ISPCS 2015: Keynote, Peter Wegner, Chief Technology Officer, Spaceflight Industries

Does Persistence Pay?

Description: The first “new space bubble” burst when LEO satellite communications companies such as Teledesic and Iridium along with supporting launch companies like Kistler Aerospace were put out of business by the rapid proliferation of ground based fiber in the mid-1990s. The second “new space bubble” consisted of government’s investments in small satellites and small rocket programs in the early 2000’s; including the TacSat series and ORS Office in the DoD and “Faster-Better-Cheaper” in NASA. This “new-space” bubble burst when these investments failed to offset investments in “Big Space Programs” and to become permanent programs of record. Will this third new space bubble burst? Is anything different this time? Will the desire to know all things about our planet in near real time feed the business case for large numbers of small imaging satellites circling the globe? This talk will explore these themes and make a case for “Persistence pays”!

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