At SATELLITE 2022’s opening general session, “A Defining Era for the Satellite Industry,” leaders from OneWeb, Mynaric, Telesat, Viasat, Northrop Grumman, and Isotropic Systems addressed the war in Ukraine, cybersecurity, and the future of multi-orbit networks.
OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson, referencing the operator’s pivot to SpaceX launches after Roscosmos pulled out: “We were forced to make a choice and we did. We remain absolutely determined to ensure the deployment of our constellation.” He added: “It feels to me as if the Cold War in space has started. It’s unusual to see somebody from the business side saying we need more regulation, not less. Space is a shared resource for us.”
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Mynaric CCO Tina Ghataore noted supply chain scrutiny: “We’re having to scrutinize our supply chain even more. We have to scrutinize where every component comes from. In addition to the hardware, we have to look at the software.”
Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg called for international regulatory frameworks: “There’s no one authority that can regulate space. There needs to be rules of the road and we need to follow them.”
Viasat co-founder Mark Dankberg confirmed the European KA-SAT network suffered a cyberattack in late February that took thousands of terminals offline: “There will be worse cyberattacks if we’re not vigilant. It’s a constant battle.” He also said Viasat’s best business model is “helping and augmenting countries around the world that want their own space programs.”
On terminal pricing, Isotropic Systems CEO John Finney cautioned: “The name of the game is to avoid a situation like fiber optics in the early nineties when there was an overbuild before demand could be met. We don’t like the word cheap, we like the word value.”
All panelists agreed LEO will grow dominant over 10 years but multi-orbit will persist. “Each element is part of the solution. Each has different roles to play,” said Masterson. VS
