The Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) today announced the fourth annual '20 Under 35' list of outstanding young space and satellite professionals age 35 and under. The honorees will be celebrated at SSPI’s 16th annual Future Leaders Celebration on October 5th during the Satellite Innovation 2021 conference, produced by SatNews publishers.
SSPI’s annual list of the '20 Under 35' features 20 employees and entrepreneurs to keep your eye on in coming years. They were selected from nominations submitted by the membership and evaluated by a panel of judges made up of many of the Mentors supporting SSPI’s student outreach programs. At the Future Leaders Celebration, the three top-ranked members of the 20 Under 35 will be named as this year’s Promise Award winners.
“This year’s 20 Under 35 cohort is in the best tradition of Space & Satellite Professionals International,” said executive director Robert Bell. “They cross the lines of the many disciplines that go to make up our industry. They come from multiple sectors, companies and nations. And their hard work, ingenuity and developing skills as leaders are making outsized contributions to their companies, their industry and the power of that industry to make a better world.”
The 20 Under 35 of 2021:
Daniel Carey, Director of Marketing, ATLAS Space Operations
Luke Clancy, Director of Solutions Engineering, Speedcast
Kelsey Doerksen, Space Systems Engineer in Satellite Operations, Planet
Meg Eckensen, Head of User Experience, Ursa Space Systems
Luis Ferreira, Strategy Manager, Airbus Defence and Space
Dr Markus Geiss, Systems Engineer and Project Manager, OHB System AG
Sydney Hamilton, Structures Stress Engineering Manager, The Boeing Company
David Harary, Acquisition Program Analyst, OBXTek Inc., Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration (SAF/SQ)
Mikala Johnson, Ph.D., Principal Systems Engineer – LEO Systems, Kymeta Corporation
Mina Konaka, Satellite Systems Engineer, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Dr Akshata Krishnamurthy, Systems Engineer and Scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Sam Lewis, Senior Software Engineer, ATLAS Space Operations
Valentina Luchetti, Operations Manager, Space Generation Advisory Council
Brandon Marsella, Guidance, Navigation and Control Engineer, The Boeing Company
Raven Moreland, Spacecraft Power Systems Engineer, Ball Aerospace
Camilo Andrés Reyes Mantilla, Junior Spacecraft Controller, SES Satellites
Courtney Schmitt, Controls Engineer II, Blue Origin
Dr Olga Stelmakh-Drescher, Chief Policy and Government Relations Officer, EXOLAUNCH
E. James (Jimmy) Strates II, Lead RF Engineer, NXT Communications Corp.
Nathan Welborne, Resilient Space Missions Business Development, Viasat Government Systems