{"id":49572,"date":"2025-03-12T23:28:05","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T15:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/swissto12-ceo-emile-de-rijk-and-slingshots-agatha-ai-win-2024-exec-and-tech-of-the-year-awards\/"},"modified":"2025-03-12T23:28:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T15:28:05","slug":"swissto12-ceo-emile-de-rijk-and-slingshots-agatha-ai-win-2024-exec-and-tech-of-the-year-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/swissto12-ceo-emile-de-rijk-and-slingshots-agatha-ai-win-2024-exec-and-tech-of-the-year-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"SWISSto12 CEO Emile de Rijk and Slingshot\u2019s Agatha AI Win 2024 Exec and Tech of the Year Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SWISSto12 CEO Emile de Rijk and Slingshot Aerospace\u2019s Agatha AI product won the 2024 Satellite Executive and Technology of the Year awards, <em>Via Satellite<\/em> announced Wednesday. Winners were chosen by a combination of public vote and the <em>Via Satellite <\/em>editorial board.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, Dr. Femi Ishola, founder and CEO of Phemotron Systems won the 2025 Startup Space pitch competition, chosen by a panel of judges.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9apgmHRQCugYBeBD5Cyq_VS_ShowDaily20202520Day20420DGTL_-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" style=\"width: 120px; height: auto;\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9apgmHRQCugYBeBD5Cyq_VS_ShowDaily20202520Day20420DGTL_-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9apgmHRQCugYBeBD5Cyq_VS_ShowDaily20202520Day20420DGTL_-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9apgmHRQCugYBeBD5Cyq_VS_ShowDaily20202520Day20420DGTL_-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9apgmHRQCugYBeBD5Cyq_VS_ShowDaily20202520Day20420DGTL_.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"fs-5 mt-0\">Explore the Show Daily 2025 Day 4 Issue<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-0 fs-smaller text-balance\">Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-primary\" type=\"button\" data-bs-toggle=\"offcanvas\" data-bs-target=\"#offcanvasMENU\" aria-controls=\"offcanvasExample\" aria-label=\"button\" style=\"white-space: nowrap;\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tView More <i class=\"bi bi-arrow-right-circle\"><\/i><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/button><\/p>\n<p>De Rijk has disrupted the satellite manufacturing market with the HummingSat small Geostationary (GEO) satellite platform, winning orders from major operators Inmarsat (now part of Viasat) and Intelsat. In 2024, SWISSto12 completed preliminary design reviews on the HummingSat program while growing revenues by over 40 percent. SWISSto12 uses proprietary 3D-printing technology and has more than 1,000 flight-proven radio frequency (RF) products already in orbit.<\/p>\n<p>In his acceptance speech, de Rijk recalled attending SATELLITE for the first time 10 years ago when SWISSto12 was a three-person startup, and spoke about the full-circle nature of the moment. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember walking into the exhibit hall with a piece of 3D printed antenna, which was our initial product, and thinking \u2018I know absolutely nobody in this industry,\u2019\u201d de Rijk said. \u201c10 years later, here we are building GEO satellites for some of the most prestigious customers in the industry and have put products into space and developed ground products to better connect various platforms and users to satellites.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a69bbeecb06d;googletag.cmd.push(function(){var AIMAP_29b58f13885ebf8ea6b032f958eb0748 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([992, 100], [[970, 90], [970, 250]]).addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_737ce075cc05dd766c8f8ea08f3faa73 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([1200, 100], [970, 250]).addSize([768, 100], [600, 300]).addSize([320, 100], [300, 250]).build();AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a69bbeecb06d = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a69bbeecb06f').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a69bbeecb06f'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>De Rijk was a competitor in the inaugural Startup Space competition in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to encourage all the entrepreneurs in this room,\u201d he added. \u201cOne day you can walk in here and be nobody and get to know your first contact in the space industry and achieve something meaningful that moves the line for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/OPV3r2GhQNCqHYD7JsGC_STOTY%20CEO.jpg\"><figcaption>Slingshot Aerospace CEO Tim Solms accepts the award for Satellite Technology of the Year for Agatha AI. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Technology of the Year winner Agatha AI is a system designed to pinpoint even the most subtle spacecraft abnormalities and predict future threats. Developed in partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Agatha is a unique AI application in the way it evaluates data from thousands of satellites and provides space domain awareness and insights into potential bad actors. <\/p>\n<p>Slingshot Aerospace CEO Tim Solms accepted the Technology of the Year award. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an incredible recognition for a group of developers who worked hand-in-hand with DARPA years ago to come up with this groundbreaking technology,\u201d Solms said. \u201cAgatha identifies anomalies in constellations to give us a first-mover advantage for either anomalous activity or nefarious activity. For a guy who hasn\u2019t written a single line of code, I\u2019m incredibly grateful to the teams who developed this.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/YyW8Ej0T69bixL4sBMQm_Startup%20Space%20Winner.jpg\"><figcaption>Dr. Femi Ishola, founder and CEO of Phemotron Systems accepts the award for winning the 2025 Startup Space competition.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Startup Space winner Phemotron Systems, led by Ishola, is a multinational space company with operations in Nigeria, Japan, and the U.S. It is developing and aiming to launch a 12U small satellite cubesat platform called the AI-MotherBox-1, which is equipped with a high-performing AI engine that can execute data gathering tasks at higher speeds than conventional cubesats. <\/p>\n<p>SATELLITE Executive Chair Jeffrey Hill said this was the most competitive Startup Space in the event\u2019s history. \u201cDr. Femi Ishola delivered a fantastic pitch that highlighted how Phemotron Systems\u2019 cubesat could potentially utilize existing ground infrastructure in Africa to distribute analytics and critical data to a wide variety of customers,\u201d Hill commented. <\/p>\n<p>CEO and Founder Ishola is the first Startup Space winner from Africa. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you so much for this opportunity. I dedicate this award to the African children with dreams, with hopes. This is a testament that you can do it,\u201d Ishola said. <strong>VS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"widget-title\">In This Issue<\/h2>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 533:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/b7jQyTMNRzajQXmoCvbz_CASR-300x199.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/b7jQyTMNRzajQXmoCvbz_CASR-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/b7jQyTMNRzajQXmoCvbz_CASR-800x532.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/b7jQyTMNRzajQXmoCvbz_CASR-640x426.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/b7jQyTMNRzajQXmoCvbz_CASR.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tIndustry Finding Ways to Work With CASR for Critical Satellite Infrastructure<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3 d-block d-md-none\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 529:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"183\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/oVqeyFjT8C41A11j7oAc_OGS202-300x183.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/oVqeyFjT8C41A11j7oAc_OGS202-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/oVqeyFjT8C41A11j7oAc_OGS202-800x487.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/oVqeyFjT8C41A11j7oAc_OGS202-640x390.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/oVqeyFjT8C41A11j7oAc_OGS202.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tLeaders See Collaboration as the Key to Expanding Access to Space<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 531:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"204\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/9zzKPT0lQj67ckXo74vq_Z6C_9649-300x204.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/9zzKPT0lQj67ckXo74vq_Z6C_9649-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/9zzKPT0lQj67ckXo74vq_Z6C_9649-800x544.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/9zzKPT0lQj67ckXo74vq_Z6C_9649-640x436.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/9zzKPT0lQj67ckXo74vq_Z6C_9649.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tMulti-Orbit Operators Pitch the Value of Resiliency and Network Optionality<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3 d-block d-md-none\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 532:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Y8cVH0uRS6eUs6v0X0OA_GovMilSpace20Makes20Its20Debut20Alongside20SATELLITE-300x225.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Y8cVH0uRS6eUs6v0X0OA_GovMilSpace20Makes20Its20Debut20Alongside20SATELLITE-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Y8cVH0uRS6eUs6v0X0OA_GovMilSpace20Makes20Its20Debut20Alongside20SATELLITE-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Y8cVH0uRS6eUs6v0X0OA_GovMilSpace20Makes20Its20Debut20Alongside20SATELLITE-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Y8cVH0uRS6eUs6v0X0OA_GovMilSpace20Makes20Its20Debut20Alongside20SATELLITE.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tNATO Encouraged to Take Fast Action in Space Management Objectives<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SWISSto12 CEO Emile de Rijk and Slingshot Aerospace\u2019s Agatha AI product won the 2024 Satellite Executive and Technology of the Year awards, Via Satellite announced Wednesday. Winners were chosen by a combination of public vote and the Via Satellite editorial board. In addition, Dr. Femi Ishola, founder and CEO of Phemotron Systems won the 2025 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49572"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}