{"id":4462445,"date":"2026-02-19T13:58:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amsat-dl.org\/the-100-key-players-in-the-space-scene-associations\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T14:12:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T13:12:53","slug":"the-100-key-players-in-the-space-scene-associations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amsat-dl.org\/en\/the-100-key-players-in-the-space-scene-associations\/","title":{"rendered":"The 100 key players in the space scene &#8211; Associations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Our 1st Chairman Peter G\u00fclzow DB2OS is one of the &#8220;Top 100 of the Table 2025\/26&#8221;: the 100 key figures in the space scene, the ten most influential leaders in the associations category, selected by the editors of <a href=\"https:\/\/table.media\/space\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Space.Table<\/a>. There are ten categories in total, ranging from politics, companies, consulting, associations and think tanks to foundations, science, NGOs and society. <\/p>\n\n<p>Peter&#8217;s comment on this:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I am delighted to be included in the <strong>&#8220;Top 100 of the Table&#8221; of the Space.Table Professional Briefing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The space editors of <a href=\"https:\/\/table.media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">table.media<\/a> have honored me as one of the ten formative minds in the <em>associations<\/em> category. However, I see this recognition not only as a personal award, but above all as a tribute to an extraordinary community: AMSAT! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more than 50 years, the global AMSAT community has been developing, building and operating small satellites &#8211; driven by voluntary commitment, enthusiasm for space travel, passion, technical excellence and a clear vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If AMSAT were a &#8220;space nation&#8221;, we would rank about 10th in the world with over 130 amateur radio satellites launched. This is a remarkable result for a non-governmental organization run by volunteers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This &#8220;virtual space program&#8221; includes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the OSCAR satellites (Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio),<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Contributions from sister organizations such as AMSAT-US, AMSAT-UK, AMSAT-F, AMSAT-IT, AMSAT-India, AMSAT-EA and others,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>numerous small satellites, CubeSats and PocketQubes,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>University missions with amateur radio payloads on coordinated amateur radio frequencies and involving radio amateurs as a network of ground stations.<br\/><br\/><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Historically speaking, AMSAT would be even further ahead:<br\/>With <strong>OSCAR-1 (December 12, 1961)<\/strong> &#8211; just four years after Sputnik &#8211; AMSAT would be the third first space nation in the world to launch a satellite, right after the first US satellite Explorer-1 in January 1958.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it is not just the number of satellites that is decisive. The decisive factor is the effect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without the commitment of thousands of volunteer radio amateurs who are space enthusiasts, there would be no or less:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>many of today&#8217;s space experts,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>numerous CubeSat initiatives,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and some New Space start-ups probably either.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>AMSAT was and is an incubator for technology, training and entrepreneurial thinking in the space sector. Generations of radio amateurs, students, engineers and founders have been shaped by this platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, against the backdrop of growing commercial mega-constellations and increasing regulatory consolidation, a central question arises:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What role will non-commercial, experimental satellite radio play in the orbit system in the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amateur radio via satellite is not a nostalgic relic. It is: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>low-threshold access to space travel for the next generation,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>an experimental testing ground for new technologies,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>an international cooperation model beyond geopolitical tensions,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and a building block of technological sovereignty &#8211; also in Europe.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This requires reliable frequency protection, regulatory planning security and a political framework that does not suppress voluntary innovation structures, but recognizes them as part of the space ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Space travel is not only created in government programs or commercial constellations. It is also created where technological passion, international cooperation and long-term vision come together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My heartfelt thanks go to the entire team at AMSAT-Deutschland e.V., my fellow board members and the international AMSAT community. Without this collective commitment, none of this would be possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I look forward to exchanging ideas with players from industry, politics and the amateur radio community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because sustainable space travel not only needs capital and infrastructure &#8211;<br>it also needs open frequencies, freedom to experiment and committed people.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our 1st Chairman Peter G\u00fclzow DB2OS is one of the &#8220;Top 100 of the Table 2025\/26&#8221;: the 100 key figures&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4462444,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[255,292],"tags":[490,252,466,491,494,489,492,493],"class_list":["post-4462445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events-en","category-general","tag-amateurradio","tag-amsat-en","tag-cubesat-en","tag-newspace","tag-radio-amateurs","tag-space-policy","tag-space-travel","tag-stem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amsat-dl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4462445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amsat-dl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amsat-dl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amsat-dl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amsat-dl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4462445"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/amsat-dl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4462445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4462450,"href":"https:\/\/amsat-dl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4462445\/revisions\/4462450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amsat-dl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4462444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amsat-dl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4462445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amsat-dl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4462445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amsat-dl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4462445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}