Satellite 2019 — Free Pass to Meet Us There

Over the past few weeks, the Radeus Labs team has been on the road connecting with customers, partners, and new industry contacts. Computing and Recording Specialist Clay Moore attended AFCEA TechNet Augusta and MODSIM World in Alexandria, while Satcom Specialist Oliver Burns traveled west to SmallSat in Salt Lake City.

Clay’s stops highlighted the growing importance of military modernization and rugged tactical edge compute. At SmallSat, Oliver encountered a different but related conversation: how cloud-first approaches and AI may reshape commercial ground-segment operations.

Here's what stood out at each stop.

For decades, much of satellite ground infrastructure was built around a predictable model: point an antenna toward a geostationary satellite and keep it there.

Today, some teleports, particularly defense, gateway, test, and other high-performance sites, are being designed or upgraded to support more than one orbital regime. The continued expansion of low Earth orbit (LEO) networks alongside medium Earth orbit (MEO) and geostationary orbit (GEO) services is creating new demands on the ground systems supporting them.

Recent industry activity also highlights the continuing strategic value of LEO communications networks. Rocket Lab and Iridium, for example, have announced a proposed acquisition, subject to shareholder, regulatory, and other customary approvals. The deal would combine Rocket Lab's launch and spacecraft capabilities with Iridium's global LEO communications network.

The development does not mean every teleport needs to support every orbit. It does underscore an important question for ground operators: How adaptable is today's infrastructure if tomorrow's mission requires a different orbital regime?

When people talk about the satellite industry, the conversation almost always drifts skyward, to the rockets, the launches, the dazzling engineering of objects hurtling into orbit. SpaceX gets the headlines. Starlink gets the commentary. The names most people recognize belong to the space segment.