The Satellite, Space & Defence Matters Podcast

In this episode of Satellite, Space & Defence Matters brought to you by neuco, hosts Callum Davis and Laurie Scott are joined by the full executive team of Finland's Aurora Propulsion Technologies: CEO Pekka Blomberg, Commercial Lead & CCO Aziza Ibrayeva, and CTO & Co-Founder Perttu Yli-Opas.

Together they unpack how a university hybrid-rocket project became a company building the smallest water-based resistojet thrusters on the market, and why the defence and dual-use wave sweeping European space has caught up to exactly what Aurora has been building since 2018.

The conversation moves from Aurora's founding story through the "space kettle" mechanics of water propulsion, the strategic shift toward defence and dual-use positioning, and what the next five years hold as propulsion becomes a standard and regulated requirement for satellites of every size.
Key topics covered:
● How three very different career paths, propulsion engineering, defence and cybersecurity, and hospitality/sales converged at Aurora
● The founding insight: more than 90% of CubeSats fly with no propulsion at all, and why that's a market rather than a limitation
● Balancing startup agility against the space industry's demand for years-long reliability testing
● How COVID and Starlink's mega-constellations pushed space sustainability from academic niche to mainstream priority
● The defence and dual-use pivot, why a satellite without propulsion is "a sitting duck," and how water propulsion enables rendezvous, proximity operations and collision avoidance
● Shorter sales cycles and a defence market newly open to startups
● Redundancy and resilience: a fully dual-redundant propellant system inside a 1U CubeSat form factor
● The cybersecurity parallel, how securing space mirrors the rise of cyber 15 years ago, plus the sovereignty drive across nations and regions
● Navigating fragmented national regulations and the slow road to EU space law
● Why small, agile companies are the industry's true innovators
● What water resistojets actually are: the "space kettle" explained
● Water's versatility, resistojets, electrolysis, Hall-effect thrusters, and the path to in-orbit refuelling
● Ground-logistics advantages: shipping pre-fuelled, weld-sealed systems instead of fuelling at the launch site
● Differentiation through customer service and Finnish on-time engineering discipline
● The next five years: propulsion and mobility becoming standard and mandatory

Guest bios:
Pekka Blomberg - CEO. An experienced industrial business leader and certified board member, Pekka spent a long career across defence and security, latterly in cybersecurity, before joining Aurora roughly two years ago. He leads the company's transition from a technology-development project into a commercial product business with a strong sales and customer focus.

Aziza Ibrayeva - Commercial Lead & CCO. Aziza came into space "by accident" from the travel and hospitality industry in Finland, joining a smaller space startup that valued sales experience over a space background. She drives Aurora's commercial strategy and customer relationships, is currently completing an MBA, and founded the consultancy CELSTRAT.

Perttu Yli-Opas - CTO & Co-Founder. Perttu co-founded Aurora out of a university hybrid-rocket project at Aalto University, where he founded and led Aalto Propulsion and chaired the Aalto AI Society. He is the technical architect behind Aurora's miniaturised water resistojet systems.

This episode of Satellite, Space & Defence Matters is brought to you by neuco.

In episode 62 of Satellite, Space & Defence Matters, hosts Gia Thomas and Tom Wilding sit down with Dr Stephen Prior, founder of Hybrid Drones, for a story that runs from a DARPA competition win to one of the most capable heavy-lift drones in the UK, by way of a deeply personal beginning.
Stephen discusses how a friendship with a rocket-propulsion colleague became a company, why competitions are the real test of any technology, what UK defence funding actually feels like for a five-person firm, and how the Hydra 400 is moving from R&D into commercial reality.

About the guest: Dr Stephen Prior spent close to three decades in academia, including 13 years teaching aeronautical engineering at the University of Southampton, before founding Hybrid Drones in 2019. His teams have a strong competition pedigree, including winning the DARPA UAV Forge competition in 2012. He now leads a five-person British company building the Hydra 400 - a hybrid jet-electric heavy-lift drone with a 400kg payload - backed by S Ventures and in strategic partnership with MBDA.

Key topics covered:
The origin story behind Hybrid Drones and the late Dr Angelo Grubišić
Why competitions beat simulations as the true test of any UAV system
Building and hiring for a five-person firm competing against defence primes
Use cases: wildfire response, casualty evacuation, high-rise rescue, reforestation, and resupply — roughly 50/50 defence and civilian
The Hydra 400's evolution from a 100kg test-bed to a 400kg payload system, and why hybrid jet-electric beat batteries and hydrogen
UK defence funding realities: Innovate UK, MBDA partnership, and the ambition to build a £100m British drone company
The path to global commercial sales from ~2027
Advice for anyone entering the drone industry
About neuco
This podcast is brought to you in association with neuco, a global recruitment and executive search firm specialising in satellite, space, and defence.
neuco connects exceptional talent, from mid-senior professionals to C-suite leaders, with the innovative, forward-thinking organisations shaping the future of these industries.
Whether you're a candidate looking for your next opportunity or an organisation seeking the people who will define your next chapter, neuco brings the expertise, network, and insight to make the right connections happen.

Laura LeMasurier and Clara Britton share how SES is building an inclusive, growth-driven culture following the merger with Intelsat. They discuss the four core values guiding the new SES, how the company fosters psychological safety and encourages smart risk-taking, what great leadership looks like in this transformation, and why diversity of thought is critical to innovation. This episode reveals the human side of SES's bold technological transformation. 

Key Topics Covered 
Four core values: We've Got Your Back, We Are Better Every Day, We Bring Big Ideas, We Thrive as One 

Psychological safety: Creating space to fail fast, learn faster, and apply learnings across the organisation 

Skills-based organisation: Building connections around shared passions and capabilities 

Wellness investment: Headspace access, menopause awareness training, and culture workshops 

Talent DNA: Looking for people who move to action, take smart risks, and have a growth mindset 

Memorable Quotes 
"The merger has given us space to rethink how we should work and what we should be working on. We're empowering people to move from waterfall to agile, to embrace innovative sprints where we can move to action." 
"We're looking for a real DNA: move to action, take accountability, apply the learning when something doesn't go as planned, take smart risks. Folks coming into SES want to make bold steps and want space to feel safe doing so." 
"It's not about geography, it's about connection and psychological safety. Being able to express who we are at work and have those open conversations. 360 feedback is really powerful here at SES." 

About the Guests 
Laura LeMasurier leads people and talent strategy at SES, shaping the cultural transformation following the Intelsat merger. She's passionate about creating psychologically safe environments where people can experiment, fail fast, and learn faster. Laura champions diversity of thought and believes in bringing different perspectives from other industries to drive innovation. In her past life, she was 'DJ Wizard,' mastering the art of recording radio charts in the 80s. Her go-to karaoke song is Evanescence's 'Wake Me Up Inside.' 

Clara Britton works in talent and organisational development at SES, focusing on building the company's values-driven culture. She's early in her career but already understands the power of connection and learning from passionate people across all levels. Clara emphasises the importance of well-being and gathering diverse experiences from colleagues. She finds her happy place hiking in the forest on weekends and believes strongly in the value of cross-functional relationships. 

About neuco
neuco is a global recruitment and executive search firm specialising in the Satellite, Space and Defence industry.

Miquel Albiol takes us deep into payload innovation at SES, from digital beamforming technology enabling LEO-to-MIO data relay to the challenges of flying 5G base stations in space. He discusses how RF system requirements evolve across orbital regimes, the importance of engineers focusing on ultimate customer value, and exciting developments in optical communications, AI on-board processing, and software-defined satellites. This episode offers a technical deep-dive into the future of space communications. 
Key Topics Covered 
Digital beamforming breakthrough: Enabling LEO-to-MIO data relay for customer data 
5G in space: The challenge of flying 5G base stations on every satellite 
RF evolution: How getting closer to Earth shifts focus from amplification to spectrum management 
Optical communications: Introducing hundreds of gigabits per second data transport in space 
Career advice: Don't focus excessively on standards - challenge them when they don't serve customer value 
Memorable Quotes
"Last week we performed the first contact of LEO-MIO data relay. Our customer data is flying on board the LEO satellite and downloading through MIO to ground. That's possible thanks to digital beamforming technology." 
"The best engineers never lose focus of the ultimate objective: providing good service and maximizing value to your customers. Always challenge the requirements thinking about the ultimate objective." 
"Don't focus too much on meeting standards and following the rules. Use standards if they benefit you and the customer. In traditional space, meeting standards was maxima. If I had challenged that more, I would have delivered better products faster." 
About the Guest
Miquel Albiol leads Space Systems and Payload Development at SES, where he's pushing the boundaries of what's possible in space communications. His expertise spans RF systems, digital beamforming, optical communications, and software-defined satellites. Miquel is passionate about challenging traditional aerospace standards when they don't serve ultimate customer objectives. He finds his happy place along the Mediterranean coast - Spain, France, Italy, or Greece - and enjoys Spanish music, particularly Arrutina.

In the third instalment of Forward Focus: The Future of SES, we speak with Alberto Patrizi, who shares insights on program planning in the new space era.
With a wealth of experience across traditional and modern space programs, he explores how agile methodologies and visual management techniques are transforming project delivery at SES. This episode dives into risk management, team empowerment, and the entrepreneurial mindset needed to succeed in fast-paced space environments.

Key Topics Covered:
●     Agile project management in space: Moving from rigid work breakdown structures to empowered macro-area teams
●     Visual management techniques: Using war rooms and post-it timelines to drive accountability
●     Risk mitigation strategies: Making risk management everyone's responsibility, not just the PM's job
●     Collaborative design approach: Sharing needs instead of requirements with suppliers and subsystem teams
●     Leadership qualities: Balancing entrepreneurial drive with active listening and team empowerment

Memorable Quotes:
"The team feel protagonist, rather than just an actor.They feel much more engaged."
"Mistakes are an opportunity. When risks occur, it's notreally a failure, it is a lesson learned."
"A very good project manager is the one who is able toput the team in the best condition to deliver."

About the guest:
Alberto Patrizi is a Technical Program Manager at SES withextensive experience in both traditional and new space programs.
His career spans aerospace and space systems, where he's developed expertise in agile project management, risk mitigation, and team leadership. Alberto is passionateabout empowering teams and creating environments where innovation thrives.
Outside of work, he enjoys golf and values time with his family.