iCASE2021

Dr. Naoto KADOWAKI is currently the vice president of NICT (National Institute of Information and Communications Technology) since 2017. he has been involved in research since the pioneering early days of space communication technology. Naoto Kadowaki received the B.S. degree in communications engineering, the M.S. degree in information engineering, and the Ph.D. degree in information science from Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, in 1982, 1984, and 2010, respectively.

From April 1984 to March 1986, he was with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. In 1986, he joined the Communications Research Laboratory, currently known as the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). He has been involved in research and development of high-datarate satellite communication systems, mobile and personal satellite communications, computer networks, and communication protocols at NICT. From July 1990 to June 1991, he was a Visiting Researcher with AUSSAT, which was reformed as OPTUS Communications, Sydney, Australia. From July 2004 to December 2006, he was with Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International as the Head of the Department of Autonomous Systems and the Department of Smart Networks. From January 2007 to June 2008, he was the Managing Director of the Strategic Planning Department at NICT. He was the Executive Director of the New Generation Wireless Communications Research Center and the Director General of Yokosuka Research Laboratories at NICT.

Dr. Kadowaki is a member of The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of the Institute of Electronics, Information, and Communication Engineers of Japan.

Keynote Lecture: Space Communications in 5G and Beyond - NICT's Achievements and Challenges –

NICT has been involved research and development of space communications since 1970s and contributed to realize broadband satellite communications, mobile and personal satellite communications, inter-satellite communications, optical satellite communications and so on. We are currently developing new generation satellite communications technology through ETS-9 project for 5G and beyond 5G networking.
This presentation introduces the achievements of NICT's technical R&D through past projects and plans of R&D activities to realize challenging space communications technology.

Dr. Elsayed Talaat is the Director of the Office of Projects, Planning, and Analysis (OPPA) at NESDIS. In this role, he provides leadership and oversight of the development, acquisition, integration, installation, and acceptance of major system elements for NOAA's operational environmental satellite systems.

Before joining NOAA, Dr. Talaat was the Chief Scientist of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. In this role, he directed overall development efforts for the Heliophysics space science program in Solar, Heliospheric, Magnetospheric, and Ionospheric, Thermospheric, and Mesospheric physics. Previously, he was a Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters where he served as Program Scientist for the Living with a Star mission and science line, grant research lines, and Heliophysics and Planetary missions. Before joining NASA, he was Supervisor of the Earth and Planetary Atmospheres Section at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), where his research focused on developing remote sensing techniques as well as data analysis and modeling of geophysical and planetary phenomena.

Dr. Talaat received his Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering from the University of Washington, and a Master’s of Science and doctorate from the University of Michigan in Atmospheric and Space Sciences. He has authored or collaborated on over 60 journal papers and over 250 conference papers.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) mission is to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources as the Nation’s authoritative environmental intelligence agency.

NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) supports NOAA’s mission of Science, Service and Stewardship through our satellite missions, data centers, data and information products and services as well as use-inspired science. It is an end-to-end responsibility that underpins NOAA’s value to the Nation. The United States depends on NOAA to provide satellite data and imagery for meteorological and space weather forecasts and emergency services to support continuity of government. NESDIS’ responsibility is to collect and provide the critical satellite Earth and space observations and other essential environmental information needed for disaster preparedness, all hazards response and recovery and the protection of the Nation’s critical infrastructure and natural resources. The 24/7 global coverage provided by NESDIS generates an uninterrupted stream of information and products.

This talk overviews the fleet of environmental satellites that provide critical observations of the Earth and space. It also discusses strategies for NOAA’s future space-based observation architecture and the remote sensing capabilities being considered for low Earth, geostationary, and extended orbits.

Dr. S. Somanath is the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) of ISRO, the lead center of ISRO responsible for design and realization of launch vehicles. Before taking on this position, he became in June 2015 the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), the lead centre of ISRO responsible for the design and realization of liquid propulsion systems for launch vehicle and spacecraft programs. Prior to this assignment, he has been the Associate Director (Projects) of VSSC. He also held various other important positions at VSSC such as Project Manager-Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV); Deputy Director for Structures Entity/Propulsion & Space Ordnance Entity; and Project Director, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mk-III). Dr. Somanath, born in July 1963, graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Kerala University, with 2ndRank in the University; and completed his Post Graduation in Aerospace Engineering from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore with a Gold Medal for his meritorious performance. Concurrently with his work, he is also pursuing his Doctoral thesis in Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras. Dr. Somanath has been associated with ISRO, since 1985.

Dr. Somanath is an expert in ISRO in the areas of launch vehicle structural systems, structural dynamics, mechanisms, pyro systems and launch vehicle integration. While the pioneering contributions made by him to the mechanical integration designs have made PSLV a highly sought-after launcher for microsatellites from across the world; he, with his professional acumen, has provided technology leadership for designing the GSLV MkIII. He has been instrumental in finalizing the detailed configuration engineering of the GSLV MkIII vehicle after its preliminary definition, which involved simplification of certain systems and adoption of proven technologies leading to minimizing the technology risks. He is also the recipient of Space Gold Medal from Astronautical Society of India (ASI), Performance Excellence Award-2014 and Team Excellence Award-2014 for GSLV Mk-III realization, from ISRO. He is a Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) and Corresponding Member of International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).

Brent Sherwood is the Senior Vice President, Advanced Development Programs for Blue Origin, a private space company building the foundation for millions of people to live and work in space to benefit Earth. He is accountable for the development of reusable systems in four program areas: Space Transportation, Space Mobility, Space Destination, and Lunar Permanence. He joined Blue Origin in July 2019 and reports to Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith.
Prior to Blue Origin, Brent was at JPL for fourteen years, where he was founding manager of the JPL Innovation Foundry and later, Program Manager for Solar System Mission Formulation. In those roles he respectively led the integration of JPL’s mission formulation and competitive proposal operations, and the strategic pursuit of Discovery missions, New Frontiers missions, unsolicited planetary missions, and future planetary flagship missions.
Prior to JPL, Brent was at the Boeing Company for seventeen years, where he led a succession of teams that developed human lunar and Mars exploration system concepts, Space Station Freedom module manufacturing methods, Sea Launch business development, entrepreneurial civil and commercial space initiatives, International Space Station business development, and exploration objectives ranging from the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter to Mars Sample Return.
A space architect, Brent has published over 60 papers on the exploration and development of space and edited Out of This World: The New Field of Space Architecture. He served as chair of the Space Architecture Technical Committee of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2018-2020, and served on the board of the American Astronautical Society in 2018-2019. He is an Associate Fellow of the AIAA, and the 2021 recipient of the American Society of Civil Engineers Columbia Medal.

People and nations have choices about what type of human space flight future to invest in. We can choose within four strikingly different paths; to Explore, to Experience, to Exploit, and to Expand. Each future requires distinct capabilities and yields distinct benefits for humankind, so it is important to be intentional. So far, governments have invested only to Explore. But we are now on the verge of public-private partnerships starting to invest in the Experience and Exploit futures. These paths are economic engines: by tapping sources of capital beyond government exploration budgets, we can significantly increase the extent, and benefits, of space travel. Only this economic growth can eventually Expand humankind into the solar system. In the current decade, we will see the first major steps on the Experience path, leading to dozens, then hundreds and thousands of ordinary people visiting destinations in Earth orbit.