USD in its B-Round with lead investor Softbank. Greg continues to lead the architecture and development of the system looking towards its initial activation in 2019.

Prior to OneWeb, in 2007 Greg founded O3b Networks, Ltd. O3b raised approximately 1.3bn USD to design and build a satellite constellation to provide fiber quality backhaul for telecom operators in the most remote markets around the world. Today, O3b has launched 12 satellites. The system provides the highest capacity and lowest latency combination of any satellites built to date. O3b Networks was acquired by SES Corporation in 2016.

FULL BIO

 
11:45  am 

Sponsored Lunch — SES Government Solutions

1:00  pm
Digesting Software’s New Role

Satellite system engineering once stood alone in its ability to make or break a satellite business. More and more satellite systems are coming back around to focus on the intelligence on the ground and the applications that make or break the business model. As modular components and COTS have become increasingly used in new space applications, once critical traditional roles are now pivoting to software engineering. How do satellite system engineers and software engineers work together to optimize applications? AI is sure to play a role here, as is much of the convergence between platforms of different levels (terrestrially, GEOs, LEOs) that are best geared to address the customer-desired solution. As we all know, space is becoming more of a standard Silicon Valley target, another level of communications for hyper-connecting the world. What role has and will Silicon Valley play in this transition and does the way business is done here hurt or help the satellite industry?
 

 

1:50 pm
Innovative Partnerships & New M&A Strategy
Combining ideas, capabilities and personnel strengths, new creative partnerships are redefining how satellite companies work together. What recent activities stand out as different, and what are the philosophies behind these agreements? What are the important considerations in structuring unconventional partnerships, and what are the perceived benefits? Beyond partnerships, what creative ways can organizations merge with and acquire one another? What are the methods for maximizing value in M&A tax structures, and how does one navigate regulatory impacts on timing and strategy, or cross-border and inversion transactions? What strategies have proven effective in acquisitions of intellectual property (IP), and what is necessary to monetize these IP assets?
 
 
2:40  pm

Sponsored Refreshment Break — Hogan Lovells

3:05  pm
Will the Promise of HTS In The Sky Be Met by a Shockwave Of Costs On The Ground

With 100+ HTS satellites to be launched in coming years what are the ramifications. Considering that lighting up a single HTS could require up to 10 gateways in the first few years of operations results in a $20-$40 million investment. New, innovative ground system architecture will be required to deploy these gateways in a much more affordable manner.
 

 

3:55 pm
Cyber Security – Guarding Future Satellite Systems
It is impossible to predict hacking except to know that the threat will grow and diversify – are there only software solutions? The chances are very high that hidden threats are already in your organization’s networks. Organizations can’t afford to believe that their security measures are perfect and impenetrable, no matter how thorough their security precautions might be. Options such as optical, laser, radar, and more need to be examined. These alternatives suggest the possibility of no interference and cyber security protection as well as freedom from certain regulatory hurdles. Can quantum technology be developed to generating uncrackable codes? Future technology must be based on impenetrable networks. How might alternative antenna designs influence these systems?
 
SpeakerDavid Myers, CEO, Datapath