SPEAKER INTERVIEW

Aurélie Bressollette – VP, Procurement, Rivada Space Networks 

Please could you tell us more about your role as Vice President for Procurement at Rivada Space Networks?   

Rivada Space Networks was created with the aim of defining, purchasing, implementing and operating a large LEO constellation of 600 satellites, together with the associated ground infrastructure, user segment and launch segment, in order to provide a unique gateway-less, zero-latency and secure communication service to many users around the globe. 

This means that unique and complex assets such as numerous satellites, ground stations, user terminals, launch services etc have to be purchased, with the objective of delivering the targeted performance to our customers and respecting the timeline associated with the frequency fillings. 

In order to achieve this, a procurement department was set up from the ground up, and we have now in place an agile organization who acts at the crossroads between engineering, program, finance, regulatory etc., to identify, subcontract and manage the best partners, in a professional yet flexible way. 

I lead the procurement team which spends every day working toward that goal. The unique commercial nature of our business makes it particularly thrilling to manage procurement activities, as we have a lot of freedom in how we select and negotiate with suppliers, while of course keeping an eye on the distribution of expenses over time. Considering the critical importance of having the right partners with the right conditions on board, and the financial impact of purchases on our overall company success, it feels very uplifting to be responsible for this activity.  

How important is access to satellite internet for future applications and how is Rivada Space Networks progressing in this field? 

If you think of satellites as just ordinary access to the terrestrial internet, they are not that innovative anymore. Their greatest benefit is to fill the gaps and connect the people who are not yet connected. So satellite internet is not necessarily promoting new or future applications, but rather exporting existing technologies. 

At Rivada, we have taken a different technical approach to satellite communications, which we call the Outernet. Our constellation of up to 600 satellites in LEO forms a fully meshed optical backbone in space. Imagine, for comparison, the global network of all submarine cables, only lifted into LEO at an altitude of 1050 kilometres, without the consequences and dangers of cable breaks and hostile activity. 

Which terrestrial industries will benefit most from satellite internet and why? 

The satellite internet as we see it has the great advantage that it offers a higher level of security. A fully meshed space segment no longer requires gateway structures on the ground to access the Internet. User traffic can be routed to any point on earth in a single domain without travelling over a terrestrial infrastructure with insecure ownership and protection. This is of particular interest to large enterprises and governments. Specialised resellers in specific sectors or vertical markets such as shipping, energy, aviation, who already source satellite connectivity from multiple providers or orbits, will also be able to offer their end customer base a much higher quality of service and therefore value, far beyond today's best-effort approaches. 

What do you consider the most promising technology for the space industry in the years to come? 

I think it not so much in terms of particular technologies or technological domains, but more towards making space more accessible, to democratise access to space, not just literally speaking (that everyone can have connection through satellites anywhere on the Earth and affordably), but also for companies to thrive in the space industry without having to hire 30-year experience experts, apply lengthy and complex processes and spend years developing a product before seeing it reaching space for the first time. I like to think that we are at a turning point in the history of space, where it has never been so within reach to use space for our benefit on Earth, and it will continue to thrive if we take the right attitude today. 

If you could travel anywhere into space, without the restrictions of time and resources, where would you go, how will you travel there, and why?  

I would want to be able to visit a planet where other species live, and have peaceful interactions with them about understanding each other’s world. I would travel there using a black hole as by then we will have understood how to use its exceptional properties to travel safely and swiftly to opposite sides of the universe.