Note: This interview was provided to us by NewSpace People. NewSpace People is a business network for the Space Industry’s Global Professionals and Companies.
What Is the Background of Iceye’s Top Management?
Rafal Modrzewski 27, CEO, Chairman of the Board
Mr. Rafal Modrzewski is the CEO and founder of ICEYE Ltd. ICEYE aims to launch and operate a constellation of micro-SAR satellites providing access to persistence earth surveillance service. He has studied Electrical Engineering at Warsaw University of Technology, completing his Masters in Radio Science and Engineering at Aalto University. At Aalto, Mr. Modrzewski lead the electrical engineering team working on the Aalto-1 project (Finland’s first satellite project). For two years, Mr. Modrzewski has been researching innovative products at VTT (technical research centre of Finland) in the RFID and wireless sensing group.
Pekka Laurila 28, CFO, Deputy Member of the Board
Mr. Pekka Laurila – Geoinformation Systems at Aalto University, Finland. Worked as part of the Aalto-1 nanosatellite program in 2012-2014, in 2012 2nd prize in ACE’s (Aalto Center for Entrepreneurship) Aalto Gift Competition and the prize of best presentation and most financeable team in LaureaES Venture Camp Cambridge. CFO and founder of ICEYE. Prior to ICEYE ran a media company with 3D-visualization and other media productions published in tech media e.g. New Scientist London.
What Is Iceye’s Core Product or Service and Its Unique Proposition to Their Market Sector?
ICEYE is an earth observation organisation that is building a constellation of our own microsatellites and providing data services in radar imaging.
We focus on providing unmatched ease of access with our imaging services, satellite revisit times of only a few hours, and unparalleled reliability in SAR imaging. One of the key benefits of using radar technology rather than optical in our constellation means that we can serve customers regardless of weather conditions and during all times of the day and night.
We serve organisations in a wide range of industries from defence & intelligence, finance, and disaster management, and lots more. Use cases that require a high frequency of revisit times and strong reliability are of course the ones where we are able to provide a uniquely valuable service.
What Are Iceye’s Growth Objectives over the next 5 Years?
For the next 5 years we are growing our satellite constellation to a size of roughly 18-30 active satellites and entering in full force the most demand heavy segments of earth observation radar data.
This means growing out our operational capacity to be able to service the use cases of our customers at a level that currently isn’t available on the market. Especially as we are servicing more and more customers in varied industries, being able to help their specific use cases becomes increasingly important.
What Competitive Changes Does Iceye Envisage Within Key Markets over the next 5 Years?
New space is disrupting old methods and technologies, for sure, but the use cases for the data themselves are what drive us forward. For us staying at the forefront of space technology is already a given, but being also competitive in the services themselves is crucial. Those who are driving increasing added value for customers are at an advantage.
Source: http://www.newspacepeople.com/updates/newspace-people-interview-with-iceye