Those Space People: Recent Episodes
Rachana
A podcast series of casual cosmic conversations with people working on all things space.
Listen to all the episodes here --> https://thosespacepeople.transistor.fm/episodes
Abhijeet Borkar is a research scientist at the Astronomical Institute of Czech Academy of Sciences. He has a PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Cologne. Abhijeet is currently based in Prague.
Having studied and spent time in universities across India, Germany and Prague, Abhijeet shares insights into building a career in astronomy and astrophysics across different geographies. He shares his experience of working with space-based and several ground based telescopes across the world. He also talks about the impact of mega constellations on astronomy and the astronomer community's perspectives around it. He gives an overview of the different kinds of softwares and skillsets typically required for an astronomer and how to get into learning them. We end the podcast with a passionate discussion on our favourite space sci-fi!
Omkar Nikam is the founder of Access Hub, a space technology, defense, and security research and analysis firm with a global coverage and special emphasis on Europe. Omkar is also a free-lance consultant and analyst and writes extensively around space applications for defense and international security. He is also the host of the Space, Defence, & Security podcast.
Omkar's career trajectory is testament to the fact that imagination is the only limit in carving out a niche for oneself in the space industry. He shares delightful insights into his journey from remote sensing & astronomy to security & strategy while gaining experience in technical writing, journalism, economics and space law/policy along the way. Omkar also talks about landing consulting opportunities around Europe and across the world. He believes in taking a multi-disciplinary approach to space and is currently also writing a space SciFi novel from a defence and security perspective!
Harleen Kaur Mann is an astrodynamics and Space Surveillance & Tracking expert with Okapi orbits which is a Germany based SAAS startup offering collision avoidance software for satellites. She has a background in aerospace engineering and a PhD in astronomy. Harleen is currently based in Brunswick, Germany.
Gavin Tolometti is a Postdoctoral researcher at the Western University in Ontario, Canada. His current research is in planetary sciences. He has a background in geology. Gavin is also the host of the awesome podcast - The Diaries of Space Explorers - also available on all podcasting platforms.
Ian Stammers is the head of RPO services and workforce solutions at Sapienza consulting. He has a background in recruiting and has worked with several recruitment companies across multiple geographies.
Venkat Athmanathan is a research scientist at the Purdue University in the USA. He has a background in aerospace engineering and provides amazing insights into the finer workings of the American space ecosystem.
Suryakiran Peravalli is a currently a research fellow at DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron) which is a particle research laboratory in Germany. He has a background in aerospace engineering and has been applying his deep knowledge across a variety of fields from biomedicine to ship building and now particle research.
Claudia Kessler is the founder of Astronautin GmbH which is a non-profit that aims to bring the first German woman to space. She is also the co-founder of the Women in Aerospace Europe (WIA-E) networking group. Claudia has a background in aerospace engineering and also holds an MBA. She is currently based in Berlin, Germany!
Tanya Harrison is the director of science strategy at Planet and had previously worked on several NASA Mars missions for over a decade. She has a background in geology and she specialises in planetary science and exploration. Tanya is currently based in Washington DC, United States.
Anastasia Volkova is the CEO and co-founder of Regrow, a startup empowering agriculture and trying to reverse climate change through satellite imagery and technology. Anastasia has a background in aerospace engineering and UAV navigation. She is currently based in Los Angeles, USA.
Deepika Jeyakodi is a space lawyer. She currently works with Airbus as a Commercial Contracts and Bid Manager. She is based in the Netherlands.
Surbhi Baghotia is an engineer at the Indian space research organisation ISRO. She has a background in aerospace engineering and has mainly been working on launch vehicles and most lately the human space flight mission of ISRO - Gaganyaan. She is also the president of the alumni association of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), ISRO's very own space university.
Helen Tung is a UK trained barrister and founder of Newspace2060. She has experience in maritime law and commercial disputes in the UK, UAE and consults for clients from across the world. She has previously advised the UK Maritime Coastguard, law firms in Seoul & Shanghai, the European Commission, METI and the UAE Space Agency.
Vanesa Gomez Gonzalez is a ground software engineer with Capella Space. She has previously worked with NASA and also ESA as a software engineer. Vanessa has a background in software development.
Stephanie Wan is an international business development and government relations manager and has been supporting the U.S. and international government agencies on mapping space technologies and applications to other sectors. She has a background in international relations and Science and Technology Policy. She currently works for I.M. Systems Group that provides environmental modelling and intelligence support to NOAA and other agencies. Stephanie is currently based in San Francisco.
Seyka Mejeur and Brian Mejeur are the co-founders of AdAstra - a headhunting and people operations firm focusing on newspace. Seyka has a background in psychology and human resources management. Brian has a background in aerospace engineering.
Nicole Stott is a veteran NASA astronaut and artist. She is also the Director of the Space for Art Foundation. She had a background in aeronautical engineering. Nicole is currently based in Florida.
Lindsey Yee works with Starbridge Venture Capital which is a VC fund that focuses on the space sector. She has a background in international business and economics. She is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Linsey takes us through the Venture Capital Universe and shares insights on how they evaluate space startups. She talks about how space VC funds work closely with one another and the importance of one's professional network in placing the right bets. She talks about how space focused VC funds are and aren't :) different from non-tech and high-tech VC funds. Who makes the best space startup founders - new graduates or experienced industry professionals? Listen in to know the verdict!
Heather Ann Bottom is a systems engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She has a background in astrophysics and space engineering. She is currently based in Hawaii. Most recently, Heather has been a part of the Perseverance rover team of the Mars 2020 mission.
Unlike most space folk, Heather was once a professional dance performer and had dreams of being on Broadway before she caught the space bug. She draws interesting parallels between space missions and the performing arts. Having worked on the launch and cruise phases of the super cool Perseverance rover, she shares insights on the finer aspects of the Mars 2020 and other NASA missions. Having formerly worked with SpaceX, she talks about the differences in working on space missions at a research lab compared to an agile private company like SpaceX.
Alice Gorman, popularly known as Dr. Space Junk, is a space archeologist. She examines defunct satellites, rocket parts and such abandoned human-made objects in space and researches their preservation as cultural heritage. She is currently based in Adelaide, Australia.
Being an archeologist, it is quite interesting how Alice got interested in space and eventually pioneered Space Archeology. Just by examining discarded cable ties, she could unearth important details about a long forgotten space mission that had never been documented.
Did you know that current day satellite communication could have taken a very different path had the little known Project Westford not been discontinued? Alice shares insights on how to get the common person to take ownership of the Moon and contribute towards humanity making sustainable decisions during space exploration and space resource utilisation.
Jonathan Mcdowell is an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian center of astrophysics. He studies black holes, quasars and X-ray sources in galaxies and also happens to be one of the few astronomers who takes an active interest in tracking satellites and recording rocket launches.
Jonathan takes us through his work at the Smithsonian and talks about different kinds of astronomers and their research. He apparently feels like Forrest Gump (but I say way smarter!) having witnessed so many incredible breakthroughs made in astronomy during the last three decades. He is an avid reader of space sci-fi and loves to show everyone the incredible night sky through a telescope. Jonathan has an interesting take on solving the space traffic management problem and shares his perspectives on the drake equation.
Juan Peña Ibáñez is the CEO of Orbital EOS, a Spanish company that develops maritime solutions using Satellite Data & Artificial Intelligence. Juan has a background in Oceanography and Remote Sensing. He is currently based in Valencia, Spain.
Juan explains how his decade-long experience with the Spanish Coast Guard is helping him build an AI-powered satellite remote sensing platform for maritime applications. He talks about the immense scope for innovation in this domain especially given the many upcoming satellites and satellite constellations. A remote sensing degree paired with AI knowledge is the ideal combination to accelerate in this space!
Barbara Imhof is the co-founder of Liquifer, a newspace company in Vienna, Austria. Liquifer works with space agencies across the world on space habitation and exploration technologies and similar advanced research areas. Liquifer's team is trans-disciplinary and Barbara is a space architect among other things.
Barbara talks about space architecture and gives an architect's perspective on designing human habitats in space. Sharing the belief of Buckminster Fuller that humans are all astronauts aboard the spaceship called Earth, she applies the design principles of space habitats to model terrestrial ones under extreme conditions such as in Antarctica. Acquire an interdisciplinary skill set to navigate this fascinating realm of building whole worlds in space!
Carolyn Belle is the Director of Advanced Systems at Astroscale US. Astroscale is a newspace company dedicated to on-orbit servicing. She is currently based in Denver, Colorado.
Carolyn talks about the complexity of the space debris problem and how different stakeholders in the space ecosystem need to come together to make space sustainable. She believes that on-orbit servicing is going to be the next big step for the space industry and the jobs created subsequently would thrill space sci-fi aficionados!
Juliane Haupt is the head of business partnerships at Astrofein, a space company based in Berlin that develops satellite components and subsystems. She has a background in psychology and mobility.
Juliane shares her unique experience of navigating the space scene with a background in Psychology. She elaborates on how individuals from diverse backgrounds are required for the space industry and how they can carve a niche for themselves even without a technical background. Diversity inspires us all to collectively make better decisions.
Christian Williges is a newspace consultant based in Berlin, Germany. He had co-founded the company ConstellR which is building a satellite constellation with thermal sensors. Christian had previously worked with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and has a background in laser and opto technologies.
Christian shares insights on building a satellite company and talks about the ample scope for innovation in the earth observation domain. An engineering or science degree is definitely great to have but apparently one can also thrive here without one!
Kristina Nikolaus is the co-founder and managing director of Okapi Orbits which is a newspace startup that provides risk monitoring and collision avoidance services for space operators. She is currently based in Braunschweig, Germany.
Agnieszka Soszyńska is a doctoral candidate at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin. Her research is focused on monitoring of gas flares using satellite imagery. She shares insights into how satellite imagery help monitor gas flares and forest fires, some of the biggest contributors to climate change.
This podcast is supported by the Women in Aerospace (WIA-Europe) network. Feel free to check out their activities here
Antonella Sgambati is a system engineer for human spaceflight at OHB, one of the leading aerospace companies in Europe.
This podcast is supported by the Women in Aerospace (WIA-Europe) network. Feel free to check out their activities here