Jun 15, 2022
BRT in Space talking Satellite Components by Spirit Electronics w/ Marti McCurdy
- BRT S03 EP25 (124) 6-12-2022
Things We Learned This Week
- Spirit Electronics is veteran and women owned tech company providing satellite components to Aerospace and Defense industries
- Satellites in Low Earth Orbit – need components built to resist extreme temperatures and still function as expected when built - Radiation Testing – stress test, thermal, pressure
- Working with top Defense Contractors, Raytheon, Boeing, Lockhead Martin, helping create products used in Government contracts
- Space is on a Comeback – from SpaceX, to Blue Orbit, Space Florida & Kennedy Space Center, now let’s talk Space Junk, Satellite Crash, Launch Ops – launch at right time, right orbit, right space
- AZ is becoming a Tech Hub: Semiconductors, Aerospace, Defense, EV, Autonomous, AZ Tech Council to Tech Incubators
Guest: Marti McCurdy - CEO of Spirit Electronics
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marti-mccurdy-1083a936/
https://www.spiritelectronics.com/about-us/
Marti McCurdy, owner and CEO of Spirit Electronics, is a veteran not only of the semiconductor business but also of the United States Air Force. Marti’s focus as CEO is to serve the aerospace and defense industry for high reliability components. She exercises her engineering knowledge of space qualified flows and sophisticated testing to deliver flight class devices. Throughout her career as a business owner and most recent position as VP, Marti’s goal is to bring her high standard of customer service and cultivated relationships to serve the aerospace sector she is so familiar with. Marti holds a current patent and is a published author in ultrasonic applications.
Spirit Electronics is a certified veteran-owned, woman-owned value-added distributor of electronic components. Our product lines and value-added services offer power, memory, FPGAs, ASICs–everything you need to build out a high-reliability board that can perform in even the harshest environments. Spirit builds components for satellites, used in the aerospace and defense industries.
Spirit Electronics is redefining distribution by bringing supply chain services under one roof. We are creating new approaches to service and delivery for our customers. With our team’s focus on unique aerospace and defense (A&D) requirements, chain of custody, and on-time-delivery, our services deliver components fully qualified and ready for assembly right when you need them. The facility is in Phoenix, AZ, includes 2,000 sq ft of warehouse space to house your inventory. We recently added a fully equipped test and qualification lab and a partner facility dedicated to contract manufacturing.
Notes:
Spirit Electronics manufactures satellite components like Circuit boards
Supply chains with defense and aerospace for components
Invest idea – materials used in satellites
*Low Earth orbit of satellite, not technically space sometimes
Examples of co’s do biz with: F35 Lightning ll program plane by Lockhead Martin
Kyocera, EPC Space, Latham Industries
*Space EP (space enhanced plastics) – need to stress test to with stand high & low temps
Acronyms – common in military and tech industry, Marti a veteran in both
Marti – Air Force for 6 yrs, Spirit is Women and Veteran owned
Worked in Semiconductor industry previously, background in tech
Spirit Electronics company founded in 1979, bought By Marti in 2017
Major Prime – Defense Tier 1
Speed Dial –Raytheon, Boeing, Lockhead Martin all contacts of Sprit
Sub contractor for defense contractors working on Government contracts
Distributor with value add, ie - Latham Industries circuit card / board
Real World applications of satellites –
Data collection by satellites of Earth locations – ie Disney Park
Via satellite, get internet on phone while flying on a plane
5 year life span of satellites up in orbit
HUB zone – Spirit Electronics owns their building
Contract Cycle – negotiate, can take months, or years to work a deal
Tier 1 – original companies in
Defense –
Space Junk – lots stuff floating around in orbit
Satellite crash – yes they do
Getting into Orbit - Launch at right time, right orbit, right space
Space Florida – https://www.spaceflorida.gov/
Kennedy Center – in Florida, lots of history with space program
DARPA is partnering with six of the nation's leading research and development universities to connect with new communities of talent
Vandenburg Space Force - https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/
Radiation Testing – stress test, thermal, pressure of satellite components to handle all conditions, Radiate 5 levels, use Cyclotron to test
Cyclotron - a type of particle accelerator which repeatedly propels a beam of charged particles (protons) in a circular path. Medical radioisotopes are made from non-radioactive materials (stable isotopes) which are bombarded by these protons
Insurance analogy
Components – materials, AMD and Texas Instruments are suppliers
Commercial grade, Industrial grade, Automotive grade, Military grade
Space grade - *highest grade
Rad-hard – Radiation-hardened electronics, also called rad-hard electronics, are electronic components (circuits, transistors, resistors, diodes, capacitors, etc.), single-board computer CPUs, and sensors that are designed and produced to be less susceptible to damage from exposure to radiation and extreme temperatures
FPGA – AMD, & Zylenx devices (highly flexible and adaptive processing platforms that enable rapid innovation across a variety of technologies)
EV Mkt – overlap with this industry
GPS – satellite GPS use star tracker like sea farers
Veteran Services – Spirit Electronics does charity work to help veteran community
Help families of kids that lost a parent, and give opportunities - https://spiritgives.org/
BRT Clip from Seg. 3 of 7/11/21
w/ Steve Zylstra of Arizona Technology Council on the State of AZ Tech
https://www.aztechcouncil.org/
- AZ as a great technology hub in the U.S.
- AZ Tech Council as an advocate for the entire Tech industry, helps both economic & job growth in the state
Full Show: Here
BRT Clip from Seg. 2 of 5/1/2022
w/ Russ Yelton of AZ Bio on Tech Incubators
- Tech Incubator: startup incubator is a collaborative program for startup companies — usually physically located in one central workspace — designed to help startups in their infancy succeed by providing workspace, seed funding, mentoring and training.
- AZ State supporters of Tech: AZ Tech Council, The Flinn Foundation, NAU, ASU, UA, CEI Gateway Tech, AZ Bio, NACET – Moonshot, AZ Advances, & many funding VC & Angel groups – ATI, Desert Angels, Canyon Angels
Full Show: Here
Tech Topic:
https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Tech-Startup-VC-Cybersecurity-Energy-Science
Best of Tech:
https://brt-show.libsyn.com/size/5/?search=best+of+tech
Investing Topic:
https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Investing-Stocks-Bonds-Retirement
‘Best Of’ Topic: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Best+of+BRT
Thanks for Listening.
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