Look for the silver lining. In any review of 2002, it is sound advice. While on the face of it, the year just past may not have offered much for the global satellite industry to celebrate, it was in fact a year of continued progress on many fronts. In the final analysis, 2002 may well be seen as the year when the corner was turned on an unprecedented global telecom marketplace meltdown that brought new meaning to the phrase "only the strong survive."

For the U.S. marketplace, the failed DirecTV/Echostar merger dominated much of the news. When the last few nails were tacked down on the coffin of that ambitious effort late in the year, most eyes moved on to consider other stories. Despite the collapse of the Echostar deal, DTH in the United States grew at a respectable clip. That growth, and its inexorable expansion in the public’s "mindshare," helped sow the ground for a fertile flowering of satellite-delivered digital audio radio services. And while the top contenders in this mosh pit, XM Satellite Radio and Sirius, may still face significant financing and market challenges, it must be recognized that, during 2002, consumer-focused satellite services led the charge in the growth and expansion of the sector.

Similarly, signs of success in a marketplace that had been shelled by miscues and mistakes–satellite-delivered mobile telephony services–saw some encouraging progress. The one-satellite Thuraya system has been knocking down some of the "conventional wisdom" regarding these services, at least on a regional basis, and in the process is establishing the parameters of a solid and sustainable satellite-based business.

Despite declining orders for new spacecraft and–in some cases–dramatically restated future operator requirements, the world’s launch vehicle services providers posted some significant and lasting gains in 2002. New rockets were brought online, including the Atlas 5 and the Delta 4, and the year saw heartening signs in some areas that increased levels of reliability and flexibility had been achieved.

Lastly, 2002 carried us past the first anniversary of 9/11, with all that this means. In the arena of military satellite communications services and capabilities, much was accomplished to bring existing and planned capabilities across military and commercial sectors into line with new requirements and expectations. While the war on terror continues apace, both commercial and other owners, operators and services providers are feeling the impact of this effort.

Each year the editors of Via Satellite magazine and the PBI Media Satellite Group review the most important accomplishments made by leading satellite executives to decide the winner of our annual satellite executive award. Via Satellite’s Satellite Executive of the Year 2002 will be honored February 27 at the SATELLITE 2003 conference in Washington, DC. Below is our list of well-deserving nominees in the running for this year’s honor.

Mohammed Omran: Chairman of the Board, Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co.

Under Mohammed Omran’s leadership, Thuraya charted a path through the minefield of satellite mobile telephony and dismal economic conditions to emerge with a successful mobile satellite cellular-like phone system. In doing so, Omran established a new business model for narrowband mobile satellite communications.

Milestone accomplishments for the year for Omran began in February, when Thuraya formally assumed control of its powerful Thuraya 1 satellite from the builder and turnkey system provider, Boeing Satellite Systems. Able to reach nearly a third of the globe and 2.3 billion people, Thuraya offered service flexibility that included fleet management options and three-tiered pricing. In the months that followed, the number of Thuraya subscribers has steadily climbed, reaching about 75,000 to date (in mid-December, when we went to press), while the number of phones sold has reached more than 100,000. As a result, "We will achieve break-even by 2004 or even earlier, as we are expanding our coverage and signing up more distributors," Omran boasted late in 2002.

Certain elements of Thuraya’s success illustrate Omran’s foresight and astute business strategy. For instance, Thuraya elected to operate a geosynchronous satellite rather than spacecraft in low-earth orbit. This effectively lowered costs, since the investment Thuraya needed to repay, even on a regionalized basis, was significantly less than the sums invested in Iridium and Globalstar.

Looking ahead, Omran’s achievements offer broad relevance to the future of the satellite industry. Inmarsat and Hughes Network Systems have leased capacity on Thuraya 1 to provide 144 kbs mobile broadband service beginning in fourth-quarter 2002, targeting vertical markets such as construction, mining, transport, media and manufacturing as well as government use. In June of last year Thuraya announced plans to launch a second satellite to expand services and to build a third as a ground spare. Still another step into the future was the October 2002 debut of an inexpensive, solar-powered Thuraya pay phone system to serve people in remote areas who cannot afford handsets.

The year 2002 saw Omran re-energize the entire mobile segment of the satellite industry and prove that mobile satellite cellular systems can succeed.

Mark Albrecht: President, International Launch Services

In 2002, International Launch Services (ILS) used its full range of launch vehicles: Atlas 2A, Atlas 2AS, Atlas 3, Atlas 5, Proton K and Proton M in December. This record demonstrates the flexibility and high reliability of ILS products.

In addition to vehicle diversity, Mark Albrecht, president of ILS, is champion of the "mutual backup" feature that has been instrumental in the positioning of ILS in the marketplace. The launch services provider demonstrated twice in 2002 that "mutual backup" is achievable, first with the launch of DirecTV 5 last May. The satellite originally was scheduled for an Atlas, but the spacecraft was not ready for its initial launch date. Because of commitments to other customers, ILS did not have an Atlas available for the projected new launch date. However, Proton was available, the mission was switched, and the satellite was successfully launched when it was ready.

The second example is the Nimiq 2 satellite for Telesat Canada. Integration activities were carried out on both Atlas and Proton vehicles, and ultimately the Proton M was chosen to launch the satellite by the end of the year. This then allows the newly announced Hellas Sat mission to be flown early in 2003 on an Atlas 5, just a few months after contract signing.

Last summer, ILS launched its first Atlas 5 with Hot Bird 6 for Eutelsat. This was the sixth launch for Eutelsat with ILS, all on Atlas, and the third time Eutelsat was the first customer for a variant of Atlas. The Atlas 5 success ensures that the U.S. government will have reliable access to space, and has garnered market acceptance with commercial customers. On the Proton side, Albrecht was looking forward to the first commercial flight of the Proton M/Breeze M variant at the end of December. Khrunichev demonstrated the successful first flight of the Proton M/Breeze M in April of last year.

ILS, under Albrecht, might be the most successful U.S.-Russian partnership that exists today.

Hugh Panero: President, XM Satellite Radio

XM Satellite Radio President Hugh Panero is another alumnus of the Satellite Executive of the Year nominee’s list. Guided by Panero in 2002, XM established itself as one of the fastest-selling audio products in the last 20 years, bringing recognition to the satellite industry for expanding its technology beyond military, voice and television uses. XM ended the third quarter of 2002 reporting 201,544 subscribers, achieving exceptional subscription ramp-up in a challenging consumer electronics market.

Under Panero, satellite technology expanded its reach into new vehicles as General Motors (GM) increased its launch of XM. On schedule, and following announcements made earlier in 2002, GM began its major roll-out of model year 2003 vehicles equipped with XM. These vehicles cover six GM divisions, 25 vehicle lines, all product categories and price points. In addition to its roll-out in GM vehicles, XM’s satellite radios are now or soon will be available in a variety of cars and trucks from other leading automakers. Honda announced it would make XM available, initially as a dealer-installed option, in the Honda Accord, Honda Pilot and Acura MDX. XM-equipped Nissan Pathfinder SUVs began arriving at dealerships in the fourth quarter, to be followed in early 2003 by the XM-equipped Nissan Murano, Infiniti I35 luxury sedans, M45 sedans, Q45 performance luxury sedans, G35 sedans and coupes.

Based on learning during its first year of operations, Panero led XM in refining its business plan–focusing more on the OEM vehicle market to take full advantage of XM’s relationship with automobile manufacturers, introducing new lower-priced and more user-friendly radio technology in the retail aftermarket and concentrating on the most productive distribution channels.

As a result of this positive progress and repositioning, as well as the potential impact of refinancing proposals currently being discussed, XM expects to reach cash flow breakeven by mid-to-late 2004 and to do so with a much lower number of subscribers than previously forecast.

Mary Ann Elliott: President and CEO, Arrowhead Global Solutions Inc.

Arrowhead founder and Chief Executive Mary Ann Elliott’s greatest accomplishment in 2002 has been to help build the U.S. Defense Department (DoD) use of satellite technology to support the country’s efforts in Operation Enduring Freedom and homeland security. In so doing, she has contributed greatly to an evolving realization that government/military and commercial communications satellite assets can and must work together to achieve critical national and global objectives.

Through two of Arrowhead’s flagship programs–fixed and mobile satellites–Arrowhead is able to facilitate government use of commercial satellite facilities. Elliott’s expertise plays well in this arena, bringing the best of both commercial and government worlds to bear to improve delivery of military communications services where they are needed.

Elliott founded Arrowhead in 1991 following Operation Desert Storm to meet the growing demands of the DoD for commercial satellite engineering support and capacity. Since that time, Elliot worked with the government to facilitate and grow its use of commercial satellites. In 2002, Arrowhead introduced several new products and services that immediately supported the U.S. government.

The Defense Information Systems Agency awarded the Defense Satellite Transmission Services-Global (DSTS-G) contract to Arrowhead and two other small businesses in 2001. Elliott at the time led an effort to convince the government that a small business contractor acting as an honest broker to all satellite carriers would provide the government with optimal support and savings over the life of the contract.

Under the DSTS-G contract, the U.S. Government/DoD has expanded its use of full and partial transponders and ground stations. Much of this capacity has been utilized to support the military’s efforts in Operation Enduring Freedom. On July 30, 2002, under the DSTS-G contract, Elliott and Arrowhead won the task order to design, build and install the DoD teleport project with an initial deployment of 14 C- and Ku-band ground stations. In 2002, Arrowhead also won the Defense Information Systems Agency contract for Inmarsat services.

In March 2002, Elliott was selected to serve on the senior steering committee of the National Security Space Architect Office for the review of the plans and design of the future DoD satcom network, which is scheduled for implementation in 2009. As such, Elliott assures her place at the pinnacle of commercial and military satellite communications for years to come.

Jean-Yves Le Gall: Chief Executive Officer, Arianespace

Reliability and timeliness is always a potent combination. And so it is that Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall earns a slot of honor on Via Satellite’s Satellite Executive of the Year nominee’s list for 2002. Le Gall opened the year with three main objectives, each of which he methodically pursued and then advanced. The first objective was a technical mix, and sprung from the outcome of an Ariane 5 mission in mid-2001.

"First, we needed to get back to flight after the loss of Ariane 510," Le Gall recalls. He termed the next Ariane 5 launch, on February 28, 2002, a "nice achievement."

The second objective for 2002 was to "continue to win contracts in the commercial market, even recognizing that the market is much worse" than before, Le Gall says. As we went to press, Arianespace under Le Gall’s direction had captured 12 out of 15 commercial contracts let during the year (of which 11 were open competitions), and the company aspired to another contract before year-end. Average mass of spacecraft launched grew from 2.6 tons in 2001 to more than 4 tons in 2002.

A third objective continues to stymie Le Gall, but he owns up to it gallantly: "While our effort is not yet completed, we will find a solution to get back to positive results in the short-term." Le Gall says that during 2002 the company realized "a significant reduction of losses," and set a course for a return to profitability in 2003.

Finally, Le Gall coordinated with the European Space Agency an ongoing study of the feasibility of launching Soyuz vehicles from Ariane’s Kourou, Guiana, spaceport facilities. A public announcement, Le Gall says, is expected early in 2003. The addition of Soyuz in Kourou, Le Gall says, "would be a nice complement well-suited to small GTO and LEO missions."

Terming Ariane "a very beautiful tool," Le Gall says "the regularity of the Ariane launch is a factor in its reliability; the more we launch, the better we get."

Scott Chase is editor emeritus of Via Satellite magazine and executive vice president, sales and marketing, of PBI Media LLC.