{"id":56735,"date":"2021-09-02T17:04:15","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T09:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/gwynne-shotwell-and-the-mission-extension-vehicle-satellite-executive-and-technology-of-the-year-recap\/"},"modified":"2021-09-02T17:04:15","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T09:04:15","slug":"gwynne-shotwell-and-the-mission-extension-vehicle-satellite-executive-and-technology-of-the-year-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/gwynne-shotwell-and-the-mission-extension-vehicle-satellite-executive-and-technology-of-the-year-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Gwynne Shotwell and the Mission Extension Vehicle: Satellite Executive and Technology of the Year Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Via Satellite\u2019s Executive and Technology of the Year awards are two of the industry\u2019s highest honors, highlighting outstanding success in leadership and technological achievement. In a normal year, the winners chosen by Via Satellite\u2019s readers and editorial team would be announced in-person during the awards luncheon at the SATELLITE show, but so little has been normal in 2021. <\/p>\n<p>This year, Via Satellite instead announced the 2020 SEOTY and STOTY winners \u2014 SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell and Northrop Grumman\u2019s Mission Extension Vehicle-1 \u2014 in April during the LEO Digital Forum, an online event.   <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/sZZNiEs8Qi2Wrw0uwHoU_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_Cover-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" style=\"width: 120px; height: auto;\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/sZZNiEs8Qi2Wrw0uwHoU_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_Cover-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/sZZNiEs8Qi2Wrw0uwHoU_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_Cover-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/sZZNiEs8Qi2Wrw0uwHoU_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_Cover-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/sZZNiEs8Qi2Wrw0uwHoU_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_Cover.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"fs-5 mt-0\">Explore the Show Daily 2021 Day 1 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<h3>SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell<\/h3>\n<p>Shotwell is now a two-time winner, and she was recognized for SpaceX\u2019s blockbuster year in 2020. She led the group of nominees that included Nobu Okada, founder and CEO of Astroscale; Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, former CEO of Yahsat; Mauricio Segovia, CEO of AXESS Networks; Blake Larson, president of Northrop Grumman Space Systems; Vytenis Buzas, founder and CEO of NanoAvionics. <\/p>\n<p>Shotwell first won the award in 2017 for leading SpaceX through industry-changing milestones in rocket reusability. Now, she is being recognized for a year during which SpaceX not only returned human spaceflight to the United States with the Commercial Crew Demo-2 mission, but also maintained the world\u2019s most active launch business, and built Starlink into the world\u2019s largest satellite fleet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c2020 \u2014 what a weird, and I would normally say, terrible year,\u201d Shotwell said, accepting the award in April. \u201cThe global community tried to figure out how to function and survive during a global pandemic. And yet, SpaceX was able to operate and do extraordinary things last year. I\u2019m going to accept this award, again in 2020 \u2014 not for myself \u2014 but for the extraordinary people at SpaceX that did such extraordinary things in such a weirdo year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a6a92bfe3bfb;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_6a6a92bfe3bfb = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a6a92bfe3bfc').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a6a92bfe3bfc'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Shotwell spoke with <em>Via Satellite<\/em> for the May edition. On the topic of SpaceX\u2019s industry dominance, Shotwell said giant goals keep the company from growing complacent, and she doesn\u2019t see the company as the establishment. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe never intended to be a disruptor. We really just intended to do the work that Elon laid out for us. I hope we are not considered the establishment, because that sounds very boring,\u201d Shotwell said. \u201cI think that drive for change and being better is why we were able to accomplish what we have to date, and that seems counter to being establishment. Establishment sounds like it\u2019s settled down. But, we have to keep doing better than what we were doing.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>And Shotwell addressed the growing Starlink constellation, which has added more satellites since the interview \u2014 launching four missions in May of this year alone. Starlink is still in beta service, but SpaceX recently told the FCC that it has 90,000 Starlink users in 12 countries. SpaceX also recently made news in August by acquiring startup Swarm Technologies, which provides IoT connectivity via tiny, sandwich-sized satellites. It remains to be seen how Swarm connectivity could work together with Starlink, but it was an interesting move for SpaceX\u2019s first public satellite company acquisition. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cStarlink is best set up to serve rural villages and the rural population. We can do work in the city, but you can\u2019t put enough bandwidth down in a city to cover any sort of percentage of consumers in that cell. Starlink is very complimentary to the large ISP, and especially fiber-based systems,\u201d Shotwell said. \u201cIt\u2019s just too expensive to take fiber to every house in rural locations. But, Starlink satellites fly over every part of the globe every day, so it\u2019s no more expensive to serve someone in a rural community than it is to serve someone in a city.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>One of the major takeaways from the conversation was insight into SpaceX\u2019s ambition to take Starlink onto mobile platforms like ships and planes. Shotwell said in three to five years, Starlink service will be available on commercial planes. <\/p>\n<p>Taking a wide view of her career, Shotwell was honest and said she wishes to do more in encouraging underrepresented minorities in space. She wants to see everyone be able to participate in the technological revolution underway. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe best I\u2019ve been able to do is make sure I\u2019m doing my best work every day and that SpaceX is doing great things. As things slow down at SpaceX \u2014 and they never have, but as they do \u2014 hopefully I have more time to connect with people more closely, and talk about my story. How I got to where I am, and maybe give some advice to folks that have questions,\u201d Shotwell said. <\/p>\n<p>Shotwell will be speaking at the SATELLITE general session on Wednesday, Sept. 8: \u201cThe Future of Global Satellite Connectivity.\u201d <\/p>\n<h3>Northrop Grumman\u2019s Mission Extension Vehicle-1 <\/h3>\n<p>In the past year and a half, Northrop Grumman has made in-orbit satellite servicing a commercial reality, and not just an exciting concept of the future. In fact, the same week that Northrop Grumman won the 2020 Satellite Technology of the Year (STOTY) award for its pioneering work with Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1), the company successfully docked MEV-2 to the Intelsat 10-02 satellite to deliver life-extension services. <\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a6a92bfe4153;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_6a6a92bfe4153 = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a6a92bfe4154').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a6a92bfe4154'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The technology won over these other nominees: hiSky Smartellite network; Kymeta u8 terminal; Lockheed Martin Natural Feature Tracking technology; and Iridium Global Maritime Distress and Safety System.<\/p>\n<p>Northrop Grumman has now twice demonstrated docking two commercial satellites in orbit. In the second demonstration, the Intelsat satellite it docked with was operational. This service allows satellite operators to extend the life of their in-orbit assets by years and defer the cost of a replacement satellite. <\/p>\n<p>Speaking with <em>Via Satellite<\/em> for the May edition, Joe Anderson, senior director of Business Development for Northrop Grumman and vice president of SpaceLogistics, said the market for in-orbit satellite servicing is rapidly emerging and evolving. Now that the company has proven technical and commercial viability, he expects to sign a handful of deals this year and work with servicing missions for government customers. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt just makes economic sense to use your assets to their full potential,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cBut because of the risk-averse nature of our industry, it really prevented customers from saying \u2018Yes\u2019 to an unproven technology. Now that is changing very rapidly. We have really overcome that hurdle with the technology.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The next generation of this technology involves Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV), which will install Mission Extension Pods onto existing satellites that are already in-orbit, but not designed to be serviced. These pods are small propulsion augmentation devices that can extend a typical Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellite life for about six years. This system is expected to launch in 2024. <\/p>\n<p>While so much of the industry buzz is around smaller satellites in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), Northrop Grumman sees substantial market opportunity in serving GEO assets, and future iterations of this technology. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government and commercial industry continues to launch and operate satellites in GEO, and we don\u2019t see that changing,\u201d said Tom Wilson, vice president and general manager for Northrop Grumman and president of SpaceLogistics LLC. \u201cWe see a diversity in demand for different missions still being there. There is an entrenched market for us for decades to come. In addition, it is not just about communications satellites or LEO versus GEO. We will not only leverage this technology to service commercial GEO technology, but we will also look to see if there is a market in servicing the LEO satellites, and if there is, we can go there.\u201d <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 407:  \/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=\"183\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/YdVieOoSVeLg8H2NF8AI_PIA15415_large-300x183.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/YdVieOoSVeLg8H2NF8AI_PIA15415_large-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/YdVieOoSVeLg8H2NF8AI_PIA15415_large-800x489.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/YdVieOoSVeLg8H2NF8AI_PIA15415_large-640x391.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/YdVieOoSVeLg8H2NF8AI_PIA15415_large.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\tAnalysts Examine Industry Trends for SATELLITE 2021<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 405:  \/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\/bzgDqWhRfyqXfRK26ncl_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_1-300x225.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/bzgDqWhRfyqXfRK26ncl_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/bzgDqWhRfyqXfRK26ncl_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_1-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/bzgDqWhRfyqXfRK26ncl_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_1-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/bzgDqWhRfyqXfRK26ncl_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_1.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\tBack at SATELLITE: The Industry Emerges from Quarantine<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 406:  \/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\/M0Lci617SfmKB3WqbgCd_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_Jat-300x225.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/M0Lci617SfmKB3WqbgCd_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_Jat-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/M0Lci617SfmKB3WqbgCd_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_Jat-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/M0Lci617SfmKB3WqbgCd_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_Jat-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/M0Lci617SfmKB3WqbgCd_VS_ShowDaily20202120DGTL_Jat.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\tNew Inmarsat CCPO Jat Brainch Details the Company\u2019s Revamped Approach<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3 d-block d-md-none\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Via Satellite\u2019s Executive and Technology of the Year awards are two of the industry\u2019s highest honors, highlighting outstanding success in leadership and technological achievement. In a normal year, the winners chosen by Via Satellite\u2019s readers and editorial team would be announced in-person during the awards luncheon at the SATELLITE show, but so little has been [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56736,"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-56735","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\/56735"}],"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=56735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}