The Exchanges

Q Why is there such a backlog? Like, like, it was pretty obvious how much satellites were gonna get built out, so why didn't the U.S. build out ground stations for this?

A I, I guess it depends on the customer segment. So for, you know, a government customer segment, uh, they tend to procure their spacecraft and their ground systems separately. So, uh, space systems were the major focus for a long time. Uh, and ground segment was kind of just the afterthought. Like people think about what's the thing that you're putting up in space. And, you know, for a number of programs, the ground was just not really contemplated. And so that they started running into issues for that. And they were like, oh man, we need to, Actually account for the ground in our build out so that we can serve that capacity. Uh, and then on the, on the commercial operator side, it really is more of like a supply chain issue where you have, uh, a bunch of different, um, suppliers and then the, the actual operators of those ground sites, and then ultimately the, the software that's stitched on top of that. And for each of those parts, uh, of the value chain, It was just really challenging based on that structure to be able to be responsive to increased, uh, spacecraft demand. So as a lot of the operators are looking at launching new constellations, um, there's this moment of, of turnover where, uh, you have legacy operators who have their assets that are up in space right now, and they're thinking about, okay, what does our next generation look like so that we can be a part of th…

AI assessment note: “ground segment was kind of just the afterthought”

Q So how are you doing full stack ground support?

A It's a lot of disciplines that you tie into, uh, one company. So, uh, we cover everything from, uh, antenna development. Uh, we cover a lot of electrical work, a lot of digital signal processing, um, all within the, the hardware that we build. And then we have a whole sites team. So we actually think about how we manufacture and deploy those antennas, uh, not incorporates all the way back to the original design principles of what we build. How can we make things that fit in small form factors and that can, you know, go out and be shipped to any part of the world? Um, and they have to basically, you know, construct really simple versions of sites. So that's a whole different set of discipline. You have to think about how do you operate in different countries? So, you know, if you're landing a site in, uh, Japan or in Argentina or Iceland, all those wildly different contexts, how can you make sure that that service is like legally operating? Um, and also, uh, technically able to, to function in those regions. Um, so there's all those disciplines. And then on top of that, you need to have the software that can tie that all together, both from, you know, a user interface perspective, networking, making the hardware work. Um, so it's a lot of different disciplines that have to come together to make that possible. Uh, I think, you know, we really focused on top of the line talent acr…

AI assessment note: “we cover everything from, uh, antenna development. Uh, we cover a lot of electrical work”

Q Elon space ground stations and about, you know, the sensitive data and interception there. So how do you think about security and privacy and I guess, yeah, national security when it comes to ground stations and how are you fortifying on both the physical side of this and then also the software side of this?

A Yeah, yeah, no, it's a great question and it's something that we really think about up and down the stack. It's, it's all the way from, Uh, the networks, the hardware, the software, uh, to make sure that we are making it basically impossible for anyone to write anything to our local systems, um, or to tamper with our hardware at site. Um, I think we've really taken a software first approach with a lot of the security stack. Um, you know, we have conversations with customers who have historically really Uh, hardened up each of their individual sites. Think of like, you know, guards and gates and things like that. Um, we're taking a bit more of the SpaceX approach where, uh, they tend towards proliferation. So, uh, we have a bunch of sites and we have that diversity of sites so that we can make sure, um, if any one of those sites, uh, goes down, you know, not necessarily for some kind of malicious reason, but let's say there's like, uh, you know, a crazy hurricane that like wipes out The area, uh, we can continue to have continuity of coverage. So, um, yeah, we think about both at a local site level, being able to, um, have basically no intervention possible at site, as well as diversity of sites, um, for being able to, to cover for any site downtime.

AI assessment note: “we've really taken a software first approach with a lot of the security stack.”

Q I always take this on a personal angle for performance, Cause I think performance is really who you surround yourself with, who you're inspired by. Maybe it's a mentor. And so I'm curious for you, who are those people? Is there anybody that you particularly look up to? Maybe it's Elon. Maybe it's Gwen. I don't know.

A I think like it's helpful to have founders that are kind of a step ahead of you so that you can kind of understand what are the problems that are gonna be around the corner. Obviously, Elon's been like a huge influence for the industry and set a lot of, um, axioms that Companies now abide by. One of the ones, I, I do think, uh, you know, Steve Jobs isn't the name that's mentioned as much anymore. Well, maybe that's an understatement. Um, but I think, like, there's a lot of emphasis on, on the Elon mode, which I think is true, but also I think, like, the things that I really relate to in, uh, or that I admire and, and, like, seek to glean from, um, more of, like, the, the Steve Jobs mode of, Operating is just, like, the obsession with craft and perfection, and I think, like, that's definitely, you know, in the Elon mode as well, but maybe it's, like, maybe I'm just connecting to more of the, like, artistic aspect of it in the, in the Steve Jobs way, because I very much am a perfectionist, and, like, I wrestle with that sometimes, because sometimes things just need to get shipped and be done, but I think there's also, like, a lot of value in just being maniacal on craft and quality, um, And so I think knowing when to apply each of those is really important.

AI assessment note: “things that I really relate to in, uh, or that I admire and, and, like, seek to glean”

Q And so for people who don't know what an anechoic chamber is, can you explain that?

A A lot of blue spiky foam, um, that looks really cool, and it, uh, just protects all the integrity of the signals, because believe it or not, like where we're standing right now has a bunch of Different signals and noise interfering. So it basically creates a very isolated environment where you can just like focus on, on the performance of that antenna. Um, and so then back to what you were asking over here, we're going to have a lot of that inventory supply, and we're also going to have our machining shops. And so those are going to be for the components that we're actually building in house. So, um, when we are, uh, building out different antenna feeds, for example, like we will build an all new antenna feed that we then test in the chamber. To validate its performance. Um, we're gonna be doing PCB assembly as well. Um, basically bringing in all the different parts of the supply chain that are kind of, you know, imposing timeline restrictions and things like that, and we're gonna put them here at Northwood so that we can control it, um, test it, and then assemble it all together.

AI assessment note: “creates a very isolated environment where you can just like focus on, on the performance”

Q So you have five sites now in 2026. What is it like getting those sites built out and what kind of regulations do you have to go through?

A Yeah, so like putting together a site, basically you have to, uh, you have to think about, um, just the base infrastructure that you need. So, uh, connecting the space, you need to have Fiber. That means you need to be able to network back through earth. Um, you need to have power. So how can you actually turn on the devices that you have at site? And then you need to have a plot of land to put things. So we've tried to strip it down to basically just those three things. Uh, and so we tend to co-locate with, you know, optimizing for places that already have those things, um, readily available. So, uh, data centers, for example, that's a, a spot that's really great for a co-location because they already have That infrastructure in place. And, uh, and they also have, you know, smart hands, knowledgeable people on site that can fix things up. So that's like the first layer of site sourcing is, can you check all, all three of those boxes? Uh, beyond that, you have to think about like, what parts of the world do you want to serve for your customer base? Um, and so for, for our customer base, they need to account for kind of global coverage to make sure that their spacecraft Can operate, right? So like a satellite, it's, it's moving around the earth if it's in, um, you know, in orbit lower than geostationary orbit. And so you need to make sure that that spacecraft can always be in co…

AI assessment note: “putting together a site, basically you have to, uh, you have to think about”