Author: Annie Savage

New satellite companies often face challenges as they establish themselves alongside legacy players in the sector. To help us understand this turbulent business landscape, we spoke with Martina Löfqvist, the Head of Strategy & Partnerships at Picterra, on Episode 48 of The Satellite & NewSpace Matters Podcast, about her experiences and advice surrounding startup and scale-up companies. Read on for her insights. 

“Building stuff for space that you actually fly into space is very complex because there are a lot of regulations around it. Even though it’s become cheaper and easier to launch, there are still a lot of regulations around what you can launch and how you can launch it. If you want to build a novel piece of technology, it takes time to innovate on that. 

When it comes to software, that is a little bit easier to develop. When you have some new technologies and developments, such as machine learning, it’s quite complex. We’re seeing right now that there’s a lot of hype around AI, which is also great for us because more people understand what it actually means now, but it’s still a challenge to develop a really solid solution and end product. 

In terms of the space industry in general, there’s still a link missing between what the space industry creates and what appears on the commercial market. There’s still a challenge in terms of commercialization. Of course, you have some b2b sales within the space industry, which I think is easier because you would be selling to companies that understand what you’re doing. When you go out into other industries, there’s still an education piece that needs to be done. 

For example, when it comes to Earth Observation in the agriculture sector, a lot of farmers don’t understand why you need satellite data. I heard someone at a conference recently say that they had talked to a farmer, and they explained all the amazing things that you can do with Earth Observation and analytics, and the farmer said, “Well, I have a window. I could just look out and see how my crops are doing.” So there’s a communication aspect where we need to make sure we’re offering clients added value. 

To achieve that, we need more marketing people, salespeople and strategists into the industry because they can bring our products to life. To do that, smaller companies need to have a strong culture. One of the reasons I joined Pixar was because of its culture. Of course, its technology is really amazing, too, and I have a personal connection to that, coming from a software and AI background to the product that we have. But I do believe the saying, ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’. Throughout history, there are many great examples of how humans have been able to accomplish amazing things by having a very strong team. Having a collaborative culture at the core of a team allows you to innovate. 

Hiring the right people and making sure that the team feels safe, heard and appreciated is important because if you have that, you’ll also express that outward. You’ll also have more ideas flourishing within the company, and people will feel safe enough to express their concerns, admit their mistakes, and engage in more creativity. When we’re hiring at the Picterra, something that we really look for is emotional intelligence. It’s vital for us that our people have an understanding of themselves and how they relate to other people. Compassion is important too. 

To hear more from Martina, tune into Episode 48 of The Satellite & NewSpace Matters Podcast here.

We sit down regularly with some of the biggest names in our industry, we dedicate our podcast to the stories of leaders in the technologies industries that bring us closer together. Follow the link here to see some of our latest episodes and don’t forget to subscribe.     

As new regulations are passed to improve sustainability in the space sector, companies are having to adapt their service offerings and create new solutions. To help us unpack the topic, we invited Dr Jur. Olga Stelmakh-Drescher, the Chief Policy, Legal and Government Relations Officer at Exolaunch, to speak with us on Episode 45 of The Satellite & NewSpace Matters Podcast. Here are the highlights of the conversation. 

What do you think the broader industry can do to improve space sustainability?

I believe we need a strong international engagement and community, and more efficient communication and sharing of best practices. That needs to come not just from leaders in the global arena but equally from policy, opinion and decision-makers. I would probably be seen as provocative for saying this, but it seems that the community needs to start understanding the cases affecting sustainability and space to fully grasp the criticality of this topic and start taking real action. The measures that have been commanded for implementation have to be executed. 

From a legal perspective, how do current space laws and regulations address sustainability concerns?

Sustainability is on the agenda of ministers these days, it’s a very popular topic. There were multiple attempts undertaken by a variety of stakeholders that resulted in a globally binding engagement or commitment. However, the solutions are extremely fragmented and differentiated. There are many good examples of original efforts, like an FCC five-year rule for orbiting satellites or the European initiative to develop a European Union Space Law focusing on safety, sustainability and security. But the question we should ask ourselves is, ‘Was it sufficient?’ Does it ensure the sustainability of the space environment? It’s not just you and I who have to discuss this topic; it needs to be a global engagement. Unfortunately, it stays in the realm of discussions and actions.

Are specific legal frameworks in place to incentivise space companies to prioritise sustainability in their operations?

The specimen ability rating is one such framework, but it’s not a legal one. It focuses on incentivising space companies to prioritise sustainability in their operations. This rating constitutes a tiered support system that takes a series of metrics based on models previously published by government agencies and academic institutions and serves to quantify and measure sustainability-related decisions taken by operators. Points are awarded according to the positive impact on the space environment, and actions resulting in the most sustainable impact received will receive more points. The sustainability rating also considers the design, operation or end of life of a mission. The question now is how we will ensure that more and more actors volunteer or pursue its scoring. I believe that we need more tools like this that incentivize space companies to prioritise sustainability.

What role do international treaties play in promoting space sustainability, and how effective have they been so far?

International treaties create legal grounds for sustainability. Unfortunately, back in the day, the consequences of space activities were neglected, and the entire focus was on the first attempts and tries. It was somewhat of a learning curve, and the law did not reflect the key concerns of that time. Who could have foretold that conducting space activities wouldn’t be a privilege of the few, but instead, launching space objects into space would become routine, and space debris would turn into a growing problem? International treaties need to catch up. 

To hear more from Olga, tune in to Episode 45 of The Satellite & NewSpace Matters Podcast here. 

We sit down regularly with some of the biggest names in our industry, we dedicate our podcast to the stories of leaders in the technologies industries that bring us closer together. Follow the link here to see some of our latest episodes and don’t forget to subscribe.