Hosted Payload Alliance Chairman Don Thoma opened the one-day event by announced a new initiative that his organization will undertake this year. “We want to create a hosted payload playbook that will outline the opportunities and challenges for hosted payload developers, providers and customers,” Thoma told attendees.

   Douglas Loverro, the Executive Director of the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center and senior civilian executive then gave a keynote speech that highlighted the 10 most important events for hosted payloads in 2012.

   The first of those events was U.S. President Barack Obama’s full-year 2013 budget released in February 2012. “What was significant about this was that there were dollars specifically outlined in the budget to continue work on hosted payloads,” said Loverro.

   Other events included: the release of NSR’s second edition of its Hosted Payloads on Commercial Satellites report; the formation of the SMC hosted payload office, which outlines a hosted payload cost model; CHIRP+, protected milsatcom and military weather BAAs; the first unclassified CHIRP imagery; the 2014 draft defense planning guides; the NASA and Loral deal on Hosted Payload terminals; and the announcement of the SMC hosted payload ID/IQ contract, which Loverro referred to as “the first step in moving toward a normal, accessible and repeatable hosted payload arrangement, which is expected in the next six to nine months,” he said.

    Loverro also noted a couple of negatives that happened for hosted payloads, such as the low marks the CHIRP+ payload received from the HAC-D congressional committee and the failure to find a deal between Iridium and the government on hosted payloads. “Hosted payloads not only saw progress through its successes, but also through its failures,” Loverro told attendees. “In the case of Iridium, we just couldn’t make it work, but it also showed us how we can make it work. The low HAC-D marks shows us that not everyone in Congress has bought into the hosted payload concept.”

   The Hosted Payload Summit was split into five sessions. The first focused on lessons that the commercial satellite industry learned from public-private partnerships executed with international governments. The panel focused on Intelsat’s hosted payload project with the Australian Defense Force (ADF), which operates a UHF payload on the Intelsat 22 satellite.

   Intelsat General Vice President of Hosted Payload Programs Don Brown gave attendees two pieces of advice when trying to find hosted payload business. “The first is that you have to articulate a viable commercial model and approach to hosted payloads with your customer,” said Brown. “The second is never lean forward on a commercially hosted payload for government use.”

   The second panel tackled existing U.S. export control policy, specifically the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) that are designed to prevent the export of sensitive military technologies. 

   Frank Slazer, Vice President of Space Systems for the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) voiced the frustrations of many in the commercial satellite industry about ITAR, which can be difficult to understand and dramatically slow in understanding and incorporating new technologies. 

   On top of that, the timing of obtaining export approvals can be lengthy. And some international entities that are exploring partnerships with U.S. companies may be turned off from hosted payloads due to the restrictions associated with ITAR laws.

   U.S. government officials are at least working on ITAR reform, though a majority of conference attendees believed that this effort is insufficient. Last Spring the U.S. Senate was working on Senate Bill 3211, reforming the process by which U.S. companies can export technology labeled by the state department as “sensitive” or “dual-purpose.” Section 2 of that bill specifically deals with the authority to determine appropriate export controls for satellites and related items.
   Horizon Strategies Group CEO Joshua Hartman said that the results of the upcoming U.S. presidential election would not matter much to the future of ITAR reform. Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, Anello & Bohrer Principal Lisa Prager said that the hassles inherent in current U.S. export regulations would be replaced with new hassles post-reform.

   Secure World Foundation Technical Advisor Brian Weeden said that regardless of reform, ITAR laws are having a negative psychological effect on the hosted payload market and could hamper business. The audience seemed to support Weeden’s view during the previous panel session, when 24 percent of the audience responded to a question by identifying ITAR laws as one of the biggest obstacles to hosted payload growth.