Lori W. Gordon
Lori W. Gordon is a senior project engineer and technology strategist at The Aerospace Corporation specializing in cyber and physical infrastructure protection. In the course of her career she has led efforts to coordinate national strategies and initiatives to enhance the resilience of U.S. critical infrastructure, mitigate national security and civil space enterprise risk, and accelerate technology innovation in complex systems. She has advised U.S. and international standards development organizations and academic curriculum boards on autonomous systems, cybersecurity, and the next generation workforce. Gordon has a master’s in public administration from the University of Massachusetts and a bachelor’s in geography from the University of Maryland. She is a Partner with The Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy and is a Visiting Fellow at the National Security Institute.
Dave Bettinger
David Bettinger is a business and technology visionary with 30 years of experience in system engineering, focused on innovative satellite communications. He is a strategic thinker with a track record of capturing opportunities, cultivating partnerships, and transforming startup ventures into a competitive position.
Before joining SpaceLink, Mr. Bettinger was VP of the Communications Systems and Advanced Development Group at OneWeb. He was a founding member of the satellite network operator, which was established in 2014, and he led a team of satellite, aerospace and communications engineers to design its first- and second-generation satellite payloads, user terminals, and ground segment.
At OneWeb he was successful in supporting investment activities and was responsible for the corporate technology roadmap. His expertise includes communication systems architectures, RF and digitally regenerative satellite payloads, optical inter-satellite links, electronically steered phased array antennas, and network architectures.
Previous to his role at OneWeb, Mr. Bettinger spent more than a decade as CTO and Senior VP of Engineering at ST Engineering iDirect, a $250 million satellite communications technology company which provided VSAT solutions to over 400 customers in 120 countries.
In this role he was responsible for the oversight of all technology decisions and led the technology team to make iDirect the largest TDMA enterprise VSAT manufacturer in the world. He drove the strategic direction for product development, research, technology alliances, and mergers and acquisitions.
Mr. Bettinger began his career at Hughes Network Systems where he was a member of the Technical Staff in the Satellite Networks Division. There he contributed to the development of several generations of the Personal Earth Station (PES) satellite network, which was Hughes’ flagship product line at the time. He was also a member of the design team that developed and deployed the Claircom air-to-ground telephony system for commercial and private aircraft.
A graduate of Virginia Tech, Mr. Bettinger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1989 and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1992. A frequent spokesperson at industry events, he has authored more than 50 technical papers and articles and holds seven patents in satellite communications.
Chester Gillmore
Chester Gillmore, part of the early team at Planet, is Vice President of Spacecraft Development & Manufacturing, where he is responsible for overseeing all of Planet’s satellite design and manufacturing operations. This includes the design, prototyping, qualification, and launch of history’s largest fleet of Earth observation satellites. Planet’s factories have flexible concurrent assembly, integration, test, & qualification lines that can produce well over 20 satellites a week. The development teams tightly integrated and working hand in hand with manufacturing have realized an unprecedented capability, coined ‘Agile Aerospace’. Planet’s mission is to use space to help life on Earth, making global change visible and actionable. Prior to Joining planet Chester was helping Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT) build and operate a longitudinally deployed global network of fully robotic autonomous 1M and 0.4M telescopes used for scientific research
Mina Mitry
Mina Mitry is Co-Founder and CEO of Kepler Communications, a company seeking to lay the foundation for the “Internet outside Earth”. Kepler is presently building its business by offering connectivity on Earth, using satellites it manufactures and operates in-house. In the future, Kepler will begin to relay traffic for customers in space, connecting satellites to each other or to the ground in real-time. Under Mina’s leadership, Kepler has grown to the largest Canadian satellite operator and was named one of the most innovative space companies in the world by Fast Company. Prior to Kepler, Mina commercialized his research work on numerical methods and machine learning at a major aircraft engine manufacturer.
Charles Miller
Charles Miller is co-founder and CEO of Lynk. He is a serial space entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in the space industry. Charles has been the founder or co-founder of multiple private ventures and organizations. In addition, he is a national leader in creating and developing public-private partnerships in commercial space to serve public needs.
One of Charles’ previous startups is NanoRacks, which has delivered more than 700 payloads to space and is the current world leader in nanosatellite launches. Charles served as NASA’s Senior Advisor for Commercial Space from 2009-2012, where he advised NASA leadership on commercial public-private partnerships. At NASA, he managed US teams that developed strategies for commercial development of reusable launch vehicles, on-orbit satellite servicing, orbital debris removal, microgravity applications, lunar development, space communications, and space solar power.
Charles’ clients have included NASA, DARPA, the USAF, and many private commercial space firms.
Eric Truitt
Eric Truitt is the Chief Solutions Officer of Terran Orbital, a company fielding a constellation of low earth orbiting satellites to provide responsive, high-resolution synthetic aperture radar products and services for global commercial and government users. In his role, Truitt ensures Terran Orbital’s offerings meet and exceed the most critical needs of the company’s defense and commercial customers. Prior to his current position, he served as Chief of Space and Intelligence Programs for the Georgia Tech Research Institute, where he was responsible for developing strategic technological innovations for research sponsors in the Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC). In addition, Truitt has 20 years of service supporting the DoD and IC as a Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) and Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) expert. He also served as a senior advisor for Intelligence and Space technology applications. Truitt served in the United States Navy from 2001 – 2005, where he was a recognized subject matter expert in satellite communications and Trunked Mobile Radio (TMR) technologies.
Truitt holds a Master of Business Administration from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a concentration in Technology Management and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Augusta University and additionally pursued a B.S. in Electrical Engineering at George Mason University.