This September, SSPI has been engaged in the Digital Space campaign! Our digital technology world owes a debt of gratitude to space. It was the need to miniaturize electronics for the first civilian and military space programs that created demand for the integrated circuits independently invented by Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce of Intel in 1960. From that pioneering work came today’s silicon chips that cram 100 million transistors in a space the size of the head of a pin.

Today, more than 60 years later, space is going digital at last. Human activity in Earth orbit has long been ruled by radio waves, which transmit information in a continuous analog stream unlike the series of separate bits in digital circuits. Satellites were designed to send and receive to fixed spots on Earth’s surface and were unable to adapt to changing market demand. Deliberately designed for simplicity, they beamed back to Earth whatever analog signal they received. The ground systems they connected to were assemblies of analog hardware that amplified, split, combined and switched communications.

The new generations of satellite being launched into GEO, MEO and LEO are increasingly commanded by onboard software that interacts with AI-enabled software on the ground. They steer their electronically-generated beams wherever needed, adapting minute by minute to demand. The digital capacity of space keeps growing with new satellites, on-orbit servicing and debris removal spacecraft. Businesses have been funded to put data storage systems in orbit and on the Moon. And ground technology is beginning a revolution to replace analog systems with end-to-end digital, creating the possibility of seamless interconnection with the world’s telecommunications networks. An industry long restricted to an insignificant slice of telecom spending has begun a journey toward a much bigger role in connecting and comprehending the planet we share.

Over several consecutive weeks, we have examined this topic in a series of podcasts, live conversations and videos. You’ll have a chance to re-experience all the content of the campaign throughout this issue of The Orbiter, as well new voices with their own stories to tell on the topic.

The Digital Space campaign is underwritten by

Bits, Bytes and AI, Oh My! – Episode 2: Never Bored – From Astrophysics to Game Design and Beyond

The New York Space Business Roundtable Talks AI

Earlier this year, the New York Space Business Roundtable took a good long look at how AI is influencing, and in places, reshaping the space and satellite industry.

AI is the End of the Space & Satellite Industry . . . (at Least as We Know It!)

SPAICE Co-founder and CEO Matteo Cuccorese, Lockheed Martin Senior Systems Engineer and 2023 “20 Under 35” honoree Sapna Rao and Cognitive Space President and COO Hanna Steplewska discuss how AI is changing the face of the space & satellite industry and how it can help smaller companies get contracts, financing and customers. With the monthly “Significant Digits” report from SpaceNews Silicon Valley Reporter Debra Werner and a “New York Minute” reaction segment featuring New York Space Alliance Founder Joseph Fargnoli.

The Last Human Election: How AI Will Influence Space Policy and Culture

Wallaroo DoD Business Development Dr. James Cunningham, Voyager Space Chief of Staff Chris Cummins, Kratos Senior VP of Advanced Technology and DIFI Chairman Stuart Daughtridge and SeerAI Co-Founder and CEO Jeremy Fand discuss how the public and private sectors share the world of AI. With the monthly “Significant Digits” report from SpaceNews Senior Staff Writer Jason Rainbow and a “New York Minute” reaction segment featuring New York Space Alliance Founder Joseph Fargnoli.

Bits, Bytes and AI, Oh My! – Episode 5: Satellite Data in Real Time