Global MilSatCom 2023

Aaron Curtis

Air Commodore Adam Bone

Adam Bone enjoyed various postings and deployments as a junior officer. Tours included Ops Officer at the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre, numerous operational deployments as part of the Op VERITAS/TELIC Task Force and an exchange appointment with the Defence Intelligence Geospatial Organisation in Canberra. Before promoting to Sqn Ldr, Bone was posted to RAF Odiham as the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing IntO responsible to three enduring SF operations in Afghanistan and Iraq for which he was commended for meritorious service.

Following a tour as intelligence lead within the SF Cell at PJHQ, Bone commanded the PJHQ Op HERRICK J2 team. Subsequently he deployed to US CENTCOM, acting as the UK Counter Terrorism LO for the Senior British Military Advisor, before a thoroughly rewarding tour as a flight commander on 39 Sqn at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. On promotion to Wing Commander, Bone became senior J2 officer at the UK’s high-readiness JFHQ where he was intimately involved in tasks such as non-combatant evacuation operations in Africa and support to UK elements in Iraq. His tour culminated in leading the UK military team based out of the UK Embassy in Nigeria in the early stages of Op TURUS.

His next move was to the MOD in Whitehall as a member of the Air Staff Strategy team, where he was the principal staff officer for the RAF Strategy released in 2017. Before promoting to Group Captain, Bone was Officer Commanding the National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence (Analysis) at RAF Wyton. Bone then completed a tour as DACOS Air Intelligence and Information Warfare within 11Gp, before being selected to become Personal Staff Officer to the Chief of the Air Staff for a busy tour which included supporting CAS throughout Op PITTING and Op SCORPIUS.

Air Cdre Bone is now Head of Operations, Plans and Training at UK Space Command.

He is a Tedder Fellow and has a Masters in International Relations and Politics from Trinity Hall, the University of Cambridge, where he is an elected Bateman Fellow. Bone is also a graduate of the ACSC and holds two further post graduate degrees in Defence and Intelligence related topics.
 

Alastair East

Andy Rayner

 Andy Rayner joined Lockheed Martin in September 2016 as the International lead within the Military Space Line of Business. A UK national based in Denver, Colorado, he is responsible for International outreach for Military Space programmes which include Space-Based Early Warning (SBEW), Military Satellite Communications, Position Navigation and Timing (PNT) and Space Domain Awareness (SDA).

Barry Austin

Barry Austin joined the Ministry of Defence in 1984, with the expectation that it would be a short term appointment until something better came along. Having started work in the Central Accounting and Finance Teams, he was subsequently promoted to Executive Officer (Information Technology) and posted to the IT development team responsible for designing and implementing MOD’s New Management Strategy (NMS) – which oversaw the introduction of the TLB approach to managing Defence. Subsequent postings in IT Project Management took him to Worcester and then RAF Henlow where he became the Data and Integration Manager for the RAF’s enterprise Logistics Information system. Having gone through the Defence Finance Accountancy Training Scheme, he felt it was time to return to his core financial roots and was posted to HMNB Clyde as the Finance and Business Manager for the Facilities and Naval Base Design Authority Directorate. This then led to a return to the Air Environment where he became the Financial Planning manager for the Equipment Support Programme within the Defence Logistics Organisations. Having heard the plaintiff cries of IT once again, he returned to the world of Logistics Information Systems. Initially as the Business and Transformation Manager within the Logistics Applications Project Team and after successfully completing the MOD Assessment Centre he became the Assistant Head of the newly created Logistics Networked Enabled Capability (Log NEC) Team. Having navigated the team through Main Gate approval for the Future Logistics Information Services (FLIS) partnership, he was promoted to Deputy Head of Log NEC with responsibility for Programme and Performance Management. Having commuted between Somerset and Abbey Wood for several years, he seized on the opportunity to become the Deputy Team Leader for the Networks Delivery Team within the Information Systems and Services (ISS) organisation. In 2017 he became the acting Team Leader on temporary promotion to the Senior Civil Service and was subsequently appointed as the SKYNET 6 Acquisition Programme Manager in August In January 2019, the MOD decided to join together the SKYNET 5 In-Service Delivery Programme and the SKYNET 6 Acquisition Programme to create a unified SATCOM Programme within ISS, which he now leads. In his spare time, he likes to read history, travel and avoid anything too strenuous. In addition, he continues to wonder whether the Civil Service will provide a meaningful and long term career.

Betty Bonnardel-Azzarelli

Betty is the chair of the UK chapter of the Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) and a founding member of WOMENVAI. She holds two Master of Science degrees in Aeronautical and Space Engineering, and a Master of Business Administration. A Fellow and Chartered engineer, Betty is a recipient of a British MBE for her activities in STEM and diversity.

Blake Bullock

 Blake Bullock is the vice president for the Communication Systems business unit within the Strategic Space Systems division of Northrop 

Brigadier Frederico Casarino

Brigadier Frederico CASARINO graduated from the Brazilian Air Force Academy in 1994.

Brigadier General Davide Cipelletti

Brig. Gen. Davide Cipelletti joined the Italian Air Force Academy In 1991. 

Brigadier General Steven Butow

 Steve “Bucky” Butow is the Director of the Space Portfolio at the  Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). He joined the team in 2015 as an early plank owner when DIU was known as the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) and helped establish the organization’s operating locations in Silicon Valley, California; Boston, Massachusetts; and Austin, Texas.

Captain (N) Jose Freitas

Captain (N), José Matias de Freitas (male) is a Navy Officer Commander graduated by the Naval Academy as a Weapons and Electronics Engineer. He served on board of various Portuguese navy war ships as a Weapon Engineer Officer (WEO) responsible for the performance and availability of the on-board weapons, sensors, Command Support Information Systems, combat, and communications systems. As Senior Engineer Officer supported the Executive Officer in resources management and information systems administration Ship Domain Administrator for IT. He was head of Weapon Systems Office for the Weapon and Electronic Systems Department at the Portuguese Navy - Technical Navy School and head of Communications and Cypher Department at Naval Communications Centre, being responsible for the transformation process in the naval communications infrastructures and implementation of main data center. After being deputy Director at Portuguese Navy IT and Communications Directorate, he was appointed as head of Planning and Programing Division, at the Portuguese MoD Directorate-General of National Defence Resources, since 2015 where he has been responsible for the coordination, monitoring and execution of Military Programming Law in the Armed Forces among other responsibilities, which includes the coordination of the implementing process of the Portuguese SST capability. Member of the EU-SST Steering Committee and PMO. He is the MoD representative at international forum, within UE, EDA, and NATO for the Space Domain (SATCOM, SST/SSA)

Captain (RN) Phil Coope

Phil joined the Royal Navy in 1993 having graduated from the University of Liverpool in Electronics and Communication Engineering. Twenty-eight years later he was delighted to accept the role of Deputy Head Space at UK Strategic Command, leading the Capability Development of Satellite Communications (SATCOM) and Position Navigation and Time. This is his second assignment in the Space Sector having previously worked as and Capability Manager for SATCOM and Programme Manager for Skynet 6.

Charlotte Gerhart

Ms. Charlotte Gerhart is the Chief, Tactical SATCOM Acquisition Delta, Military Communications and Position, Navigation, and Timing (MilComm & PNT) Directorate, Space Systems Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base (LAAFB), CA. She is responsible for the acquisition, production, and fielding of tactical satellite communications capabilities for the Nation’s warfighters.

Chris Moore

 Chris is OneWeb’s Vice President for International Government and Trade Engagement and Chief Information Security Officer.  He retired from the Royal Air Force as a 2* Air Vice-Marshal in 2021, after serving in the British military for over 30 years. He has been involved with most major military campaigns over his career, including deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq and the Broader Middle East and has enjoyed an incredibly diverse career spanning satellite operations, special projects, supporting the Hercules C130 and Chinook CH47 Forces, the Directorate of Special Forces and capability procurement in the Ministry of Defence.  He has also had the rare privilege of commanding military forces at every rank up to and including 2 Star.  In recent years he was the Commanding Officer of 90 Signals Unit, the RAF’s de-facto Chief Information Officer/Force Commander and Head of UK Defence’s global IT, network and defensive cyber operations.  In his last role he was Director Operations for the Defence Digital Operations HQ, where he was responsible for the operational planning, execution and multi-domain integration of MOD’s £3Bn pa core networks, defensive cyber, electro-magnetic spectrum and satellite operations globally. He also managed Defence’s cryptographic services and other more discrete capabilities. He is also a graduate of Defence’s Advanced and Higher Command and Staff Courses and was appointed CBE in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Outside of work he was a prominent Rugby Union player, having represented England at various junior levels, a professional player for Bristol in the 1990s and represented the RAF and Combined Services on many occasions. He has retired from playing rugby on multiple occasions, loves to experience life at the more adventurous end of the spectrum and has an unrivalled appreciation of Guinness!

Christopher Johnson

Christopher Johnson is the Space Law Advisor at the Secure World Foundation, and a Professor of Law (Adjunct) at the Georgetown University Law Center where he co-teaches the Space Law Seminar. He is also a Faculty Member at the International Space University and a Member of the International Institute of Space Law. Mr. Johnson has written widely on space law and policy issues, and represents the Secure World Foundation at the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). 

Colonel (Ret'd) Jennifer Krolikowski

Colonel (ret) Jennifer Krolikowski most recently served as the Chief Information Officer for Space Systems Command, the acquisition arm of the United States Space Force.  In her first assignment, she served as a project engineer in the Manufacturing Technology Directorate at Wright Labs.  After receiving a Master’s in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, Jennifer was assigned to the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron and accumulated 50+ flying hours in the B-52.  She moved to the GPS Joint Program Office where duties included Executive Officer; Branch Chief, GPS III Acquisitions; and Air Force Program Executive Office’s GPS Staff Director.  Col Krolikowski taught at the National Security Space Institute and became their Deputy Director for Mission Support.  At HQ Air Force Space Command, she served as Chief, Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Requirements.  After graduating Air Command and Staff College, Jen consecutively worked as the Tactical Data Network Program Element Monitor; Deputy, Command and Control Division; and Chief, Executive Action Group under the Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisitions.  She commanded as Materiel Leader of an ACAT I program, Base IT Infrastructure.  Upon graduating Air War College with her third Master’s degree, Col Krolikowski became Branch Chief, Integrated Air and Missile Defense Global Requirements on Joint Staff.  She then promoted to Military Assistant for DASD/Space, Strategic, and Intelligence Systems, Office of the Secretary of Defense.  She commanded as Senior Materiel Leader for Space C2, establishing the USSF’s premier software factory, Kobayashi Maru.

Colonel (Ret'd) Krzysztof Cybulski

• Over 32 years working experience in different military units, mainly CIS area of expertise
• Graduated from High Military Communications School Zegrze, University of Szczecin and National Defence Univeristy in Warsaw
• Deputy Commander, NCSA Sector Brunssum, The Netherlands
• CJ6 Chief, ISAF HQ, Kabul Afghanistan
• General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, J6 Directorate
• Head of TDL & NAVSTAR GPS Office
• Past member of the PT CIS and PT NEC (EDA)
• Leading and managing CIS/SATCOM projects within the PAF  
• Vice Chairman PAMG GOVSATCOM Pooling & Sharing Demo (EDA)
• Member of PT SATCOM (EDA), EU SATCOM Market Project  (EDA), NATO SATCOM CaT

Colonel Clifford White

 COL White is a senior satellite engineer serving with the Australian Military for over 20 years and Commercial Satellite Industry. He has deployed on several operations and recently returned with the last Australian contingent in Afghanistan. COL White recently joined the newly formed Defence Space Command being selected to lead the Australian Defence Force SATCOM capabilities.

COL White is a soldier at heart and understands the war fighter. His passion is to reshape the Australia Defence Force with the most modern telecommunications systems to increases the already effective Australian war fighter. He has successfully delivered several major telecommunications projects including Joint Project 2072 2B, ahead of schedule and budget delivering a fully integrated software defined network for the tactical environment. He has also delivered Australia’s first satellite on move capability integrated with the Bushmaster PMV.  

Colonel David Pheasant

Col. David A. Pheasant is the commander of Space Delta 8. DEL 8 is mission-focused encompassing Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) and Satellite Communications (SATCOM).

Colonel Pat Beath

Colonel Patrick (Pat) Beath was born in Singapore, enlisting in the New Zealand Army in July 1991 as an Officer Cadet. After graduating he was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals (RNZSigs).

Colonel Beath is the Strategic J6 within Headquarters, New Zealand Defence Force. He has undertaken a number of deployments, command, and staff appointments, including:

• Factions Liaison Team Leader with the Royal Marines supporting 1st (UK) Armoured Division, Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• J62, Joint Forces New Zealand; ? UN Military Observer in East Timor (UNTAET);
• UN Team Operations Officer in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL);
• Battle Captain in the J2S Branch, 10th Mountain Division for OP ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan;
• GSO2 Electronic Warfare, Army General Staff;
• Military Support Officer, All Source/Fusion Cell, OP WATEA Afghanistan;
• Deputy Commander, Combined Task Force 635, Solomon Islands;
• J57, Joint Forces New Zealand
• C4 Capability Manager, Capability Branch;
• Commanding Officer, 1st New Zealand Signal Regiment, 1 (NZ) Brigade;
• Deputy Director, ICT Operations, CIS Branch, HQNZDF;
•  Army G6/Director CIS (Land);
• Director Operations (Networks and Cyber); and
• International Fellow, National Defense University, Washington DC. 

Colonel Simon Kim

 Educational Experience

• 1996~2000 : B.A. ROK Air Force Academy(Physics)
• 2010~2012 : M.A. Yonsei University(Electronic Engineering)
• 2017~2020 : PhD. University of Science and Technology (Space Science)

Research Experience

• - 2014~2015 : Researcher in Space Policy Institute, George Washington University
• 2018~2019 : Researcher in Space Environment Research Centre, Canberra, Australia

• 2015~2016 : Planning officer, Space Development Branch, ROK AF
• 2016~2017 : Space Strategy Officer, Space Development Branch, ROK AF
• 2021~2022 : Space Strategy, System Development Officer, Military Space Branch, ROK JC

Confirmed Representative

Confirmed Representative

Cordell DeLaPena

 Mr. Cordell DeLaPena is the Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Military Communications (MilComm) & Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT), Space Systems Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. As the PEO, he manages and oversees development, production, delivery, and maintenance of critical and innovative Communications and PNT systems worth more than $22.3 billion. He is responsible for multiservice, multinational systems, as well as the training and equipping of more than 1800 military and civilian personnel.

CWO5 Rilin Desamours

CWO5 Rilin “Phil” Desamours, a native of Nyack, New York, graduated from Miami Edison Senior high school, June 2001. Enlisted July 2001, and was assigned a primary Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) of Field Radio Operator. Subsequently attained multiple follow-on MOS, Multi-Channel Radio Operator, SATCOM, Advanced Extremely High Frequency Systems Operator and Forward Observer. He was appointed to Warrant Officer February 2011, and commissioned in August 2012. He is a graduate of Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School and Command and Staff College. He possesses a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems Management from UMUC, an MBA from New England and Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering Management from the Naval Post Graduate School Monterey CA. 

Cy Keogh

 Cy, has been designing and delivering Supply Chain programmes since 2008, for major firms in the Middle East whilst he was a visiting lecturer for an International College in Abu Dhabi. He was the owner manager of a tier 2 automotive components supplier and has 30 years’ industrial experience designing and delivering value-driven supplier improvement programmes. He was instrumental in developing the MTC’s Supplier Capability & Resilience Assessment (SCRA) tool, which has been used in 200 UK companies, in the Rail, Aerospace, Digital, & Space sectors. He is a regular panelist and speaker at conferences on space supply chains. Current supply chain assignments include Space-based Solar Power, Cybersecurity, Clean Energy Shipbuilding, Rail and Aerospace Defence.  He has published work on supply chain readiness, space supply chains, and entrepreneurship.

Daniel Gizinski

Daniel Gizinski was named Chief Strategy Officer in December 2022. Previously he held various senior management positions at Comtech, including President of Comtech Satellite Networks Technologies, Inc. and Vice President of Product and Strategy for Comtech Systems Inc. Prior to joining Comtech in 2019, Daniel held program management and leadership roles at General Electric, Sierra Nevada Corporation, and L3Harris Technologies. Daniel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia and a Master’s degree from Duke University.

Dave Brunnenmeyer

David Chinn

David Chinn is a career civil servant in the MoD who started his professional life working on experimental ejection seats at RAE Farnborough, after studying Engineering at Durham University.

He has had various postings in the UK and overseas, amongst other things working on Tornado, Typhoon and F-35. He is currently the MoD FCAS Technology Programme Manager. He has worked in NATO and EU agencies and completed advanced NATO and French military staff courses.

He is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the RAeS, a Fellow of the IET and a member of the British Interplanetary Society, as well as a member, of the Association for Project Management. He has been active in the Society for many years and has helped establish and run several branches as well as supporting Specialist Groups. He has previously been a Trustee of the Society, a Trustee of the Confederation of European Aerospace Societies and has been a member of the Council for several years.

He is an active power and glider pilot.

David Dean

I am a Chief Systems Engineer with over 37 years of experience in the Defence and Security Environment, which has included MOD PE, DERA and QinetiQ.

I joined Dstl in 2004 and I have been an Operational Analyst, systems engineer and consultant. I was the Theme Advisor for Combat Identification and currently work in the Cyber and Information Systems Division as the Principal Advisor for MilSatCom within the Dstl Space Programme.

My current role includes leading national and international research activities, and providing support to the UK Skynet 6 programme and Space Command.

My main areas of interest include Space Hybrid Networks, future MilSatCom bearers, secure waveforms and space platform protection, and space industrial policy.

I was born in Romford, Essex; have degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Systems Engineering and am a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology.

David Phillips

 David is an experienced executive with over 25 years working in the defence and space sectors. He is currently UK Head of Telecom and Navigation Satellites Programmes at Airbus, and a member of the Telecom Satellites Business Management Board. David is responsible for business development and business delivery in the UK, including the team leading design and delivery of the space segment for the latest UK milsatcom programme.

Deanna Ryals

Ms. Deanna L. Ryals is the Director, International Affairs, Space Systems Command, Los Angeles AFB, CA. In this role, she is responsible for driving innovative partnerships with Allies, InterAgencies, and Industry to build a joint robust and resilient military space enterprise that is “Allied by Design”. Ms. Ryals is the USSF lead in developing and executing space FMS and shapes the use of armaments cooperation to set the conditions for an allied inclusive space architecture in accordance with Department and Service strategic guidance.

Ms. Ryals entered federal government service in 1988, and for more than 25 years, she supported the DoD in both civil service and industry in financial management and acquisition. In 2000, Ms. Ryals moved to the Secretary of the Air Force staff in the Space Acquisition Directorate and managed a MILSATCOM terminal portfolio worth $10B, then took over as the single SAF/AQS focal point for international activities. In 2012, Ms. Ryals moved to the Air Force Program Executive Officer for Space Launch (AFPEO/SL) as the PM for Acquisition Strategy development and secured DoD Acquisition Executive approval of a new acquisition strategy for future DoD NSS launches that introduced a competitive environment for all certified U.S. launch service providers. Ms. Ryals rejoined MILSATCOM in January 2013 with her transition to Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC). After being named SMC’s Chief Partnership Officer in 2018, Ms. Ryals ascended to her current role as Director, Int’l Affairs with the stand up of Space Systems Command in August of 2021.

Dr Brendan S. Mulvaney

Dr. Brendan Mulvaney is currently the Director of the China Aerospace Studies Institute at National Defense University. He was a Marine for a quarter of a century, where he flew more than 2000 hours as an AH-1W Cobra pilot, and was an Olmsted Scholar in Shanghai, China.  

Dr Chiara Palla

Dr Chiara Palla has been working as Project Manager at MDA UK since February 2020. She currently manages multiple projects focusing on the design and development of space sensors for exploration and on-orbit servicing missions, space-based communication technology and photonics payload. Her day-to-day job involves interactions with diverse teams, international space agencies, commercial customers and suppliers to ensure the programs are timely delivered.

Dr James Blake

Dr James Blake is a Research Fellow at the University of Warwick’s Centre for Space Domain Awareness. His research focuses on the use of optical telescopes to detect and characterise orbital debris. James has led several international efforts to probe the faint debris population at geosynchronous altitudes, in collaboration with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, making use of large aperture telescopes across the globe, including the Isaac Newton Telescope in La Palma, the SkyMapper Telescope in Australia, and JAXA facilities in Japan. His other interests include the optimisation of sensor architectures for space domain awareness activities and the application of event-based sensing to space surveillance and tracking.

Dr Joanna Hart

Joanna thrives on bringing people together to address complex challenges and deliver change. The Space Partnership equally represents industry, academia and government, enabling shared priorities to identified and collective action agreed so that the ambition contained within the National Space Strategy. Director is delivered. Joanna started in the role in March 2023 after nine years working across the space and innovation ecosystems, first at the Satellite Applications Catapult and then at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC, part of UK Research and Innovation). 

Dr Junayd Miah

Dr Junayd Miah is a widely recognised UK space subject matter expert, having led the development and delivery of several critical space and ground segment capabilities for the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD). This includes leading the development of a £145 million, game-changing space programme for space-based Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), demonstrating the UK government operating satellites for the first time in over 17 years, and helping deliver two satellite missions for R&D purposes, CIRCE and Prometheus-2 respectively. He currently serves as Science Adviser for UK Space Command to direct investment towards beneficial technologies for future space operations.

Dr Mamatha Maheshwarappa

 Dr Mamatha Maheshwarappa is Payload Systems Lead at the UK Space Agency (UKSA). She provides technical leadership on various UKSA programmes and projects, by offering technical oversight/assurance. Also, the technical lead on UKSA’s initiative on Space Based Solar Power (SBSP). Before this, she was the technical lead on SPEQTRE (Space Photon Entanglement Quantum Technology Readiness Experiment) satellite project and has worked on ESA's Sentinel 4 & 5 test campaigns at RAL Space. Mamatha has worked on transceivers for ExoMars and Lunar Polar Sample Return projects while at QinetiQ. She has a PhD in Software Defined Radios for Multi-Satellite Communications from the University of Surrey, UK. She was the technical lead for STUDSAT-1, India’s first pico-satellite, launched by Indian Space Research Organisation, listed in the Limca Book of Records. Mamatha is the co-chair of the Women in Aerospace UK committee representing UKSA.  

Dr Omid Sotoudeh

Dr. Sotoudeh received his PhD from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg within satellite antenna design in 2005 and worked as research engineer, tech lead and engineering manager at Sony Ericsson, Rockwell Collins and Saab Dynamics. In 2009 he started the company ReQuTech which develops the latest within satcom and radar antenna systems. Sotoudeh has several patents within the antenna design and characterization and measurement field. Dr. Sotoudeh has been the supervisor for several PhD students and Master Thesis students and reviewer of IEEE transactions on antennas and propagation.

Dr Rajeev Gopal

Dr. Gopal is Vice President, Advanced Systems and is responsible for resilient communications, LEO, 5G, HTS, AI/ML and cyber areas within Hughes Defense.  He was on the system design team of the OneWeb LEO broadband network using 4G/5G and IP network technologies. He earlier served as Network System Engineering lead for Transformational Satellite (TSAT) space segment (with onboard layer 3 packet processing) and was a lead architect for SPACEWAY® 3 (with onboard L2 processing) system, and worked on Mobile Satellite systems (Thuraya, ICO, LEO Teledesic) development teams. He was the chief architect and software manager for the SPACEWAY, a $1.8B development, Network Operations Control Center.

Dr. Gopal serves on the editorial board of Wiley’s  International Journal of Satellite Communications and Networking (IJSCN) and is member of IEEE 5G World Forum, AIAA  Communication Systems Technical Committee, and AIAA ICSSC technical program committee.  He was a member of the FCC Cyber Security working group in 2010-2011. He contributed for the DHS National Communications Sector Risk assessment report in 2011-2012. As a member of the US President’s NSTAC Satellite Task Force 2009, he co-authored the report on commercial satellite communications and cyber security. He has served on program committees including IEEE Globecom SAC, SPIE, and IEEE SIMA and has been on SIA, AIAA/ICSSC, MILCOM, Global VSAT Forum, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) panels. Earlier, he architected drug screening and laboratory automation systems for NIH with IP networking, interactive distributed computing, and robotics technologies and founded a bioinformatics company.

Dr. Gopal has published more than 40 technical papers on topics ranging from space, 5G, software, AI/ML, network management, and life sciences, and holds 11 patents on satellite/communications systems.

Dr Robert Massey

Dr Robert Massey is Deputy Executive Director of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Dr. Natasha Nicholson

Natasha is the founding director and lead consultant of Star Helix Ltd. She has a PhD in Astrobiology from the University of Edinburgh, where she worked on an ESA mission for the International Space Station, looking at biofilm formation and biomining in altered gravity environments, specifically for In-Situ Resource Utilisation. During this time she worked with different European universities, lead a research mission on a parabolic flight campaign, and designed outreach activities that were delivered to schools across the UK, including a short film of astronaut Tim Peake aboard the ISS, reading a speech written by Natasha.

She has a BA(hons) in Literature where she compared Indian and African literature during and after colonisation, and an MSc in Environmental Science and Conservation, looking at tardigrade resistance to heavy metals. Her professional career has taken the learnings from her multidisciplinary experience and applied them to working across industry, academia and government agencies, and linking the Space, Health, Energy, Robotics, Sustainable Manufacturing, Photonics, FinTech, AgriTech, and Biotechnology technology sectors.

She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Commerce, and Manufacturings.

Eric Brown

Eric Brown is the Vice President of Advanced Program Development for Lockheed Martin’s Military Space business, working with the U.S. Government and its allies to develop space solutions with a particular focus on the following mission areas: missile warning and defense; military satellite communications (MILSATCOM); position, navigation, timing (PNT); space control; space domain awareness; and tactical integration. Mr. Brown leads Lockheed Martin’s developmental efforts from architectural design through research & development and ultimately defining operational warfighting capabilities. He oversees the coordination of company’s investments in future capabilities with those of teammates in industry, academia, research labs, and the U.S. Government to establish new architectures responsive to emerging threats to space and missions. Based on the criticality of space to today’s global security, Mr. Brown coordinates the space enablement across Lockheed Martin’s complete portfolio, which includes fighter aircraft, missiles and mission systems, to provide warfighters the tools needed to sustain US and allied operational advantage.

Esteban Menargues

Esteban Menargues (born in 1986, in Alicant, Spain) joined SWISSto12 in 2015 to develop RF components and Antennas using Additive Manufacturing. He currently leads the development of products for Space Satcom, Ground Satcom or Surveillance applications.

Flight Lieutenant Adam Weaver

 Flt Lt Adam Weaver has been in the RAF for 10 years. Prior to commissioning he was a Trade Group 4 Cyberspace Technician, working at RAF Brize Norton within Mission Support Team and A400M Ground Support Systems. Upon completion of Officer and Phase 2 training in 2020, he was posted back to RAF Brize Norton as Officer Commanding Information System Flight, taking command of 45 military and civilian pers. 

Freya de Santis

Freya began her career as a Civil Engineer in North London but subsequently transferred to Defence Intelligence. She joined the National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence as an Imagery Analyst graduating from the Defence Imagery Intelligence Course. She was fortunate to spend the majority of her time in the Critical National Infrastructure mission team, where she was able to put her expertise into practise, most notably on support to several Non-combatant Evacuation Operations as well as CSG21 and OP SCORPIOUS.

She was promoted into Intelligence Support to Targeting Effects as a Target Systems Analyst. In her role she was responsible for the production of Target Development Nominations across a range of thematic areas. She began 2023 by supporting the UK targeting enterprise capability development, assisting in the designing and delivery of a UK sovereign Target Systems Analysis course.

In her current role Freya is the International Partnering Lead for UK Strategic Command Space Capability Planning Group. She manages the International Portfolio by developing bi-lateral and multilateral agreements, as well as engaging with a range of partners and allies to drive forward the UK’s international by design principles in SATCOM and PNT.
 

Group Captain John Hetherington

Group Captain Hetherington completed his first tour as Officer Commanding General Duties Flight at RAF Wittering in 1999. He then took up a position as a Flight Commander on Recruit Training Squadron at RAF Halton. Subsequent tours as a junior officer included: Officer Commanding Works Services Flight at RAF Lyneham, followed by a staff tour as the military representative on the MOD Estates London project and at RAF Northolt as Officer Commanding Personnel Services Flight. He followed this with a tour at HQ Air Command in Air Personnel Casework before a short stint staffing Employment Tribunals for the RAF.

Hetherington was promoted to Squadron Leader in March 2010. Tours as a sqn ldr included Station Plans Officer at RAF Northolt, Officer Commanding Personnel Management Squadron at RAF Wittering and Chief of Staff to ACOS Personnel Policy at HQ Air Command.

In 2016 he was promoted to wing commander; he completed Advanced Command and Staff training in 2017 before being posted to MOD Main Building as SO1 Infrastructure Capability Plans. This role involved supporting Ministerial announcements in Parliament, briefing, and supporting Minister Defence People, Veterans and as the sole military staff office on the Defence Estates Optimisation project. He was assigned to be Officer Commander Base Support Wing at RAF Brize Norton in 2019 during which he supported the continued operations of the Air Mobility force during the COVID-19 pandemic and the evacuation of personnel from Afghanistan. Following a short tour as a wing commander in UK Space Command, he was promoted to Group Captain in 2022 and remined at the Command as Deputy Head Space Enablement.

His first operational overseas deployment was on Op RESONATE (SOUTH) in Saudi Arabia in early 2002 as the SO3 J1. In 2003, Hetherington deployed on Op TELIC with 102 Logistic Bd as SO3 Prisoner of War handling. His most recent deployment was in 2014 when he deployed to Camp Bastion in Afghanistan on Op HERRICK as SO2 Contract Support Officer in Joint Force Support.

He is married to Sarah, and they have 3 children: Annabel (1), William (15) and Joseph (10) Hetherington’s interests out of work focus primarily on football and history. He is a Director at the RAF Football Association, and is also a Trustee of St Clement Danes, the Central Church of the Royal Air Force.

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8 NOVEMBER 2023
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
SAE MEDIA GROUP'S 25TH ANNUAL GLOBAL MILSATCOM

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EVENT DETAILS:
OVERVIEW
PROGRAMME
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WORKSHOP PROGRAMME
13:00 REGISTRATION & COFFEE
13:50 CHAIR'S OPENING REMARKS
Dr Joanna Hart
Dr Joanna Hart, Director, Space Partnership
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14:00 WHY SPACE – EXPLORING THE LANDSCAPE AND HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
Professor Anu Ojha OBE
Professor Anu Ojha OBE, Director for Engagement, International and Inspiration, UK Space Agency

14:20 HORIZONS WITHOUT LIMITS: EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES AND UNLIMITED GLOBAL POSSIBILITIES
Dr Mamatha Meheshwarappa
Dr Mamatha Meheshwarappa, Co-lead, Women in Aerospace Europe - UK
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14:40 WHY IS DEFENCE INTEGRAL TO SPACE?
Air Vice-Marshall Paul Godfrey
Air Vice-Marshall Paul Godfrey, Commander, UK Space Command
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15:00 PANEL DISCUSSION: WHAT YOUR DEGREE DOESN'T PREPARE YOU FOR
Dr Joanna Hart
Dr Joanna Hart, Director, Space Partnership
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Dr Chiara Palla
Dr Chiara Palla, Co-lead, Women in Aerospace Europe - UK
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Professor Joanne Wheeler
Professor Joanne Wheeler, Founder, Satellite Finance Network

Miss Holly Whitehouse
Miss Holly Whitehouse, Chair, UKSEDS
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15:20 EXTENDED Q&A: CAREERS BEYOND THE COCKPIT
Group Captain John Hetherington
Group Captain John Hetherington, Deputy Head Space Enablement, UK Space Command
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Kathie Bowden
Kathie Bowden, Skills Manager, Satellite Applications Catapult Ltd
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Mr Joseph Dudley
Mr Joseph Dudley, Director and Co-Founder, Space Skills Alliance
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Ms Nimmi Patel
Ms Nimmi Patel, Head of Skills, Talent, and Diversity, Tech UK
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Mr Peter Trussell
Mr Peter Trussell, Skills for Space Lead, UK Space Agency
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15:50 VISIT TO MAIN CONFERENCE & AFTERNOON COFFEE
16:20 MAKING A SUCCESS OF THE GRADUATE JOB SEARCH

Hermann Ludwig Moeller

 As Director of the European Space Policy Institute, Hermann Ludwig Moeller is leading ESPI as the independent European think-tank for space to provide recommendations, policy options and forward vision to decision makers on issues relevant to Europe’s space activities. Former positions include Head of Strategy, Programme and Transformation at ESA’s Telecommunications and Integrated Applications Directorate. Previously, he held management positions at ESA with the Copernicus Earth Observation Programme of the European Union, as fellow at NASA and as a pioneer of the Internet in Europe.

Holger Krag

Holger Krag acquired his master in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Braunschweig, followed by a 4 year research period at the Institute of Aerospace System where he focussed on space debris modelling and surveillance, which also became the topic of his PhD (2003). He is today the Head of the Space Safety Programme in the Directorate of Operations, ESA-ESOC, in Darmstadt, Germany. He joined ESA as an Analysist in the Space Debris Office. He worked on establishing risk models and an operational collision avoidance system and contributed to first space surveillance studies. In 2014, he took the position of the Head of the Space Debris Office, which, among others, provided fundamental support to ESA’s Space Situational Awareness Programme. In 2019, he took over the position as the head of the programme and prepared the evolution into the new Space Safety Programme which was established at the Space19+ Ministerial. His current duties comprise the implementation of the Programme, in close coordination with participating States, managing the resources delegated to the Programme Office, including staff, budgets, industrial contracts and legal agreements in the areas of Space Weather, Space Debris, Planetary Defence, Cleanspace and Frequency Management, and ESA representation on debris matters at relevant international bodies (IADC, UNCOPUOS,…).

Holger Lueschow

Holly Bertrand

Holly Whitehouse

Holly is an Aerospace Engineer for the scientific consultancy Fluid Gravity Engineering Ltd, specialising in atmospheric re-entry, spacecraft demise and reusable launch vehicles. Graduating with an MEng in Aeronautical Engineering from Durham University in July 2021, she has since worked on several projects for the European Space Agency. Passionate about helping students find a career in the space industry, Holly has volunteered for UKSEDS since May 2021. Last November she was nominated as a finalist for the BIS Sir Arthur Clarke Education and Outreach Award for her work leading UKSEDS Competitions. She is the current UKSEDS Chair for 2023-24.

Ian Eishen

 Ian Eishen is the Director of Global Public Sector for Aalyria Technologies, a Presidential Leadership Fellow, andspent 23 years working in the Intelligence and Special Operations communities. He spent the last and three years developing emerging technology, talent management, and innovation strategy for the militaries of the United States, United Kingdom and France and has spent the last five years working with multiple venture capital firms to identify and scale defense-related startups in order to benefit the United States Government and local community. He was a Principle Investigator in a DARPA-led program to use artificial intelligence and wearable technologies to predict the flu and covid-19, 48 hours before symptoms were present, and was an advisor to the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center and Defense Innovation Board.

Jacob Smith

Jacob is a Director of SpaceCareers.uk, a non-profit organisation supporting students and professionals throughout their careers in the space sector. He is also the founder of SpaceProjects.uk and a former Chair of UKSEDS. Jacob works for the Space Partnership as Space Partnership Lead, following roles at ESA Academy at SSTL.

Jamal Hamid

Joanne Oliver

 As Business Engagement Lead for the Satellite Applications Catapult, Joanne engages with SMEs both inside and outside the UK space sector to understand how the Catapult can best support business innovation and growth in space data and technology. She hosts numerous successful events such as Satuccino and connects businesses together within the UK space ecosystem. Analytical, inquisitive and adventurous; Joanne has a background in business and psychology. Extramurally, she is also working on the redevelopment and commercialisation of SpaceCareers.uk. Always passionate about helping others find their place in the space industry, Joanne is identifying how SpaceCareers.uk can support the sector for decades to come!

Joe Apa

 Joe Apa has more than 30 years of sales experience in the satellite and maritime industries, and had several management positions both at the Satellite Operator and Satellite Re-seller level. This has included roles as SVP Maritime Sales both with Inmarsat and Speedcast. 

John Anglin

Mr. John Anglin serves as the Chief Engineer and Techncial Management Division Chief for Project Manger Tactical Network (PM TN), assigned to the Program Executive Office Comand, Control, Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T). In this position he is responsible for the system-of-systems modernization, engineering, design, integration, and interoperability of the Army’s tactical network as part of a unified network battlespace. He directly supervises almost a dozen civilian employees and manages over 200 engineering staff from various disciplines. With over 20 years of experience as civilian and as a Soldier in the tactical Army, Mr. Anglin provides expert advice, guidance and assistance to both senior management and stakeholders concerning all aspects of the Army’s Tactical Network

John Finney

 John is a satellite and telecoms industry veteran with over $2 billion in new revenue creation directly attributed to his leadership, he pioneered significant success for start-ups Huawei (founded Huawei in Europe) and O3b (founding employee and Chief Commercial Officer) along with other major leadership roles such as global business unit leader for Alcatel-Lucent. John has been identified as a Top 40 Executive by Global Telecoms Business three years in successi

Jorge Afonso Pereira

Jorge Pereira is EUROCONTROL Organisation Official Since June 2002, presently assigned as the Head of Civil-Military Communications, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) and Security Unit within the Civil-Military Cooperation Division (CMC). Before EUROCONTROL, between 1981 and 2002, serving at the Portuguese Air Force (PoAF), 

Joseph Dudley

Joseph is director of the Space Skills Alliance, a think-tank and consultancy working to address the skills shortages in the space sector. He has more than 10 years' experience working in space education and skills, and has been recognised with several space sector awards and an award from Prime Minister Theresa May.

He is the author of many articles and reports on skills, training, recruitment, and demographics in the UK space sector, as well as the Space Training Catalogue, a directory space training opportunities, and SpaceCRAFT, a space competencies framework. He previously founded SpaceCareers.uk, a leading space jobs website, and chaired UKSEDS, the national student space society.

Katherine Courtney

Katherine is a non-executive director, strategic advisor, and former CEO of the UK Space Agency. She chairs the Global Network on Sustainability in Space – which brings together scientists, industry leaders and policy makers in partnership to tackle the rising challenges of space debris and congestion.

Kathie Bowden

 Kathie is the Skills Manager for the Satellite Applications Catapult, which she joined from the UK Space Agency. She works with partners across the sector (in industry, academia and government) through her involvement with the Space Skills Advisory Panel. She has a geological and Earth observation background and has worked in all facets of the sector. She is passionate about ensuring that the sector is welcoming and truly inclusive. One of her initiatives, of which she is most proud, is the national Space Placements in INdustry (SPIN) scheme, connecting bright and motivated students with placements in companies and other space organisations.

Kevin Shaw

With over 3 decades serving in the Royal Navy, Kevin has amassed a wealth of joint and multinational experience in delivering communications and information systems for the most challenged of users and platforms. With specialist experience in a range of space-based technologies through leading research and development, he has continued to enjoy delivering space-based solutions to various military challenges through the fast-paced military operations of the last two decades, finishing his full time service as Commanding Officer of Northwood HQ.

Kit Lee

Kitluen has spent more than 20 years developing and manufacturing critical system products for many OEMs, including shut-down systems for UK nuclear power stations, and shakers used for test campaigns on spacecraft, satellites and mars rovers. He has a wealth of experience in high quality build of high electro-mechanical assemblies for both commercial and military applications. Current involvement has been in de-orbiting technologies for Astroscale for Active Debris Removal as part of space sustainability. As High Value Manufacturing Catapult Business Advisor he is helping all size of businesses to achieve increases in productivity, embrace innovation and develop sustainable practices.

Lieutenant Colonel Melanie Strodtman

Lieutenant Colonel Michael Macdonald

Lt Col Macdonald joined the Royal Marines in Feb 1999 and, on completion of recruit training, specialised as an RM Signaller, deploying with the 3 Commando Brigade HQ and Signals Squadron to Kosovo (Op AGRICOLA IV) and Afghanistan (Op JACANA).

Lieutenant Commander Alexis Mennesson

Lieutenant General (Ret'd) Andrew Gregory

Lieutenant General Elanor Boekholt-O'Sullivan

Lieutenant General Boekholt-O’Sullivan joined the Armed Forces in 1996 as an air force officer at the KMA, after which she worked at the Military Intelligence and Security Service, as a platoon commander at the Dutch Defence Academy and as a staff officer of the deputy commander of the Air Force. 

Lukas Nystrom

 Joining satellite terminal provider Satcube in 2017, Lukas has made the seamless transition from systems engineering to leading the development of Satcube's new line of user terminals. Much of this work is emphasized on antenna and RF subsystem R&D targeting low-cost solutions to enable global broadband. In 2022, he was appointed CTO, responsible for R&D of the company's new range of products including all aspects of system design, IPR strategy, resource allocation and project financing. Lukas holds Masters in Engineering Physics and in Accounting and Financial Management which enables him to act as a bridge between the two fields.

Major (Res.) Bart van den Einden

 After serving over 25 years in the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF), Bart van den Einden joined EUROCONTROL in the Civil – Military Cooperation Division in 2017. His domain of expertise covers the Ground/Ground and Aeronautical Satellite & Terrestrial Voice and Datalink Communications including Radio Frequency Spectrum management. He is member of the ICAO Communications Panel – Data Communications Infrastructure Working Group (former Aeronautical Communications Panel) and several EUROCAE groups drafting technical specifications for avionics. He was part of the EUROCONTROL team supporting the Horizon 2020 research activity on Air Traffic Management within SESAR2020 Solution 107 on Next Generation Satellite Communications and did support the European Commission Research Executive Agency on bid evaluations for Horizon 2020 SPACE-2019 ENTRUSTED (Governmental Satellite Communications). Bart is a veteran and is a RNLAF reserve officer (Major) with a background in Radar systems and Communications & Information Systems, and while still on active duty his assignments were with the NATO Allied Air Command, Ground based Air Defence systems, Defence Material Command and as staff Officer in the RNLAF Air Command. In his last assignment within C4ISR at RNLAF Air Command he was responsible for the introductions of the Satellite Communication capabilities for the Wing- and Squadron Operations at the RNLAF Rotary Wing Command. He was involved in the introduction for Satellite Communications for the RNLAF fleet of F-16s and initiated the engagement with the Netherlands Administration responsible for Radio Frequency Spectrum and slot allocations for satellites under responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: the first Netherlands Ministry of Defence owned and operated satellite, the BRIK-II was launched in 2021.

Major Aaron Russell

Major Aaron James Russell is a qualified and experienced Chartered Engineer. With over 22-years of experience in military telecommunications networks he now sits as the Operations lead for Land and Air customers. Additionally, he is a member of the team that reviews user requirements to design and deliver an End-to-End COMSAT/MILSAT solutions for customers in defence and across government for UK and global operations.

Prior to his current role Aaron was a Technical Officer Telecommunications, managing the design and delivery of globally deployable headquarters and their associated reach-back bearers. In his early career he spent time working in satellite ground terminal engineering, electronic warfare, and electronic countermeasures.

Additionally, Aaron is the Executive Committee Chair for The Institution of Engineering Technology’s Internet of Things Technical Network, a STEM Ambassador and Professional Registration Advisor.
 

Major General (Ret'd) Bill Robins

 Bill Robins led tactical communications in airborne, mechanized and armoured formations of the British Army. He commanded the Army’s Electronic Warfare Regiment in the early 80s during the Cold War, defined the requirement for the UK Government protected Crisis Management Centre and chaired the Management Board for the MOD/BT PFI programme for Defence Fixed Telecommunications. 

Major General Dr. Michael Färber

Major General Michel Sayegh

Major General Roberto Melgar Sheen

Makena Young

Makena Young is an associate fellow with the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Her research interests include international collaboration, space security, and orbital debris. Prior to joining CSIS, Ms. Young worked for the Federal Aviation Administration as an aerospace engineer, focusing on automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast certification and integration in small aircraft. She holds a B.S. in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue University with minors in international relations and environmental engineering.

Marke Clinger

 Marke Clinger is Director of Strategic Accounts within the Kratos Space Group, supporting Europe, Middle East, and Africa. In this role, he enables customers to embark on a digital transformation journey with their satellite ground capabilities. Leveraging his exceptional blend of technical expertise and business acumen, he navigates customers in the adoption of industry-standard, software-defined networks and architectures. This approach enhances the resilience of satellite ground operations and drives operational efficiencies—including dynamic and scalable satellite service infrastructures. As Director, Marke focuses on advancing strategic initiatives that facilitate interoperability across military and commercial ground space domains through the modernization of legacy space operations.

Michael Connell

Mike Connell currently serves as the Operations Manager, SATCOM Integrated Operations Division (SIOD). The SIOD is a geographically separated division of the Combined Space Operations Center.  Mr. Connell is responsible for managing Joint level SATCOM current operational integration for the DOD where he supervises the SATCOM Warfighter Operations Cell (SWOC).  This includes the SWOC Chief (SC) and the EMI Watch Officers (EWO). In addition to these tasks Mr. Connell is also assigned as a Special Security Representative, Information Assurance Security Officer, Organization Defense Travel Administrator for CSpOC, and Cyber Security Liaison. 

Michael Nichols

Mike Nichols is the Deputy Director, Commercial Satellite Communications Office (CSCO), Space Systems Command (SSC), United States Space Force (USSF). He manages a portfolio of commercial satellite services and capabilities with a lifecycle value of $6B (USD). Mr. Nichols facilitates the delivery of operationally responsive, customer-focused, and cost-effective commercial satellite communications solutions meeting DoD, Federal Agency, and International Partner requirements. This is accomplished through the implementation of focused acquisition, engineering, cybersecurity, and operational strategies across mission platforms.

Mr. Nichols has managed Information Technology programs as a Department of Defense Civilian for 36 years, implementing end to end enterprise solutions across space and terrestrial domains, cloud computing services, cybersecurity, network operations, and transformative business strategies.

During the span of his career, Mr. Nichols has resided abroad managing communication services for the United States Navy (Naples, Italy); terrestrial enterprise architecture programs for the Defense Information Systems Agency (Stuttgart, Germany); Southwest Asia telecommunication programs for DISA Headquarters (National Capital Region); and deployed as a Senior Telecommunications Advisor to the Afghan Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Kabul, Afghanistan).

Prior to his current position, Mr. Nichols was the Program Manager, Commercial Satellite Solutions Program, United States Space Force, Fort Meade, Maryland, implementing a number of transformative strategies across service delivery and business operation disciplines and platforms.

A U.S. Navy Veteran, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration (University of Maryland), Mr. Nichols is proud to serve the Department of Defense providing critical enterprise telecommunication solutions enabling Military, Government, and Coalition Partner capabilities.

Michelle Mullen

Mike Dean

Mike Dean currently serves as the Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Division Chief for C3 Infrastructure Directorate of the Deputy Chief Information Officer for Command, Control, and Communications (C3), Office of the Secretary of Defense, Chief Information Officer. As DoD SATCOM Chief, he provides technical expertise, oversight and broad guidance on policy, programmatic and technical issues relating to DoD SATCOM to integrate and synchronize defense-wide communications programs and achieve the DoD’s Digital Modernization Strategy initiatives. He also advises on efforts to achieve and maintain information dominance through DoD SATCOM for the Department of Defense. He manages efforts defining DoD policies and strategies for design, architecture, interoperability standards, capability development and sustainment of DoD SATCOM and serves as the DoD CIO’s focal point for international partnership activities in SATCOM to include the NATO SATCOM Services 6th Generation (NSS6G) activities.

Nelly Phillips

Nelly Phillips is currently the Head of Space Systems strategy in the UK. 

Nicole Robinson

 Nicole Robinson, Chief Growth Officer, is a proven executive leader with experience building and deploying high growth organizations in the satellite communications network space with deep understanding of the multi-orbit, multi-frequency constellations launched and launching. Prior to joining Comtech, Ms. Robinson was the President of Ursa Space Systems, Inc. (“Ursa Space”) a leading satellite intelligence and data analytics provider that leverages a global virtual constellation of over 200 SAR, earth observation, and RF satellites. In her role at Ursa Space, Ms. Robinson was responsible for accelerating the company’s growth globally while optimizing operations. Prior to joining Ursa Space, Ms. Robinson held a variety of leadership roles, including nearly 14 years at SES S.A. (“SES”) (LuxSE: SESG),, most recently as Senior Vice President of Global Government. Through her leadership roles at SES, Ms. Robinson was responsible for the company’s global business portfolio of government customers in the areas of defense, security, humanitarian, federal, civilian and institutional organizations. In addition to serving on its board of directors, Ms. Robinson was also Managing Director and CEO of SES Techcom Services, Inc., a subsidiary of SES that develops and delivers innovative and tailored end-to-end satellite-enabled solutions and services to governmental, institutional and supranational partners and customers. Prior to joining SES, while at General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD), Ms. Robinson served as the leader of the Strategic Communications function for the United States Joint Forces Command’s Standing Joint Force Headquarters (SJFHQ). Ms. Robinson has also served in a variety of board level positions. She is currently a Director of AAC Clyde Space AB, a Swedish company that specializes in small satellite technologies and services that enable businesses, governments, and educational organizations to access high-quality, timely data from space. Until June of 2022, Ms. Robinson served as the President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Society of Satellite Professionals International (“SSPI”), the largest professional organization in the space and satellite community. In this role, Ms. Robinson founded SSPI-Women in Space Engagement (WISE), a group dedicated to supporting women members of the space and satellite industry. Ms. Robinson previously served as Chair of the Board of Redu Space Services Inc., a company focused on the operation and delivery of advanced satellite communication systems.

Nik Smith

Nik Smith is the Regional Director for UK and Europe for Lockheed Martin Space and leads the Lockheed Martin UK Space business unit. Prior to his current position, Nik was the Head of Business Development for the Lockheed Martin UK Space business area.

Olivier Ondet

Ori Naor

Mr. Ori Naor is Vice President, Global Defense Sales, for Gilat Satellite Networks. 

Patrick Wood

Senior Vice President, Space Systems UK and Head of Space Systems Production. Member of the Space Systems Executive Management Committee Business Unit and UK Management Committee, Airbus Defence and Space.

Paul Febvre

 Paul is Chief Technology Officer at the Satellite Applications Catapult, responsible for establishing a future vision for the sector and directing the technology strategy for the Catapult. Paul leads a small team of solutions architects and technologists that work across the Catapult to provide industry support in the creation and realisation of technologically innovative solutions to real world challenges.  

Paul Wells

 Paul is a specialist in the Space and Satcom domains. He has a proven track record of achievement in creating, running and growing successful technology businesses and space based customer solutions over many years. This has been achieved by defining the strategy and integrating in depth technical and business knowledge, a strong sales and business development approach, team building and successful programme delivery with a key focus on delivering customer focussed solutions. 

Peter Trussell

Peter Trussell is a Civil Servant working at the UK Space Agency as the Skills for Space Lead, partnering with experts in industry, academia, and across government to provide a skilled workforce for the growing UK space sector. 

Prior to joining the UK Space Agency, Peter worked in the Leadership College for Government within the Cabinet Office as a Learning and Development Specialist, designing and delivering leadership development programmes, courses, and events for public sector Chief Executive Officer equivalent leaders in local government, health, education, emergency services, armed forces, and civil services.

Having completed Rolls-Royce’s HR Graduate Training Programme, Peter has experience across the entire employee lifecycle through various HR roles, including recruitment, induction, training and development, workforce planning and voluntary and mandatory redundancy. Peter is also an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development having completed the CIPD Advanced Level 7 Diploma in Strategic People Management. 

Philip Harlow

Philip Harlow is President of Telesat Government Solutions, a U.S.-incorporated, wholly-owned subsidiary of Telesat.  Mr. Harlow is responsible for defining the government division’s commercial, operational and strategic initiatives.

Professor Anna Moore

Professor Anna Moore is a major force driving Australia’s strategic direction and R&D agenda to grow our space capabilities and industry. As Director of InSpace, she sets the vision and strategy for space-related activities at the Australian National University, including satellite and space mission design, manufacture and testing, space-ground communications, Earth observations, space situational awareness, and space medicine, law and commerce.

Following a distinguished research career at Caltech and other astronomy institutes around the world Professor Moore joined ANU in 2017. She served on the Australian Government's space expert reference group to form the Australian Space Agency. As a consultant, her expertise has also been valued by NASA, the US National Science Foundation and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. Professor Moore’s special interests are in astronomical instrumentation, Antarctic astronomy and transient infrared astronomy.
 

Professor Anu Ojha OBE

Professor Anu Ojha OBE is a member of the Executive Committee of the UK Space Agency and Director for the Championing Space Directorate. Included in his portfolio are leadership of the Agency’s International and ESA Policy teams as well as UKSA’s public/parliamentary affairs, communications and education/skills development/inspiration programmes.

Prior to joining the Agency in May 2023 he was the founder of the UK National Space Academy programme and a Director of the National Space Centre. Appointed Honorary Professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester in 2016, he is a co-investigator in the University’s programme for nuclear power applications for exploration, was involved in data analysis from ESA’s Rosetta, Mars Express and SOHO missions and was Principal Investigator for the ESA/UKSA Astro Academy Principia education experiment suite conducted by Tim Peake during his mission to the International Space Station. He continues to teach on the University’s MSc course in Space Exploration Systems specialising in human survival in extreme environments and helped develop and teaches on the University’s new undergraduate-level Fundamentals of Space training course for space professionals.

From 2018 to 2023 he was a member of ESA’s Human Spaceflight and Exploration Science Advisory Committee (HESAC) based at ESTEC. He was a member of the final site selection team for the ESA Rosalind Franklin mission targeted for the Oxia Planum region of Mars and has helped develop ESA’s science exploration strategies for the ESA Terra Novae programme. Since 2020 he has supported MOD Space Directorate and UK Space Command in a number of areas related to skills development and international perspectives through his long-standing experience as a member of the UK-China Joint Laboratory in Space Science and Technology and is a current member of STFC Council. He was also invited by the UK Secretary of State for Defence to contribute to the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.
Prior to joining the space sector in 2008 Anu spent fourteen years as a state high school science teacher and also with British Forces Cyprus. During this time he was appointed as National Lead Practitioner for Physics by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and was also Assistant Headteacher/Advanced Skills Teacher at the largest school in England at the time.

Anu has been a British Skydiving member since 2000, has completed over 1400 jumps and was involved as a science consultant for the Red Bull Stratos stratospheric skydive programme in 2012-12. Since 1993 he has led many high-altitude trekking expeditions in India and Nepal and his other interests include scuba/free diving, triathlon, amateur astronomy and contemporary world politics.

Ralph 'Dinz' Dinsley

Sqn Ldr (Retd) Ralph Dinz Dinsley is a retired RAF officer with more than 32 years of active service as an Aerospace Battle Manager including 16 years as a surveillance of space practitioner and space situational awareness advocate. His final assignments included leading the RAF contribution to global SSA in 2 significant programmes. Dinz’s unique military experience is further underpinned, as a CAS Fellow, with an MA in Peace and Development from Leeds Metropolitan University; his dissertation covering Critical Perspectives on UK Space Security. Since retirement from the military in September 2017 Dinz formed, and is now Executive Director of NorSS Ltd, an innovative Northumberland based SSA company. Additionally, he was one of the founding members of SAINTS (Situational Awareness Information National Technology Service) a group of NE tech companies developing SA for government, industry and academia. He is also an observer to the Hague Space Resource Governance Working Group.

Richard Budd

 Richard is responsible for Secure Communications business in UK, US and Australia, primarily ensuring the evolution of the space and ground networks & associated services business to meet growing customer demands. This includes maintaining the high quality delivery of Skynet services and the next generation Skynet 6a satellite, with a significant focus on securing a lead role for the company in the next generation of UK military space programmes.

Sarah Casenove

 Sarah Casenove, Head of SatCom Services Solutions within Airbus, has been working in the Defence and Space domain for the past 10 years in Sales, Strategy and Future Programmes positions. She joined Airbus in 2013.

Simon Perrett

 With an illustrious 39-year military career, Simon Perrett is a seasoned expert in planning, managing, and delivering C5ISR solutions. Recognised for his exceptional contributions to the Specialist user community, Simon was honoured with the MBE in 2013. He has held several key appointments within that community, culminating as Commanding Officer of one of the units for the past 4 years.  In this last role he reformed, built, and led a unique technical unit of engineers, scientists, and military users to solve operational problems and deliver novel, battle-winning prototypes and concepts, directly into the hands of the specialist user.

Soheil Mehrabanzad

Soheil Mehrabanzad serves as assistant vice president of Business Development for the Defense & Government System Division of Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), focusing on technology strategy for civilian and defense client implementations. With expertise in broadband communications technologies and solutions for Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR), wireless networks and global foreign militaries, Mr. Mehrabanzad engages with U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) clients to enable agile, secure, and resilient MilSatCom and enterprise digital solutions worldwide.

Throughout his career, Mr. Mehrabanzad has worked across the Hughes organization supporting programs for consumer, enterprise and operator markets, domestically and internationally. Prior to his current role, he helped established the company’s Africa/Middle East business from a base in the UAE. Previously, he supported solutions engineering and sales of wideband time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, packet switching networks, and very small aperture terminal (VSAT) projects.

Mr. Mehrabanzad earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Maryland and a Master of Business Administration Degree from Marymount University. He holds secret-level security clearance.

Consumers, businesses, governments and communities around the world benefit from the connected experiences enabled by Hughes technologies and services. To learn more, visit our website at www.hughes.com or follow us on Twitter @HughesConnects and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/HughesConnects.

Sonali Mohapatra

Dr Sonali Mohapatra is a Quantum Innovation Sector Lead at the NQCC leading and supporting the NQCC’s innovation strategy and sectoral engagement framework. She focuses on quantum computing use-case discovery and works with a variety of stakeholders such as government, policymakers, regulators, industry and academia to support the user journey from awareness to advocacy across a portfolio of sectors such as financial services, energy, healthcare, space and AI to deliver quantum readiness for the UK. Sonali has an interdisciplinary research background and extensive industry experience leading the technical development and commercialisation of early-stage quantum, space and AI technologies and has been part of the technical development of many world firsts.

Apart from that Sonali has extensive experience in the EDI sector, consulting extensively over the last 10 years. She is the Director of the Prospero Space Fellowship – a national space fellowship designed to tackle the current skills and talent gap in the UK space sector and has founded and chaired non-profits such as New Voices in Space for Space Scotland, QIndia and MTSN in the past.

Squadron Leader Becky Kirk

Becky Kirk is a qualified and experienced Chartered Engineer with a strong background in space systems engineering. With many years of experience in the field, she has proven expertise in Systems Engineering processes and Satellite architecture.

Stuart Clark

Stuart Eves

In 2018, Stuart Eves founded his own space consultancy company, SJE Space Ltd, after spending 16 years working for the UK Ministry Of Defence, and 14 years with Surrey Satellite Technology Limited.

Tales Gaspar

Tales has a background in law and economics, with previous experience in the regulation of new technologies and infrastructure. In the UK and Europe, he offered consultancy on intellectual property rights of cellular and IoT technologies and on the regulatory procedures at the ITU as a Global Fellow at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI). Tales has an LL.M in Law and Business by the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) and an MSc in Regulation at the London School of Economics, with a specialization in Government and Law.

Todd McDonell

Travis Blake

Dr. Travis Blake serves is the Program Officer for Space Traffic Coordination within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD).

Prior to joining SMD, Dr. Blake served as the Chief Commercial Officer for Privateer Space, where he provided expertise in enhancing space situational and domain awareness, as well as space traffic coordination to increase safety and sustainability. He has also held executive roles at Kairos Ventures and Lockheed Martin after enjoying a 20-year career in the United States Air Force. Dr. Blake has an extensive background in technology-leadership, integration planning, commercial product strategy formulation, and experience in leading space-related technology initiatives.

Dr. Blake is also a recognized government leader and expert on critical space technologies, which enabled him to lead Presidential strategy and policy for restricted national space initiatives. Dr. Blake holds a Ph.D. and Master’s in electrical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Computer Engineering (with honors) from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Trond Hermansen

Trond Hermansen is a SATCOM specialist within operational use of military SATCOM. He is now working as a special advisor in SATCOM to the Norwegian Armed Forces Cyberdefence. He is a former naval operational officer and has specialized in operational use of military SATCOM. He is presently engaged as operational project officer for the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission project and the HEO-2 project that both will deliver 2 communication satellites in a high elliptical orbit in 2023 and 2026 respectvely.

Vanessa Viney

Vanessa is UK and US Innovations Manager at Airbus Defence and Space, based at the company’s UK HQ in Stevenage. With over 26 years’ experience in the aerospace sector and a MEng in Aerospace Systems Engineering, Vanessa has worked on Mission Systems design for Earth Observation satellites, Project Management, Bid Management and Product Management.

Today, she is responsible for a portfolio of Innovation projects and is experienced in Innovation methods and tools – she is a ThinkWrong facilitator, motivator and ecosystem connector. Vanessa is also involved in outreach activities – such as the UK Youth Rocketry Competition – and is a ‘Women in Defence’ mentor as well as an active member of the internal Equality and Gender Diversity Working Group.

 

Viktoria Urban

Viktoria Urban works as an Editorial Director for Space Impulse. She graduated as a Journalist from Edinburgh Napier University, and is currently a third-year BSc student at the Open University studying Astronomy and Planetary Science. She is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, member of the Astronomical Society of Edinburgh and volunteers for the Open University Space Society as well as UKSEDS. She has been working as a freelance space journalist for over two years now and she is associated with several space societies, foundations and companies in multiple countries.

Willy Guilleux

Wing Commander David Black

WO Trevor Austin