(December 12, 2024 – New York City) – Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) today released Data from the Ends of the Earth, its newest video in the Better Satellite World campaign. It explores how satellite has brought reliable connectivity to polar researchers, allowing them to deliver valuable data on climate change in a race against time to help understand and combat it. Data from the Ends of the Earth is made possible by funding from Speedcast. The video debuted at the 2024 Better Satellite World Awards Dinner in London on December 2.
“The Arctic and Antarctic are where the impact of climate change is most dramatic,” said executive director Robert Bell. “That makes them critical laboratories for understanding global warming’s current and future impact on our world. Our new video spotlights the critical role of advanced satellite communications to bring massive amounts of data from the poles in near-real time to power research.”
You can watch the video on SSPI’s website and on Youtube.
Inside the Story
For 30 million years, the North and South Poles have been kingdoms of ice and snow. But today, there is nowhere on Earth more at risk from climate change. The Antarctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. Arctic temperatures are rising even faster.
Scientists are in a race against time to understand what is happening at the poles and help the world change the story. Researchers at both ends of the Earth are gathering tens of thousands of data points and creating trillions of bytes of data on the subject. In the race against time, no one can afford to wait months for research ships to return to port with information. They need it now.
Today, a new generation of satellites, including Starlink and OneWeb, is covering the entire globe. But they are especially vulnerable to interference from bad weather, which is common at the ends of the Earth. A company called Speedcast has the answer. It combines satellite service from the equator with the new generation covering the poles. It takes a lot of smart engineering and advanced technology, but it makes sure that polar researchers are never out of touch.
About SSPI
Founded in 1983, Space & Satellite Professionals International (www.sspi.org) is on a mission to make the space and satellite industry one of the world’s best at attracting and engaging the talent that powers innovation. The space and satellite business has never seen a time of greater experimentation and disruption than we see today. Investment is the fuel for transformation, but people are the engine. SSPI helps the industry attract, develop and retain the talented people it needs to keep the engine turning. People who connect through high-profile events and gain recognition from prestigious awards. People who rely on SSPI for a broader understanding of the industry as much as for individual networking and career mentoring. From young people seeking a career path to industry veterans with wisdom to share, SSPI connects them all.
Talent, investment and opportunity flow to industries that make a difference. SSPI is the only organization that also promotes the enormous value of space and satellite through dramatic stories of our technologies and companies making a better world. Those stories overturn misconceptions about the industry that hold it back. They inspire our people and attract new ones to the industry. They help justify investment and give new customers a reason to care about our services and products. Through the stories we tell and the people we serve, SSPI inspires the growth of the $1 trillion space economy of the future.
For More Information
Victoria Krisman
Communications Manager
Space & Satellite Professionals International
vkrisman@sspi.org