Bridgit Mendler, a former Disney star, discusses enhancing connectivity and resilience in space.
Bridgit Mendler, a musician and former Disney Channel star, spoke on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 on Monday about how her company, Northwood Space, is investing in ground infrastructure, a neglected aspect of the space sector.
For satellites to communicate with Earth, ground stations are essential communication sites. Since the quantity and capacity of ground stations are a major barrier in the space sector, Northwood wants to mass-produce ground stations.
“You have to invest in unsexy problems, like building a ground network, to actually fulfill the benefit of people in the world,” Mendler stated. Personally, I find that to be enjoyable and sensual. When most people think of the space sector, this is definitely not what they have in mind. I believe they consider rockets, they They consider satellites, but they fail to consider terrestrial infrastructure.
Image from Techcruch
Mendler claimed that following their initial voyages, many space startup entrepreneurs she contacted with raised this concern and asked when a ground station startup will be established.
The goal of Northwood Space
To speed up the widespread deployment of satellite technologies by building a data highway between space. Northwood is attempting to quickly grow connectivity for space because, although space industries depend on connectivity to operate, ground infrastructure is fundamentally outdated.
Mendler stated, “I believe there have been technological changes that have been somewhat challenging to implement until very recently.” As a result, we were sort of following it with Northwood. We know we want to work toward this solution: exponential growth requires exponential technology. To handle the expansion of the space sector, we require some sort of exponential technology on the ground side.
Northwood wants to assist businesses in achieving the performance levels required for most space missions at a cost that allows them to expand a network.
According to Mendler, the business wants to facilitate fewer collisions and improve spacecraft awareness by enabling greater connectivity.
Additionally, the business is attempting to assist satellite operators in foreseeing failures.
Mendler was well-known for her music career and her blockbuster show “Good Luck Charlie” before she added the position of CEO of a space business to her resume. Mendler attended Harvard Law School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after quitting performing.
Mendler claimed that despite working at a variety of jobs, she has always had a passion for space and felt called to pursue a different career path.
“Going beyond TV felt the most impactful and meaningful to me as a teenager,” Mendler said. Even though it was an incredible experience, I couldn’t help but think that perhaps I had an impact somewhere else. When I visited the MIT Media Lab, which is close by where I was actually making a movie in Massachusetts, I was astounded by all these initiatives that were genuinely centered on technology, humanity, and significant global advancement.
Mendler ultimately fell in love with the space industry after deciding to seek a master’s degree.
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