Speaker Interviews
Carmen Shafer, Staff Engineer Energetics Manufacturing, Northrop Grumman
Published in 2025
As more companies and organizations across the globe get involved in spaceflight activities, attempting to launch and operate faster with lower operating costs, and as space becomes more crowded with satellites, spacecraft and orbital debris, it is imperative everyone involved in spaceflight and space operations understand and control their FOD and contamination risks.
Rama Afullo, Founder & CEO, Satlyt
Published in 2025
Satlyt started with a simple but powerful realization: as satellites proliferate, their compute capacity is often underutilized, while ground-based cloud infrastructure struggles with increasing data bottlenecks, latency issues, and energy inefficiencies. My experience at SpaceX, Google, and Tesla gave me a unique vantage point: connecting advancements in cloud, AI, and satellite networks. I saw an opportunity to create a more open and decentralized compute ecosystem in space, where satellites could function as a distributed network, much like terrestrial cloud services. That idea became the foundation of Satlyt, which now has downstream applications too.
Alyson Decker, Of Counsel, Taylor | Anderson LLP
Published in 2025
Alyson has always had a passion for law and space and thinks under the new administration we will see more emphasis on private-government collaboration with less of a focus on internal government mission design and implementation. She also thinks we will likely see less of a drive to regulate space activities from a human flight safety perspective as well as from an environmental launch perspective. It is expected there will be more of a focus on military and intelligence assets in space and less on scientific assets that do not serve a commercial purpose. Lastly, with mounting tariffs and increased concern over national security, you are likely to see less cooperation with international partners, both governmental and private, and more of a focus on American made and developed aerospace technology.
Drew Busbee, Chief Operations Officer, Disruptive Technology Index (DTI)
Published in 2025
Drew has worked very closely with start-ups and visionary entrepreneurs and he believes there are a few key areas where California can improve to better support and retain aerospace and defense talent. One is looking at our existing workforce and creating more upskilling and reskilling opportunities for people interested in breaking into the field. A lot of folks think working in space requires a technical degree, but there’s a huge demand for machinists, fabricators, and technicians—roles that are essential but often overlooked. Another opportunity is earlier exposure: if we introduced aerospace-focused curriculum at the high school level, more students could see viable career paths in the industry before they even enter college or the workforce
Sita Sonty, CEO, Space Tango
Published in 2024
As the Chief Executive Officer of Space Tango, I set the mission and vision for growth, and oversee its implementation by our agile team. Prior to this role, I led commercial space at the Boston Consulting Group and served as the first Head of Human Spaceflight Sales at SpaceX, executing the first private spaceflight sale on the Crew Dragon. I was tapped to lead global market strategy for Starlink in that role; prior roles include VP at Sierra Nevada Corporation and Director for National Security at Raytheon.
Raquel Buscaino, Emerging Technology Lead, Deloitte
Published in 2024
I lead Deloitte’s Novel & Exponential Technologies (NExT) team where my team and I sense, and make sense of, emerging technologies that are likely to change the way our world works and lives. From brain-computer interfaces and synthetic biology to space exploration and quantum computing, my team and I aim to distil signal from noise, value from hype, and profitable actions from ambiguous concepts.
Mark Davidson, Small Business Innovation & Technology Partnerships, JPL
Published in 2024
I’m the manager of the JPL NASA SBIR program office representing the lab and the NASA SBIR program to the southern Califronia region. JPL focuses on research and NASA missions to explore our solar system and the broader universe in search of extant life and origins of the universe in addition to Earth science missions focued on atmospheric science, geology and hydrology.
Melissa Fensterstock, VC at Material Impact
Published in 2024
Certainly! At my core, I’m a science nerd with a few advanced degrees. I have an MBA from Harvard Business School, MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and a BA in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University. I’ve been an operator for more than a decade, most recently as CEO of Landsdowne Labs, a spin out from Bob Langer’s Lab at MIT. I am intellectually curious and space is asbolutely fascinating and dreamy.