In November 2022, Bill Milroy sat down with John Gilroy, the host of Kratos Defense’s Constellations Podcast. They discuss how antenna systems are adapting to fast-changing satellite technologies and escalating demand from both the commercial and military markets.

They explore the need for more terminals to be interoperable, including working on different frequency bands, different orbits, and different types of constellations. How the need is handled is less of a technology decision than a business discussion.

Bill also dives into the business case for the types of capabilities needed in an antenna. He addresses the challenges of creating antennas for deployment in space vehicles, especially in the unique environment of space. He touches upon the idea of a software-defined antenna, which in the case of antennas, would mean reconfigurable hardware that can work using different software on different systems.

He also gives a different example of a software-defined antenna that included a phased array antenna mimicking a parabolic dish for one application while creating multiple beams to service a large number of satellites when the need for the parabolic dish passed. Bill thinks the market is moving towards a fusion of GEO and LEO to help shape IP traffic and giving solutions that are the best of both worlds.

You can catch full 30-minute episode here, on Apple Podcasts, on Spotfiy, or if you’d prefer to read, here’s a summary or you can download the full transcript.