SSPI

Satellite constellations are multiplying, orbits are diversifying, and the infrastructure needed to connect them to Earth is expanding rapidly. What does all that growth mean for the satellite ground segment?  In this episode of the SSPI Podcast, Tamara Bond-Williams welcomes Scott Mumford, CEO of Go Global Communications, one of SSPI's newest corporate members. Drawing on nearly 30 years of experience in satellite communications, including leading Liquid Telecom Satellite Services across Africa, Scott brings an engineering and commercial perspective to the changing ground segment.  Scott explains why LEO constellations require more geographically distributed gateways, how evolving technical demands are reshaping ground infrastructure, and what it takes to build and support satellite networks around the world. He also shares how Go Global Comms is responding to these changes and what the company hopes to contribute to the SSPI community.  Learn more about SSPI at https://www.sspi.org. 

Carol Craig did not set out to become a naval aviator, launch a company, take a space company public, or spend her career navigating one rapidly changing industry after another. Her path kept changing, and she learned how to change with it.  In this SSPI-WISE conversation, Carol joins Lyn Chassagne to talk about the experiences that shaped her approach to leadership, from becoming one of the first women eligible to fly in U.S. Navy combat aircraft to founding Craig Technologies and building Sidus Space.  Their conversation explores L1[resilience in the face of unexpected change, learning when to take a risk, building trustworthy partnerships, navigating leadership as a woman in a male-dominated industry, making room for family while building a career, and knowing when an opportunity to lead may require finding a new path.]  Carol also reflects on mentorship, board service, entrepreneurship, the future of the space industry, and one piece of advice she believes emerging leaders should remember: "You deserve to be here."  This conversation was originally presented as an SSPI-WISE All Members Meeting.  Learn more about SSPI-WISE and Space & Satellite Professionals International at SSPI.org. 

What does UK space look like after four and a half years at the head of its space agency?  Dr. Paul Bate joins SSPI Executive Director Tamara Bond-Williams for a wide-ranging conversation about what he can see now that he has stepped outside the UK Space Agency and into academia.  Paul reflects on the UK's growing role in European and international missions, the importance of relationships when geopolitical systems are under stress, and a possible new model for collaborative, digital-first space R&D.  He also explains why the sector needs credible optimism and distinguishes that discipline from hype, what a UK Space and Satellite Personality of the Year should champion, and why space sustainability requires deeper independent research into the orbital and atmospheric environment.  The conversation closes by asking what humans need to thrive there, and which ethical questions institutions must answer as human activity moves farther from Earth. 

What does it take to build a commercial space partnership when market opportunity, national security, and regulation all cross the same border?  In Collateral Risk, Episode 5, Tamara Bond-Williams speaks with Fuhua Ni, founding and managing partner of Shanghai Zenith Law Firm, about the changing legal environment around China's commercial space sector.  Fuhua traces the sector's growth since the government opened more room for commercial participation in 2014. He explains why companies face a fragmented regulatory landscape, how commercial and dual-use activities overlap, and where export-control systems such as ITAR and EAR shape the practical limits of international deals.  The conversation also examines the Wolf Amendment, a proposed CSIS report on areas of possible US–China cooperation, and the effort to establish an SSPI China chapter. Throughout, Fuhua returns to a central question: how can professional relationships and clearer legal frameworks reduce risk without ignoring genuine political and security constraints?  Collateral Risk is part of SSPI's Defense of Space initiative, which explores the commercial, legal, policy, and security choices shaping the space economy.  The episode includes proofed English and Simplified Chinese captions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TdBgAkSo3M

What happens when you build a career around curiosity rather than a predetermined destination?    In this episode of Why I Serve, we meet Shruti Vyas, Head of Programmes at SES and a member of the SSPI Board of Directors.    Shruti's career has moved across satellite engineering, sales, procurement, insurance, risk management and launch management. She says those moves were guided by a simple principle: a career should carry forward a storyline.    That journey eventually put her in the middle of two extraordinary industry stories. She helped navigate the launch of SES-10 on the first flight-proven Falcon 9 booster used for a commercial satellite mission, bridging very different attitudes toward risk and innovation. Today, she helps lead the execution of IRIS², Europe's ambitious secure connectivity initiative.    This episode is part of SSPI's Space and Satellite Futures track, focused on leadership and the next generation of the industry.    If you are interested in satellite communications, on-orbit servicing, space sustainability, professional leadership and the future of the space and satellite community, this conversation offers a thoughtful view from a new member of the SSPI Board.