Wednesday’s general opening session was a packed house as attendees gathered to hear a discussion between some of the biggest names in satellite manufacturing. Moderated by NSR Senior Analyst Carolyn Belle, the panel covered a range of topics from launch to satellite servicing — but it seems the biggest takeaway was the need to push for collaboration between satellite manufacturers and their customers.
Martin Van Schaik, vice president of Thales Alenia Space, emphasized that between high competition and disruptive technology, manufacturers’ customers will need a hand to overcome some of the challenges they’re facing today. “One of the most important things we see is that we get a much closer cooperation with our customers to optimize their business plan,” he said. “We have to get more involved and understand the market and the business of our customers. That is a big change for us.”
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Boeing Satellite Systems President Mark Spiwak spoke similarly, noting that truly “understanding the business” is the only way to provide the right solution for customers’ needs. “Some customers need the flexibility of a digital payload, others may not,” he said. According to Spiwak, in order to be successful manufacturers must ask themselves, “What is the right solution from a customer standpoint?”
Nicolas Chamussy, executive vice president of space systems at Airbus, also brought up the point that it’s important to find a balance between standardizing manufacturing techniques and creating customized designs. “Hence the need to interface on a regular basis with the customers,” he said.
Paul Estey, executive vice president of engineering, manufacturing and test operations at SSL, said: “The launch vehicle is a bottleneck to getting both the LEO constellations running and GEO back in shape. Long term, I don’t know if there really is a good solution yet.”
Estey also noted: “We think the 15-year model is obsolete. There’s so much change going on in the telecomm business that we’ll have to refresh payloads much faster than 15 years.”
Spiwak also brought up the challenge of attracting talent. “It starts with people. How do we make sure we’re attracting the right people to the industry? What we don’t want is to be recycling the same people, the same ideas.”
Near the end of the conversation, the panel addressed how the new presidential administration could affect the industry. Frank Culbertson, president of Orbital ATK’s space systems group, said: “Going forward to simplify and buy only American in our business just doesn’t work. We’re too integrated, too reliant on each other. It is a global business.” VS
