The SmallSat Possibilities for Ubiquitous and Reliable Global Connectivity

Katherine is the Chief Executive Officer for the ManSat Group. ManSat is the world’s largest commercial provider of satellite spectrum and offers bespoke consultancy services in spectrum regulatory matters.

Before joining ManSat, Katherine worked with U.S. defense contractors to bring commercial satellite and terrestrial communication technologies to austere environments in support of military, diplomatic, first responder, and commercial initiatives.

Katherine serves on the Board of Directors for Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) and mentors entrepreneurs through Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator.
Katherine is a graduate of the International Space University’s Executive Space program and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce from the University of Virginia.

Ms. Farrell is the Vice President of Commercial Programs at Stellar Solutions, responsible for developing and managing Stellar commercial sector business.  Stellar provides expertise in technical expertise and project management to both New Space and legacy Space customers and stakeholders. Melissa has over 30 years’ experience supporting multinational satellite programs in roles ranging from System Engineer to Program management, and currently provides due diligence, strategic assessment, program management, and technical consulting expertise for select projects supporting Space System Service providers and Manufacturers and the investment communities.   She spent 5 years in the UK leading the start up of Stellar’s international operation in the UK.   Prior to joining Stellar in 1996, she worked for the inter-governmental organization Intelsat, and Hughes Space and Communications.  Melissa holds a BS in Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, as well as a BA in Math and Physics, and MS in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley.

Mr. Shayn Hawthorne works in the AWS Region Services Division as the Colorado Lead, Space Technical Lead, and General Manager of the AWS Ground Station service. In this role, Shayn works backward with commercial and Government space customers around the world. Shayn is focused on developing services and features that disrupt how space and intelligence operations are conducted and enabling space customers to share, fuse and leverage space data to improve their missions and products.

Prior to AWS, Shayn worked at the MITRE Corporation. In his last role, Shayn served as the Technical Director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), responsible for directing the engineering activities of MITRE engineers in support of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Program, Command and Control Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) System, the Ballistic Missile Defense Overhead Persistent Infrared Architecture (BOA) and the Midcourse Tracking System (MTS) and many other programs.

Previously, Shayn led the MDA Space Knowledge Center as the Technical Director, which performed independent technical assessments and evaluated experiments related to MDA space programs. In previous MITRE work efforts, Shayn has led Advanced Development efforts for Air Force space situational awareness, missile warning, and missile defense sensors, as well as the Command and Control (C2) systems and correlator/tracker systems responsible for detecting and tracking air, space and missile threats to the United States and Canada.

Additional MITRE efforts include developing the Satellite as a Sensor concept and leading the start-up of the Rapid Attack Identification Detection Reporting System. Shayn was personally requested to support DoD Space System Vulnerability analyses that led to the National Security Space Protection Policy. He also played a critical role in starting the Space Radar program, focusing on theater tasking and Ground Moving Target Indicator data.

As a member of the Air Force Reserve, Shayn volunteered to mobilize in support of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) and fielded a satellite protection system while leading the Defensive Counter-space Testbed (DTB). Shayn supported the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and Electronic Security Command (ESC) as an Active Duty Air Force Officer.

Shayn received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering Mechanics from the United States Air Force Academy and a Master of Science Degree in Astronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Mike began his career practicing law representing numerous technology startups in the areas of venture capital and related financing, intellectual property, government regulation and mergers and acquisition.  Mike then moved on to serve on the executive team for Row 44, an innovative startup delivering inflight connectivity and entertainment.  In 2013, Mike managed the legal aspects of Row 44’s successful IPO via a SPAC transaction with Global Eagle Entertainment, and then moved on to take on various business roles on the management team of Global Eagle.  Mike currently serves as EVP Connectivity at Global Eagle responsible for the delivery of connectivity and entertainment services to the airline, cruise, commercial shipping, large yacht, enterprise and government markets. Mike holds a degree in Political Economy and Philosophy from Tulane University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.