Vanguard Magazine

42 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021 www.vanguardcanada.com GAME CHANGER See the full interview online Q What is your role at your organization today? Currently, my role encompasses three key functions: 1) Managing the London team of payload and platform experts, 2) Man- aging the strategy to align both current and future space segment infrastructure with the capacity needs from our govern- ment, aviation, maritime and enterprise clients, and 3) I am the Program Manager of the GX10-A and GX10-B payloads that will enhance our Global Xpress capabilities over the Arctic region. Q What was your A-HA moment or epiphany that you think will resonate most with our reader, tell us that story? In September 2021, I had the opportunity to visit Svalbard to support our Space Nor- way colleagues on an ASBM (Arctic Satel- lite Broadband Mission) meeting. As part of the trip, Longyearbyen's mayor walked us through the vital importance of com- munications in the scientific and economic development of the area. In addition, we discussed how governments are currently missing important surveillance and aware- ness capabilities due to the lack of reliable and secure communications over Arctic coverage. Though Svalbard was declared a demilitarized zone in the Svalbard Act, 1925, the strategical interest over this area, is particularly noticeable when visiting en- claves such as Pyramiden. Experiencing the Arctic region personally revealed to me exactly how much activity is going on there and gave me a greater understand- ing of the huge value that GX10 services will bring to future civil government cus- tomers This first-hand experience was in- deed a priceless 'a-ha' moment. Q What has fired you up today? I get up every day stimulated by both my personal life and the broadband scope of my work. I have two beautiful children who light me up first thing in the morn- ing. Meditation and yoga bring me the self-awareness to go through each day's excitements in a focused way. There are many different areas requiring my atten- tion and jumping from one to another in a couple of minutes involves resilience and diligence. Leading or contributing to complex teamwork successes really motivates me. Q What is a habit that contributes to your success? I always bring perseverance, curios- ity, and passion into my work. Stepping back and breathing consciously when you see your interests in danger is an effective habit to 'reset' and enable suc- cessful conclusions. Q What are some of the biggest impediments to innovation in your industry sector? I would say that innovation is at its peak point in the space industry history. Over the last decade, the number of start-ups has increased exponentially. It is phe- nomenal to see the democratization of space so that more diverse communities can contribute to innovative solutions. Demonstrations can greatly benefit from it. Nevertheless, I believe that many of the initiatives receiving funds today will die in the following years. Although everyone seems to know how to build space hardware or claim the ability to provide satellite services at lower and lower costs, we cannot forget that space is a hard environment that requires thor- ough testing on the ground, which is costly. Overcoming the space qualifica- tion aspects is just the beginning of the game. In order to deploy a viable satellite communications system, the full ecosys- tem of satellites, gateways, terminals, net- works, operations, and regulations must be ready and work well together. Q How has innovation become engrained in your organization's culture and how is it being optimized? Developing efficient solutions for mobile customers worldwide has been at the core of Inmarsat's innovation since its origins. Inmarsat 3 satellites were launched in the '90s and were already based on digital processors and active antennas. Our multi- frequency multi-layer approach targeting the enhancement of our commercial and government services for the end-users has required the continuous development of outstanding capabilities. Without innova- tion, we could simply not thrive. In recent years, we have simplified some of the pro- cesses and funding approvals for specific innovative initiatives, making them more agile to allow us to get the most from our relentless exploration with the industry, research centres, and academy. Q What technologies, business models, and trends will drive the biggest changes in your industry over the next two years? I see great potential in 3D printing and optical technology for space and machine learning, artificial intelligence, and service digitalization for the ground segment. From a usage perspective, the trend is for the end-user to consume more and more data. This will determine who is best suited to delivering high capacity over hot spots and will separate the wheat from the chaff. In terms of new players, new satellite con- stellations can be a real industry shaker over the next few years. However, regulatory as- pects and the end-user base are limited re- sources, and it is still to be proven what ac- tual QoS and service profitability that such standalone solutions will eventually achieve. Q What is your parting piece of advice? Yes, we can! EVA MARIA GONZALEZ ESTEBAN DIRECTOR, SPACECRAFT INFRASTRUCTURE AND ADVANCED PAYLOADS INMARSAT

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