SATCOM ON THE MOVE SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS – INTEROPERABILITY AND OPERATIONS

Lori Gordon, MPA, PMP is a Systems Director in the Corporate Chief Engineer’s Office at The Aerospace Corporation, leading national security, cybersecurity, and infrastructure protection and resilience enterprise integration initiatives for the space enterprise. With almost two decades of experience in the Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) and private sector communities, she has advised a range of federal agencies in initiatives to accelerate technology innovation in complex systems while mitigating national security and civil space enterprise risk. Ms. Gordon is a Partner with Aerospace’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy (CSPS) and a Fellow at the National Security Institute (NSI), and has served on several curriculum advisory boards in cybersecurity and information technology, law and government, and resilient design. Ms. Gordon holds a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Richard Hadsall is one of that rare breed of technologists who is also a successful company founder and leader. Crescomm Transmission Services, launched in 1976, was his first venture, which evolved in 1981 into Maritime Telecommunications Network or MTN. Five years later, Richard developed a technology that would forever transform communications at sea: the motion-stabilized VSAT antenna, which could maintain its lock on a spacecraft 22,000 miles away while a ship pitched and rolled underneath it. Under his technology leadership, MTN pioneered a unique business model, in which the company became the communications partner of its government and cruise line customers, and introduced a series of passenger and crew services that generated revenue shared by the cruise line and MTN. Success with cruise lines allowed the company to expand into other maritime markets including ferries, private yachts, oil & gas vessels and commercial ships. This ultimately led to its acquisition, in 2015, by EMC.

Though he is known as the “father of maritime VSAT,” stabilizing an antenna was only one of Richard’s many technology “firsts.” He pioneered the use of C- and Ku-band broadband at sea for delivering voice, Internet and video. His work enabled the first live broadcast from a nuclear submarine for ABC’s “Good Morning America,” and a live uplink from a moving Amtrak train for the program’s week-long “Whistle Stop” coverage of the 2008 Presidential

election. In 2011, he became one of the few satellite engineers to receive an Emmy Award for retrofitting a Ford F350 pickup into the “Bloom-Mobile,” a satellite-based mobile communications platform that allowed the late NBC reporter David Bloom to broadcast live coverage of the War in Iraq while moving across the Iraqi desert at speeds up to 50 mph.

When asked about his long and entrepreneurial career in the industry, Richard said, “Having the opportunity to pioneer the merging of satellite and communications technology more than three decades ago has led to very a satisfying and productive career.

Dr. Lawrence M. “Robbie” Robertson, III, is a member of the scientific and technical cadre of senior executives, and the Lead Space Experimentalist, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Air Force Materiel Command, Kirtland Air Force Base (AFB), New Mexico. Dr. Robertson serves as the principal scientific authority and independent researcher in the field of space satellite systems, integrates state-of-the-art scientific advances with military technology requirements and guides space experimentation research and development efforts across the AFRL enterprise.

Dr. Robertson began his career as a consultant to Teledesic Corporation and worked as a Member of Technical Staff at SVS Inc and Nichols Research – both small high-tech companies – before joining the AFRL.
He joined the AFRL in 1998 and has contributed to a wide range of technologies in space and directed energy. Robbie’s first position was the Beam Control Lead for the highly successful Airborne Laser Advanced Concept Testbed highlighted in the September 5, 2000 front-page article in the Wall Street Journal. He has been a leader in science and technology transition supporting Space Control, Space Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and Space Command and Control.

Dr. Robertson has published over 40 papers in national and international journals or conferences and has one US patent. He has also served as an advisor to several national committees including one AF Scientific Advisory Board position.