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Highlight ing Disrupt ive, New, Mobilit y-Focused Sat ellit e Vent ures and Technologies

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In This Issue...
Editorially Speaking...
"5G: Battle for Billions: A Windfall for CBA or the U.S. Treasury?"
Under the Radar: VC Opportunities Page
"Speedcast: Value Overlooked as the Share Price Collapsed"
"Connecting Mobile Phones to Satellite: Lynk's Breakthrough Solution to Reach the Un-Served"
"Teleports for LEOs: ThinKom's Innovative Antenna Solution"
"LeoLabs: Conquering the Threat of Space Junk" 111

VolumeIV, No.VIII September2019 11111

 Table of
Contents...
"Hot News and
Commentary" (pg.3)
"Under the Radar:
Venture Capital
Opportunities" (pg.5)
Editorial : "5G: Battle
for the Billions: A
Windfall for the CBA
or the U.S. Treasury?"
(pg. 5)
"Speedcast: Value
Overlooked asthe
Stock Price Collapsed"
(pg. 7)
"Connecting Mobile
Phonesto Satellite:
Lynk'sBreakthrough
Solution to Reach the
Un-Served "(pg. 16)
" Teleportsfor LEOs:
ThinKom'sInnovative
Antenna Solution"
(pg. 24)
"LeoLabs: Conquering
the Threat of Space
Junk" (pg. 32)
Recommended
Satellite
Upcoming Mobility World Sept 2019
Industry
Events
GOTTLIEB'S
SATELLITEMOBILITYWORLD
Welcome to September! There's a lot happening
in the satellite industry. In Q 4, there's a good
possibility that the battle over re-purposing the 3.7 -
4.2 GHz spectrum will finally be resolved. It's been a
tough fight, and we're covering the latest rounds in
our editorial, 5G: Battle for Billions - A Windfall for the
CBA or the U.S. Treasury?
Next, we look at Speedcast. What caused the
sudden precipitous decline in its stock price? Is the
stock a bargain? In a critical analysis, we'll look at the
company and its future.
Turning to exciting, new companies and technologies, we have in-depth
interviews with the CEOs of Lynk (formerly, UbiquitiLink) and LeoLabs and a look
at Thinkom's innovative solution for LEO teleports - use of its VICTS antenna in
place of massive "dishes."
Lynk 's connects ordinary mobile phones directly to a satellite. Using
satellites as cellular towers in the sky, the company smashes the assumption that
an ordinary mobile phone cannot connect to a satellite. Well on its way to
providing an SMS-based service from space, it has raised over $12 Million in Seed
capital. Another company we are excited about is LeoLabs.
It's is in the business of space traffic management. LeoLabs is the leader
in attacking the growing problem of space debris in LEO orbit. Using phased array
radar, they will soon be tracking over 200,000 objects and providing collision
alerts, potentially saving the industry millions of dollars. Join us for this exciting
September issue.
Satellite Mobility World
Published by Gottlieb International Group, Inc.
Arlington, VA USA
Tel: 703-622-8520
2
Click Her e To Su bscr ibe
 1f 'Hot' News and Commentary
Softbank Takes £380 million Write-down on 2016 OneWeb
Investment
August 10, 2019: The Sunday Telegraph just reported that earlier this year Softbank booked a £380 impairment loss
against its initial 2016 investment in OneWeb and that some initial investors have taken substantial losses. That's no
surprise, and we believe it's just the beginning. Faced with increasing competition, huge regulatory hurdles, and an
obscure target market, the satellite venture is struggling to find its footing.
Finally, realizing that to survive it needs high paying commercial customers rather than the poor, it's racing down the
same path as 03b and finding out that it's not so easy to find market niches large enough to justify its much larger, 1.2$
billion vs. $5 billion, initial investment, let alone the costs of reconstituting the constellation five years down the road. It's
little wonder that ECAs debt funding is not in the financing mix and that Softbank had to lead a second round of
investment to keep the project going.
As we mentioned in a previous article, it's very lucky for Intelsat that their ill advised merger with OneWeb failed. Had it
gone ahead, for its second round equity investment, Softbank would have almost certainly have demanded an increase in
its initially proposed 39% stake to a controlling interest in the combined companies.

OneWeb's JV Withdraws Application for Frequencies in

Russia - Faces Security and Competitive Issues
August 5, 2019: Facing increased opposition from the Russian Security Service and competitive issues, OneWeb has
withdrawn its application for the frequencies it needs to operate in Russia. While the venture has yet to be denied the
right to operate its service, it has been trying unsuccessfully to gain approval since the end of 2017. In April of 2018,
Roskomnadzor opposed the constellation on the basis that its operation could lead to interference with other space
systems. More recently, the Russian Security Service expressed concern that the constellation could be a threat to
national security. It's apparent that Russian law enforcement is not comfortable with a foreign Internet provider that will
be difficult to control, even if the traffic is passed through in-country ground stations. There has even been talk about
 Click Here to Learn More

4
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
 !
New Under TheRadar
Venture Capital Opportunities

Aspublishersof Satellite Mobility World, at times, we see unusual venture capital opportunities . As a service to
our readers, each month we'll post a list of early stage companies that could be of interest to venture capital or
angel investors. Here'sour list for September 2019:
- Lynk (formerly, Ubiquit iLink): Highlighted in this issue, Lynk connects ordinary cell phones directly to satellite,
and will be the first to offer SMS messaging capabilities to cellular subscribers who stray outside the range of the
cellular network. Two seed "Rounds" have already been completed, and $12 Million has been invested so far.
CEO: Charles Miller.

- Phasor Solut ions (www.phasorsolut ions.com): Phasor is about to release the first Electronically Steered
Phased Array antenna. Target markets include maritime, aero and land markets. $39 Million has been invested to
date, and the company are in the process of completing their "C Round." CEO: David Helfgott.

- LeoLabs: This company is a pioneer and the only company dealing with the growing problem of space "junk,"
debris, left behind in low earth orbits. Using phased array radar installations, they will track over 200,000 pieces
of debris, and mitigate the prospect of catastrophic and costly collisions. CEO: Dan Ceperley.

- Sat elles: Satelles provides a backup alternative to GPS for timing and location using the Iridium constellation.
Installed in major stock exchanges around the world, their service provides a signal a thousand times more
powerful than GPS. The company's technology is especially attractive in any timing or location application where
loss of the GPS signal could cause major disruption of service. Backed by Family Offices and major corporate
investors, the company has some very interesting potential. We'll review Satelles in or October issue.
CEO: Michael O'Connor.
5
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
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Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
 5G - Battle for Billions: A Windfall for CBA or the U.S. Treasury?
The re-allocation of the 3.7 - 4.2 GHz band
is moving toward resolution sometime this fall. For
the last two years, the banter back and forth
between the C-Band Alliance and a group
consisting largely of some major cellular operators,
corporations, Congressional law-makers on both
sides of the aisle, and public interest groups has
accelerated to a fever pitch. In thousands of pages
directed in response to the FCCs requests for
comment, proponents and opponents of the
C-Band Alliance's Proposal to re-allocate spectrum
for SG have waged a mighty battle.
The battle is about the money, potentially
billions of dollars, generated through the sale of the
spectrum to SG operators, and how to split it
between the U.S. Treasury and four satellite
operators.
The basis of the fight is an errant FCC
licensing procedure which reserved, in perpetuity
and for no cost, 500 MHz of contiguous mid-band
spectrum almost exclusively for point-to-point
satellite broadcast transmission.
Driven by Congress and the FCC who want
to re-allocate a portion of that spectrum for SG
use, the CBA has proposed a plan in which they
would manage the transition of existing
broadcasters to adjacent spectrum and re-sell 200
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
MHz of the block, pocketing the proceeds. The
advantages of this Proposal they claim would be a
much more rapid re-purposing of the spectrum than
is possible through the traditional auction process
and preservation of existing C-Band-based broadcast
services.
The CBA further backs their position with
the argument that they built a lucrative content
distribution business using the spectrum, thereby
enhancing its value. Furthermore, Intelsat claims that
they already have paid billions of dollars for
additional spectrum in the secondary market, mainly
through the acquisition of Pan Am Sat.
Lacking in Intelsat's argument is the fact that
despite their purchase, they never secured ownership
of the spectrum, only the right to use it for
distribution of media content via point-to-point
satellite transmission. The possibility that the FCC
could re-purpose the spectrum at any time still
existed and represented an ongoing business risk.
A Legal Challenge?
Opponents to the CBA Proposal argue that
granting it would be a violation of the
Communications Act of 1934 section 3090)(6)(E),
since it reserves for the FCC, rather than private
parties, the right to manage the re-purposing of
spectrum. Adding to their argument is the potential
 for anti-trust issues, since the CBA Coalition would operators who paid billions of dollars to own
be a single entity with the collective power to their spectrum. Whether this is fair or not is
collude on pricing and determine the amount of certainly open to question.
spectrum that could be made available. Recognizing that awarding such an
Nevertheless, whether the FCC has the enormous sum is a major impediment to the
authority to enact the CBA plan or adoption of their Proposal, the CBA has offered
not is a complex legal question. While to quell objections by making a
the CBA claims that a precedent set "Since the satellite operators, "voluntary" contribution to the U.S.
in the lower courts , the "Chevron only have point-to-point Treasury. Regardless, opponents are
Deference," supports the FCCs right licenses, the FCC would have skeptical, and continue to favor a
to enact their Proposal, their to award them new terrestrial traditional FCC directed auction. At this
opponents have a different view. licenses, presumably for zero point, it's worth reviewing how the
cost, to allow them to resell the Proposal and its claim to billions of
Armed with substantial legal spectrum, putting them on the dollars evolved.
staffs, the Proposal's opponents same footing as cellular
would likely take their argument Hidden Benefits...
operators who paid billions of
back to the courts and, if necessary, dollars to own it. Whether this Hidden behind the deluge of CBA PR
appeal - a protracted process that is fair or not is certainly open and promotion is the potential for a huge
would nullify the Proposals claimed to question." financial benefit to Intelsat. With $14
time-to-market advantage. billion in debt and its revenues in free fall,
Furthermore, another complication a substantial cash infusion could breathe new life
blocking the CBA proposal is the need to issue new into the company.
terrestrial licenses.
On the other hand, without a windfall
Since the satellite operators only have cash infusion, it and the other operators might
point-to-point licenses, the FCC would have to be forced to shift broadcast customers to
award them new terrestrial licenses, presumably adjacent spectrum or even fiber without any
for zero cost, to allow them to re-sel I the spectrum, compensation at all, incurring billions of dollars
putting them on the same footing as cellular in non-reimbursable expense - a financial
crippling disaster for Intelsat.
8
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
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Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
 To turn the potential crisis to advantage, the CBA Proposal and continue to cite the
Intelsat relied on a two-issue-argument: first, their illegality of allowing private business entities to
claimed ability to make the spectrum available much re-purpose spectrum.
more rapidly than the traditional auction process and Given the huge potential legal and
second, the need to protect the rights of their political risk inherent in approving the CBA
broadcast customers. Proposal and the questionable advantages it
Supported by $700 thousand PR and offers, we believe that the FCC ultimately will
lobbying expense, they focused on the public service take the least risky approach, devising a plan to
advantages of the CBA proposal, thereby compensate the industry for re-locating existing
overshadowing the politically distasteful prospect of broadcast customers to adjacent spectrum and
awarding themselves and other private operators conducting a traditional auction.
billions of dollars - instead of the auction proceeds - Alan Gottlieb
going to the U.S. Treasury.
To put a $10 to $30 billion giveaway in
perspective, consider that the FCCs Connect
America Fund, a program designed to fund the
expansion of rural broadband, will only disburse $2
Billion over the next ten years!
Given the controversial nature of the
proposal, early on, the other three major satellite
operators, SES, Telesat, and Eutelsat, were reluctant
to join Intelsat, but ultimately saw no downside. With
billions of dollars in potential gain and nothing to
lose, they climbed aboard.
Needless to say, public service organizations
and several large corporations vehemently oppose

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Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
 11
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
 Speedcast: Value Overlooked as Share Price Collapsed
Given the 54% drop in Speedcast's stock to
$.69 A and the more recent bounce to $1.16, it?s
apparent that a small number of institutional and
hedge fund investors who own most of the stock
overreacted.
While the news of a significant write-down
and the departure of the CFO was unsettling, a stock
drop of 54% is extreme except in the direst of
circumstances. Speedcast is not a company going
broke, and those selling their shares at fire-sale
prices were mistaken.
To recap the numbers, net profit after tax
was $14.7 million - down $21 million from first half
2018. The company reported cash outflows of $25.2
million, including costs relating to the acquisition of
Globecomm. Net debt also rose to $625 million, an
increase of $39 million vs. the first half of 2018, and
the company did a write-down of $150 million.
On the positive side, Speedcast reported
revenue growth of 17% to $357 million, and EBITDA
also increased a respectable 3.0% to $62.2 million
up from $60.4 million in the 1st half 2018. While
organic revenue - revenue minus the Globecomm
acquisition - was flat to slightly down, most of the
drop is attributed to transient issues such as the
phasing of the NBN contract.
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
Besides, the company has a significant number
of long term contracts and reported a substantial
amount of new business since its July 2nd forecast
update. Speedcast also received a temporary increase
in its debt/EBITDA ratio to 4.5 X from its lenders
through December, significantly lowering the risk of
breaching loan covenants. Even without pro forma
cost optimization of $20 million, the debt to earnings
the leverage will still be below 4.0 X, which is well
below typical satellite companies.
Given the respectable numbers, the new
business booked in 1st half and the eased loan
covenants, why did the stock drop so much?
The only explanation for such a precipitous
fall in the stock price is that a small number of
institutional holders and hedge funds, who own the
74% of Speedcast stock, ran for the door. With only
11% of the float owned by retail investors, there
wasn't a large enough public float to absorb such a
massive sale.
That's why when Norges Bank sold 22% or
3.86 million shares of its holdings on August 27th, the
stock dropped 33% in one session.
In comparison, institutions own only 12% of
Telstra, and 87% is owned by the public, buffering it
from this sort of extreme volatility. Lacking a
12
 diversification of holdings in a public market, a
single institutional sale of Speedcast stock can
result in a massive drop in the stock price. Had
Telstra reported results similar to Speedcast, its
stock might have only dropped 10% or less.
Again, looking at the four divisions of the
company, it's hard to see much more than transient
issues accounting for the decline in organic growth
(Table I). For example, other than the phased
revenue structure of the NBN contract, the
contractions were negligible.
Furthermore, energy revenues have
stabilized vs. a decline of 14% in 2018 and are
expected to grow in the second half, and the fall in
maritime was due to the end of a large contract
Table I: Gross vs. Organic Revenue % Change
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
with Inmarsat to provide Ku-Band services to vessels
that have since migrated to GX.
In the future, new contracts announced in
the 1st half of 2019 support a reasonable growth
trend (Table II next page). As Speedcast continues to
win new business, and its acquisition cycle is
complete, there is a high probability that the
company will advance into a growth cycle.
Given the tendency of Institutional investors
and hedge funds to overreact in a thinly traded
market, going private or moving to another exchange
may be two of the best options for Speedcast. Given
the depressed stock price, there should be
considerable interest among the Private Equity
community. AG
13
 Table II: New Contracts Announced in 1st half 2019

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Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
 For more information

15
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
 Lynk's Breakthrough Solution to Reach the Un-Served
A New Start-Up can connect mobile phones direct to satellite
If you think an ordinary cell phone
can't connect to a satellite, Lynk (formerly
UbiquitLink), a start-up based in Falls Church,
VA, is about to prove you wrong.
Unlike the mega LEOs that require
billions of dollars of investment, Lynk will offer
basic communication services to those beyond
the reach of terrestrial cellular networks for a
fraction of the cost and create a billion dollar
venture as well - simply by connecting
unmodified mobile phones to satellite.
To find out how all of this is possible
and explore the potential for this unique
venture, we sat down with CEO, Charles
Miller, at their offices in Falls Church.
SMW: Based on our research, the maximum
range for a cell phone isaround 35 Km, line of
sight, and thisis also the limit for "handshake,"
the point where the phones can establish a link
to the cell tower. So, how isit possible to extend
the range to 300 miles above the earth?
Charles Miller: Previous assumptions
regarding the range of a cell phone are simply
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
wrong. In reality, cell phones can connect across
much greater distances, but in terrestrial
applications are limited by the curvature of the
earth.
Because cell phones require "line of sight"
connectivity, designers of the phones also limited
"handshaking" capability to the maximum "line of
sight" or a distance of 35 Km. To overcome this
problem and achieve connectivity, we employ
several strategies.
First, we lower the satellite and give it a narrower
field of view than an Iridium or Globalstar satellite,
and we use sub Gigahertz spectrum. This allows us
sufficient power to close the link with the phone.
Next, to overcome the distance associated with the
limitations of the "handshake" protocol, our
satellites "spoof" the phone, telling it that the
satellite is only twenty kilometers away. While the
transmission takes longer across the greater
distance, the phone assumes that the delay is
associated with network congestion, and it
continues to signal until the link is closed.
In the earliest days of starting the company, we
consulted with numerous experts in RF cellular
16
 Click for more information 17
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
 transmission, and they agreed that it was indeed
possible to establish a functional communication
link.
SMW: So, you have proved the technology worksas
projected?
Charles Miller: Yes. We tested the solution from a
satellite in February, and our link margin was within
1 dB of the predicted value.
SMW: According to your website, you propose 24-36
satellitesorbiting at 500 Km (300 Miles). Can you tell
usmore about these satellites?
Charles Miller: Our Satellites are microsats with a
five-year design life. Each satellite weighs around 25
Kg and delivers 45 to 50 Watts on average, and 150
Watts of peak power. We'll launch 36 satellites into
three planes in 51.6-degree inclined orbits thereby
providing coverage 55 degrees north and south of
the equator.
SMW: How many simultaneous userscan a single
satellite support?
Charles Miller: That depends on the power of the
satellite and the spectrum and channels available. An
LTE channel does around 180 Kbps and assuming 3
Kilobits per/message, around 60 messages
per-second can be supported. If a satellite has only
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
one channel, it can do a billion messages per/year.
SMW: What about the ground infrastructure?A critical
question iswhether you plan to inter-link your
satellites. If inter-linked, you need only a couple of
ground stationsglobally, and you can expand rapidly.
If you don't Inter-link, your expansion would be
dependent upon the speed at which you could install
ground stationsin each market. Can you elaborate on
your connectivity plan and itscosts?
Charles Miller: Initially, the satellites are not
inter-linked and do messaging and IoT on a
store-and-forward basis. Ultimately, however, we
are planning for a constellation of inter-linked
satellites of sufficient size to allow for real-time
communication.
Of course, a fully inter-linked constellation will
eliminate the need for large numbers of ground
stations, but it will also increase the cost of the
satellites. However, because we grow in stages, by
the time we need to build satellites with inter-link
capabilities, the viability of the business will be well
established.
SMW: Other than ground infrastructure or
inter-satellite links, are there any other additional
costs associated with launching the network?
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Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
 Charles Miller: In our business model, for existing applications. For now, however, we're concentrating
cellular subscribers, there is no user terminal cost. on SMS.
So, the cost of customer acquisition is virtually zero. SMW: Has Lynk signed up any trial partners, and can
SMW: Will you be able to do, voice, or broadband you name any of them?
Internet aswell asSMSand IoT? Charles Miller: We have thirty-three trial partners at
Charles Miller: Initially, we plan to focus only on the moment. Twenty-four of the thirty-three are
offering SMS capability since it is a much mobile network operators representing 1.5
more efficient use of satellite capacity "Lynk offersan billion wireless subscribers, and three are
than voice. It has been an extremely opportunity for mobile public, Cellular One in the U.S., Movistar in
profitable niche for cellular carriers even operatorsto reclaim some Argentina and Vodaphone Hutchison in
though IP-based messaging applications of the high margin Australia.
such as What's App and iMessage messaging businessthat SMW: In adopting your solution, what isthe
reduced the size of the SMS messaging they lost. It's a no-risk businessrisk for the carriers?Other than
market. venture with potentially buying wholesale quantitiesof messages, do
significant long-term your cellular operator partners have any
So, a solution that enables the cellular
economic benefits."" investment risk?
carriers to gain back some of their SMS
business makes the adoption of our Charles Miller: Currently, we are not
service extremely attractive. That's why planning to solicit investment from our
we have had such an enthusiastic reception from cellular network partners. We don't want financial
numerous carriers around the world. ties to one cellular operator to prohibit us from doing
SMW: Wouldn't thissolution be a good fit for IoT and business with other competing carriers. Our
even voice or broadband?Do you have plansto enter objective is to reach as many of the world's cellular
any of these markets? subscribers as possible.

Charles Miller: We see significant opportunity in IoT SMW: Can you give usan idea of why cellular operators
early on and ultimately expect to expand to other would be eager to partner with Lynk. How will they
benefit?

20
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
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Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
 Charles Miller: Before IP based messaging applications
such as What's App and iMessage, SMS was a huge
business for the cellular carriers. Besides, cellular
markets have become saturated, pricing pressures have
increased, and margins have fallen, resulting in an
increasingly challenging economic environment.
Lynk offers an opportunity to for mobile operators to
reclaim some of the high margin messaging business
that they lost. It's a no-risk venture with potentially
significant long-term economic benefits.
SMW: Let'stalk about the market. How big an
opportunity isthere for Lynk. Can you give us an idea?
Charles Miller: There are two potential markets for our
service. The first is cellular subscribers who stray
outside of their network's coverage, and the second is
the un-served rural population that has not bought a
cell phone because it has little or no connectivity.
In the first case, the available market is huge. Consider
that there are around 5 billion cellular subscribers, and
based on analysis of data from app-based connectivity
firms, 15% or 750 million lack connectivity to the
mobile network at any time.
Of course, note that we are not including the potential
market for IoT services or those who have no
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
Editor's Analysis:
Global messaging traffic is approximately 60
billion messages per day or 694,000 messages
per/second (2016). If the 15% who are unconnected
were always connected, the number could rise by an
additional 104,100 messages per/second. Dividing
this by 36 satellites, each satellite could see demand
of around 2, 891 messages per second. Where this
gets interesting is when we calculate how many
messages per-second we need to generate a $1 billion
business valuation from a $100 million investment.
A venture capital investment of $100 Million
would need to generate a company valuation of $1
Billion in five years based on traditional venture
capital metrics. That's $125 million in EBITDA at a
valuation multiple of 8 X. At $.10 per/message that is
1.25 billion messages per year or 34 million messages
per/year per/satellite or only 1.07 messages
per/second. That means that out of a potential 2,891
messages per-second per-satellite, only 1.07 messages
per/second are required to produce a company with a
$1 Billion valuation. This market is so large that Lynk
only needs to capture a tiny percentage of it.
22
CharlesMiller isco-founder
and CEO of Lynk. He isa
serial spaceconnectivity
entrepreneurat all. We are still in the solution that's affordable to most everyone.
with 30 years? experience
process of gathering statistics on these
in the space industry. This is not a "build it, and they will come"
markets, but we see the considerable
business. We plan to grow the business one
Charleshas potential.
been the level at a time proving our ability to
founder or While
co-founder of in principle with your
we agree generate revenue at each level.
multiple private ventures
analysis, the latest statistics we have from
and organizations. He isa 75 trillion were sent That's why we are beginning with a limited
GMSA indicate
national leader in the number of satellites and a
globally, suggesting an even larger market.
creation and development "store-and-forward" service and later
Also, we are not talking about specific
of public-private advancing to real-time SMS and IoT,
prices per/message. Retail pricing will be
partnerships in commercial services with higher profitability potential.
driven by MNOs based on local market
space to serve public needs. This makes Lynk an opportunity with little
conditions.
investment risk and enormous upside
One of Charles? previous to remember that one of the
It's important potential. So, you can see why investors are
startupsisprimary
NanoRacks,barriers to reaching the "other 3 excited about the business.
which hasdelivered more
billion" has been the cost of a ground
than 700 payloads to SMW: Can you bring us up to date on how
terminal. In our model, users don't need a
space and is the current much you have raised so far?
$300 terminal or an expensive smartphone.
world leader in
A refurbished feature phone with SMS Charles Miller: On July 17th, we just
nanosatellite launches. can be purchased in Africa for
capabilities announced a successful "Seed 2 Round" in
just as
Charlesserved a few dollars
NASA?s and deliver essential which we raised $5.2 million from
communication.
Senior Advisor for Buying messages by the Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund,
"sip" is more
Commercial Space from affordable than paying the bringing the total funding raised so far to
high monthly
2009-2012 where he fees required to support a $12 Million. As we continue to prove the
high-speed
advised NASA leadershipbroadband plan. viability of the business, we expect to
on commercial publicmeeting the basic human need for advance rapidly into subsequent
So, we're
private partnerships. investment rounds and have a real-time
communication for the masses with a
SMS business in full operation by
At NASA, he managed USG 2021-2022.
teamsthat developed
strategiesfor commercial 23
Satellite Mobility
development World Sept 2019
of reusable
launch vehicles, on-orbit
 For more information

24
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
 With Bill Milroy, ThinKom CTO...
Teleports for LEOs: ThinKom's Innovative Antenna Solution
The coming of LEOs will usher in a whole building LEO and MEO teleports, haven't found
new set of challenges for teleport operators. an ideal antenna solution - at least not yet.
Unlike GEO constellations, LEO constellations
ThinKom, an innovative,
and, in particular, those without inter-satellite
California-based company, is about to introduce
links, will require thousands of tracking dishes
a promising solution based on their VICTS
positioned around the globe.
antenna. Already proven in aero applications,
As many of these LEOs will be small they have developed a way to apply the unique
satellites with limited transmit power, large, attributes of the antenna in a teleport. To find
expensive parabolic antennas will be required on out more, we met with ThinKom CTO, William
the ground, each capable of a continuous Milroy.
tracking motion. Installation and maintenance of
SMW: You claim that your VICTSsolution has
large numbers of these antennas will be
significant advantages over both conventional dish
challenging.
antennas and Electronically Steered Antennas.
Electronically Steered Antennas (ESAs) How isit different, and why isthe VICTSsuperior?
while once considered a viable alternative to
William Milroy: While parabolic dish antennas
traditional dishes have several well-known issues
offer relatively high aperture efficiency,
in teleport antenna applications. Large ESAs
deploying them in the large numbers required to
require tens of thousands of expensive
track NGSO satellites is problematic.
microchips, have excessive power requirements
and generate a significant amount of heat, Compared to our proposed VICTS teleport
making them unsuitable for teleport Installation, they require massive, concrete pads
applications. (or roof reinforcements) and finding skilled
contractors with the appropriate equipment
Consequently, companies like Amazon,
(cranes, earth-moving) to construct them can
Swedish Space Corporation, Kongsberg, and
prove to be difficult and very expensive,
Kratos, who are in the process of designing and
especially in rural areas.
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 Then there is the issue of antenna efficiency and scan angle capabilities and are typically unable
size. As a point of comparison, our 1.0 -meter to support the 5- or 10-degree minimum
diameter X-band ?VICTS?Phased-Array elevation angles required to operate efficiently
(employing just one LNA and dissipating 15 with small imaging satellites.
Watts) provides the same broadside G/T
Unlike an ESA, the VICTS array maintains very
performance as a 1.3 m parabolic dish (i.e. the
high aperture efficiency even out to very large
VICTS array is MORE efficient than the
scan angles, a unique feature related to the
parabolic).
novelty of the
A similarly performing ?1-dimensional
conventional ESA lattice of continuous
Phased-Array is stub radiators?
comprised of some employed in our
8,000 radiating antenna. Compare
elements (2,000 this to the
LNA?s,) requires 2.0 conventional
meter diameter active ?2-dimensional
area, and dissipates an lattice of patch or
excessive amount of open-waveguide
heat - in excess of 600 radiators?employed
Watts in ESA?s, and the advantage becomes obvious.
Advantages of our VICTS solution over ESAs Furthermore, because our ThinKom phased
become even more pronounced as we move to array antenna employs a unique quasi-optical
larger (2.5m to 5.4 m) dish-equivalent systems. stub radiator-based approach to shifting RF
phase to scan the beam, we don't require
Beyond excessive power consumption and cost,
conventional ESA phased arrays have limited

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 electronic phase shifters. This serves to
dramatically reduce both the cost and power
consumption versus a conventional ESA.
ThinKom?s solution has a several other
significant advantages versus a conventional
dish installation.
It's modular. Each 1.0 meter diameter
sub-array constituent element is lightweight,
transportable, freight elevator friendly and
can be fitted into place by two people. - even
on top of building.
The low weight (static and dynamic roof
loading) means that no expensive
reinforcements of the roof (and/or upper
floors) are required (as is often the case with a
large dish-based roof-mounted system).
SMW: Can a single array like the one you
propose service multiple satellites?
Bill Milroy: Absolutely. Our array of VICTS
antennas is fully re-configurable, on-the-fly,
resulting in an extremely versatile and flexible
multi-beam installation.
For example, the configuration of our
37-module array is software-defined, enabling
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
us to simultaneously emulate both large and small
parabolic dish equivalents (emulating two 5.4 m or
three 4.5m or eight 2.5m independently-steerable
parabolic antennas, or any combination in
between) based demand.
Satellites are continuously tracked,
horizon-to-horizon, reliably closing high-speed
links (250 to 1000 Mbps) at elevation angles as
low as 5 degrees.
SMW: Bill, how large isthe market opportunity for
your VICTSantenna solution?
William Milroy: When you consider the vast
number of very small (1U to 3U size class) LEO
satellites coming on line over the next few years
and the number of 2.5m to 5.4 m equivalent dishes
to service them, the opportunity is quite
substantial. Many third-party companies are
looking to provide teleport services to the new
LEO satellite operators. They see real economic
advantages based on the efficiencies gained by
servicing multiple satellite constellations with the
same teleport. As a result, you can expect to see a
lot of teleports being built around the world to
service Earth Observation, IoT and broadband
LEO constellations.
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 SMW: Will you be focusing on all segmentsof the
LEO market, or do you have a specific target
market?

William Milroy: Initially, we are targeting

services for the the small satellite Earth
Observation (EO) imaging segment. These
satellites gather an enormous amount of
data, and they need to transmit (download)
it to the ground as rapidly as possible.
Here, our ability to emulate a large antenna
on-demand and link at a very low angle is a
huge advantage. While we will initially
market to the LEO segment, ultimately, we
expect to provide the same antenna
infrastructure (and advantages) for many of
the new LEO and MEO teleports. In this new
LEO environment, innovative teleport
solutions are now a must, and we believe
that the ThinKom solution enables many
unique benefits that will be invaluable to
teleport operators.

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 LeoLabs: Conquering The Threat of Space Junk
With thousands of LEOs already in orbit and
many more to come, avoidance of space debris is
becoming a critical problem. Hundreds of thousands
of tiny pieces of space junk, some as small as 2 cm,
already orbit the earth at speeds approaching
several miles per-second and even the smallest
pieces of debris pack a deadly punch.
As the number of LEOs increases, collision
avoidance is becoming a critical issue. To mitigate the
threat, satellite operators and defense and
regulatory agencies need a solution capable of
tracking even the smallest objects.
A small California based start-up called
LeoLabs leads the quest for a solution. The company
is already able to track thousands of objects as small
as 10 cm using phased array radar and will soon have
the capability to track objects as small as 2 cm and
send collision alerts. To find out more about LeoLabs
and how they plan to provide this vital service, we
met with Dan Ceperley, the company's CEO.
SMW: The problem of space junk is receiving more and
more attention in the press. Hasthe severity of the
problem been over-hyped?Can you help us better
understand the risks associated with the increased
amount of debris floating in LEO orbits?
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
Dan Ceperley: because of the business revolution
going on in lower earth orbit, space junk really is a
growing priority and concern.
The number of active satellites is increasing pretty
quickly. Just a couple of years ago there were
about 600 active satellites in LEO orbit. Now, the
number is over a thousand, and projections are for
the number to rise to over ten thousand or even
fifteen thousand in the next 3-5 years. So, the
amount of new satellite traffic is increasing
dramatically.
Even with that increase, the amount of debris will
always dwarf the number of satellites. A few more
numbers for you: there are about thirteen
thousand pieces of debris tracked in low earth
orbit today. I specifically say ?tracked?because
that is the debris currently followed by US
STRATCOM, The Combined Space Operations
Center, and LeoLabs -10 cm sized objects and
larger.
However, if you look at debris 2 cm in size, there
are actually 250,000 pieces of debris flying
around LEO orbit. That?s 20 X more than if you are
just looking at the larger items.
In fact, 95% of the collision risk ? the risk that a
satellite can be shattered and turned into a cloud
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Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
 of debris - can be attributed to these additional
237,000 pieces of debris measuring between 2
and 10 cm in size. Pieces of debris as small as 2
cm are moving so fast that they can actually
destroy a satellite and generate even more
potentially destructive debris. We view our type
of space traffic monitoring as an absolute
necessity.
We view our mission as
tracking those 250,000
items to protect the
satellites owned by our
clients. If you are producing
a good set of alerts, the
situation can be managed.
SMW: Tell us about the origin
of LeoLabs. Can you give us
an overview of the history
and the statusof the
company today?
Dan Ceperley: We got our start as a company in
2016. So, we have been in business a little more
than three years.
In June of 2016, we spun out of a research lab,
SRI International. Three of the four co-founders
had been working at SRI for several years.
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
I had been at SRI for eight years as their program
director for satellite and space debris tracking and
had done many government-funded projects
focused on how to track all of these new satellites.
One of our other co-founders, our CTO, Mike
Nicolls, spent eight years at SRI as well, and he was
the chief scientist at a radar facility. He has been
intimately involved with radar
processing and maintaining
and operating a radar facility.
The work in which he was
engaged in - studying the
Aurora Borealis - generated a
great deal of satellite debris
tracking data as a bi-product.
Our third co-founder, John
Buonocore, had been at SRI
for 32 years building radar
systems and CubeSat
payloads, and he is now our principal RF hardware
engineer.
Our fourth co-founder is Edward Lu, a NASA
astronaut who flew on two Shuttle and one Soyuz
mission. He has been in space three times and
lived the space debris problem. That is how we got
into the satellite tracking business.
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 SMW: 3.You use phased array radar for tracking.
Can you explain how the technology works?
Dan Ceperley: LeoLabs is really based on two
major technical areas. One is the phased array
radar network. The other is the on-line software
system where the data is archived, analyzed,
and ultimately delivered to customers.
We use ground-based radar, and we are building
out a network of six radars around the world.
We?re using radar because it operates in
daylight, through clouds and at night.
With those facilities, we can track the orbital
objects in LEO, and we can also get many
measurements per-day. With six radar
installations, we will have about 12
opportunities per-day to check on a satellite or
a piece of debris. This means we can do tracking
around the clock.
The phased array approach is quite important as
well because it is fully electronically steered.
There are no moving parts. Unlike a large
mechanical dishes that take time to re-position,
we can focus on where we need to nearly
instantaneously.
With a simple software command, for example,
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
we can steer the antenna to the east and a
millisecond later, focus on a satellite to the west.
That?s really important today because each radar
is tracking about 1,000 objects per-hour. So, we
are constantly going back and forth between the
new satellites and debris that are coming up over
the horizon.
SMW: How do you convert the positional and
orbital data derived from the radar into actionable
information?I understand you track junk and
satellites as well and can predict collisions. Can you
give us some examplesof actual situationsin which
you identified collision risks, provided the
information to a satellite operator, and a collision
wasavoided?
Dan Ceperley: This really has become a
data/science. Our mission is to collect this
enormous amount of data and use it to inform
satellite operators, defense entities, regulators,
and the insurance industry. So, the radar solves
the collection side of the problem, but then we
have to do something with the data to make it
useful.
To solve the second part of the problem, we put
the data in the Cloud, archive it, spin up large
amounts of computer processing power and using
proprietary software, we turn it into actionable
data. 37
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 A lot of work goes into the software to assure many ways to slice the data, and collision alerts
that the data is easily accessible and are just one of many.
accessible very quickly. Any sort of
SMW: Once a client isnotified of collision risk, I
calculations we can do, we do ahead of time.
assume that they use thrusters to move the satellite
So, later on, when they are needed, they can
to a different position. Do all satellites, including
be accessed immediately.
CubeSats, have the ability to shift their positions?
While we are often known as a radar
Dan Ceperley: For collision prevention,
company, the majority of our "While we are often known the best practice in use today is the
employees are software engineers. asa radar company, the satellite operator would like to receive
It?s because the value is in the data, majority of our employees a collision alert about 5-7 days before
how you handle it, analyze it and
are software engineers. It?s the time of closest approach, and then
process it. The future is really in the
because the value isin the they want updates, sometimes multiple
analytic ? all the different alerts that
data, how you handle it, times per/day until a couple of days
you can generate. Building our
analyze it and process it. prior. It's necessary to detect risk at
analytical capabilities has been a lot
least 100 orbits before the piece of
of work for our software engineers, The future isreally in the
debris might become close to a satellite
and they have done a fabulous job. analytic ..."
to meet this requirement.
You mentioned collision alerts. These
If there is still a risk of collision 48 hours before
are very important because they can predict
the projected time of impact, the satellite
collisions days in advance. However, there are
operator can program an evasive maneuver and
actually other alerts like watching when
nudge the satellite out of the way.
satellites maneuver or when a satellite has
tumbled or finding newly launched satellites However, some CubeSats don?t have propulsion
and tracking them well so their operators can capabilities. If these satellites are in low enough
bring them into service quickly. There are orbit, there is a technique called differential drag
that can be used to move a satellite around even if
it doesn?t have propulsion.

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 The method relies on the solar panels. At
lower orbits, if the panels are oriented
perpendicular to the direction of motion,
impact with the upper atmosphere can be
used to slow down the satellite.
SMW: With the addition of your New Zealand
based radar installation you will have three
sites. How doesthis combination of sites
enhance your ability to track objects?
Dan Ceperley: We now have two radar sites in
the U.S. ? Alaska and Midland, Texas and are
adding a third site in New Zealand. The New
Zealand site is critically important since it is
the first tracking radar site in the southern
hemisphere. All of the other tracking radar
sites are in the northern hemisphere and for
that reason, coverage of the southern
hemisphere has been less accurate.
Consequently, our New Zealand site will
constitute a big step forward in improving
tracking accuracy.
After New Zealand, we want a site close to the
equator and others a little further north and a
little further south. With six sites, we will be
able to measure orbits in many different
places around the world and to check on
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
satellites and debris many times per day.
SMW: How large are these radar sitesand how
much time does it take to construct them?
Dan Ceperley: Unlike such installations in the
past, our radar sites are very quickly deployable.
For example, in Midland, we built the radar from
breaking ground to delivering data in only six
months. That?s the model we are taking forward
with our other sites as well. These are pretty large
sites. The radar in Midland is about 50 feet wide
and 150 feet long and just over 20 feet tall.
SMW: Do you provide both alertsas well asprovide
raw data to customers or third parties for processing
and analysis?
Dan Ceperley: It?s actually even more than that.
We view ourselves as a ?software as a service?
business, and we have a range of different
products.
For example, we provide collision alerts,
maneuver alerts, tumbling alerts, and launch
alerts - mainly, high-level analytics products.
We analyze the data to look for important or risky
situations, and when necessary, we send alerts.
We also do orbit solutions which tell the client the
location of their satellite over the coming hours
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 and days. We can determine the satellite?s information. That information builds trust in our
position and speed when it passes over the services.
radar and its size.
SMW: What are the primary target markets for your
We have an API that facilitates the service?
construction of customized data requests and
Dan Ceperley: We try to build services that are
data transfer in a machine to machine way - a
fundamental across several industries. We like to
critically important capability. That?s how most
roll out services that work for satellite operators,
of our data is delivered. With it, data can be
science and regulatory agencies, and the
transferred directly from our computer to a
insurance industry. Ninety-five per-cent of our
customer?s computer eliminating the need for
work cuts across all of these industries and five-
human intervention. Given the massive amount
per-cent is custom.
of data we collect, M to M transfer is essential.
SMW: How doesthe company generate revenue?
We also provide dashboards on-line. These are
What is the business model?
human-readable versions of our services that
show the data as maps and tables and charts, Dan Ceperley: We fundamentally operate on a
and they are all dynamically generated. subscription basis. Satellite operators and other
customers subscribe to our services, and we send
Someone monitoring a satellite can see the
them a feed of all the information and alerts about
latest version of our data, when it was collected
their satellites.
and when more data will become available.
Because we are a private business and not a However, to do that mission well, we constantly
government entity, customers expect us to have to constantly monitor everything in space.
show up with an indication of service level. We?re continually running the radars to keep
constant tracks of all the satellites and the debris
They need to know when the current data was
in orbit regardless of who is paying for specific
collected, when the information will be
data sets.
updated and when they are going to get new

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 About Dan Ceperley:
Dan isCEO and
founder of LeoLabswe're building a real-time picture of
Basically,
He earnedwhat? s going
a PhD in on in space. In the future, when
we launch
Electrical Engineeringthe collision prevention service, I
am confident that many satellite operators
and Computer
will subscribe very quickly. We also expect the
Science from UC
business to grow quite rapidly due to the huge
Berkeleyprojected
with a thesis
increases in LEO satellite traffic and
on computer
space debris in orbit, the amount of data we
simulation of and the new products we plan to offer.
collect,
advanced optical
Given the gravity of the debris problem, and
systems. AsProgram
its potential impact on the health of LEO
Director at SRI
constellations, we see a significant business
International, he led
opportunity.
a team of 20+
engineersand
scientistsand
developed SRI?s
commercial satellite
tracking business.

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 Upcoming and Recommended Satellite Mobility Events
There are many mobility related satellite
industry events and unless you have an unlimited
budget, here are the "must attends" (i n blue) and
others that may be of interest.
Upcoming Conferences:
******World Sat ellit e Business Week: 9-14 Sept ember
Paris, France: For those seeking the opportunity to
meet and network with top executives of the satellite
industry, this is the premier conference of the year. It
featuring extensive analysis of the satellite industry,
It's Smart Plane, Satellite Finance and Earth
Observation segments offer valuable insights difficult
to find elseware.
***Monaco Yacht Show: 25-28 Sept ember: Monaco:
For those interested in the use of VSAT on yachts, this
is a key event.
***IBC-Amst erdam: 12 - 16 Sept ember: A very popular
show with focus on Broadcast -attended by most major
satellite equipment vendors and service providers.
***Sat ellit e Innovat ion: 8-10t h Oct ober 2019: Silicon
Valley: An Annual Conference focusing on satellite
innovative satellite technologies.
NBAA- Orlando : 22-24-Oct 2019: This show offers
Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019
providers an opportunity to access the business jet
market. Most major connectivity providers exhibit.
*****Sat ellit e 2020: 9-12 March 2020: Washingt on D.C.:
The Industry's most important satellite exhibition and
conference - a must attend.
*****SeaTrade Cruise Global, Miami: 21-23 April: The
Cruise Industry is a huge user of VSAT services. making
this show an important venue. It should not be missed -
an important event for satellite service suppliers.
****Posidonia: 1-5 June At hens, Greece: Another
important show maritime VSAT, especially for those
targeting the tanker and container segment.
****Global Connect ed Aircraft , June 10-13 Denver: A
popular conference address in commercial aircraft
connectivity.
*****Small Sat ellit e Conference, Logan, Ut ah: August
3-8. Unquestionably the best small satellite conference
available. With over 3,000 attendees, this conference is
enormously popular.
*** SMM Hamburg, Germany' 8-11 Sept ember 2020: A
must attend for those interested in VSAT use in the
cargo segments.
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Satellite Mobility World Sept 2019