Photo courtesy of Friedoxygen via Flickr. Bridgit Mendler performing at SXSW 2017.
By Bella Delmonte ’27
Contributing Writer
Bridgit Mendler is widely known for her acting roles in shows like “Good Luck Charlie” and “Wizards of Waverly Place,” but the former Disney Channel star will now take on her latest role as CEO of a new space satellite startup called Northwood Space, CNBC reported.
CNBC explained that the startup aims to create more efficient methods of getting data to and from space, quoting Mendler’s vision of a “data highway” between Earth and space.
According to BBC News, while many of Mendler’s fellow Disney Channel alums have gone on to lead lives of mega-stardom, Mendler’s road to success has charted a completely different territory. Lately, her career, has been characterized by a prestigious collection of collegiate degrees.
Business Insider reported that in 2013, Mendler began pursuing a bachelor's degree in anthropology at the University of Southern California. She decided to pursue her master’s degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018, following time spent working in the institute’s media lab. According to the article, she has continued this educational journey by pursuing a PhD at MIT and a JD at Harvard Law School.
According to the article, amid her pursuit of higher education, her singing and acting careers have been on pause since 2017 and 2019, respectively.
Mendler told CNBC that the spark for Northwood Space ignited during the COVID-19 lockdown when she found herself building antennas from random materials. The idea was further crystallized by her time spent working with the Federal Communications Commission’s Space Bureau in 2022, where, as she told CNBC, she “completely fell in love with space law.”
Business Insider reported that Northwood Space aims to quickly produce and deploy satellite ground stations, which will make them more accessible to space companies. According to CNBC, satellite ground stations, which are typically large and circular antennas that connect to satellites in space, are crucial to facilitating the exchange of data between space and Earth.
“Space is getting easier along so many different dimensions, but still the actual exercise of sending data to and from space is difficult,” Mendler said in an interview with CNBC.
Forbes reported that Mendler’s startup is attempting to resolve this issue because, despite the growing number of satellites in space, ground architecture has hardly changed since the 1960s. This technological shortcoming makes it difficult to efficiently process the vast amount of information traveling to Earth from space, according to Forbes.
According to CNBC, it is challenging for space companies to find available ground stations. Therefore, Northwood Space aims to make these ground stations more accessible and provide services for satellites in low Earth orbit for companies that do not want to spend a lot of money building their own ground station networks, CNBC reported. The startup may allow space companies in need of ground stations to circumvent the significant cost of building and operating their own, CNBC explained.
Fans and news outlets alike have applauded Mendler’s remarkable academic and professional journey. According to BBC News, one fan on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote “she is Barbie,” describing the multi-talented celebrity. Mendler, who “changed career paths to pursue her dream” may even inspire other women to make “timely career pivots,” BBC News wrote, suggesting that Mendler may serve as a role model for women aspiring to pursue careers in science fields.
According to CNBC, Mendler’s startup plans to test its first satellite connection later this year. BBC News reported that Mendler has said, "We have a lot of work ahead of us, but that's the fun part."