Christine Callahan/Everett Collection
This is the career trajectory of Bridget Mendler, once a darling of the Mouse House. His extensive Disney Channel credits include: good luck charlie and Wizards of Waverly Placeis building a startup that she describes as a “data highway between Earth and space.”
Mendler, CEO of El Segundo-based startup Northwood Space, said his new company aims to mass produce ground stations, or teleporters, that connect to satellites in space.
“While space is getting easier in many dimensions, the actual task of sending and receiving data to and from space remains difficult,” Mendler told CNBC. “I’m having trouble finding an access point to connect to the satellite.”
After studying at MIT and Harvard Law School, Mendler said the idea for the company came to him while spending time with his family in New Hampshire during the pandemic. Northwood is the name of a local lake.
“While everyone else was making sourdough starters, we were building antennas out of random scraps we found at hardware stores and receiving data from… [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] It’s a satellite,” Mendler said. “For me, why the ground side is important is because it’s really bringing the effects of space back to people.”
Northwood, which Mendler is building with two former Lockheed Martin engineers, has already received about $6 million in initial funding. It is expected to connect to a spacecraft in orbit later this year.
Mendler, who is also a trained singer, played Teddy Duncan in the film. good luck charlie He also starred in a Disney Channel original movie. lemonade mouth. Her debut album “Hello, My Name Is…” was released in 2012.
