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SSPI UK, the UK Chapter of the worldwide Space and Satellite Professionals International network, is delighted to announce that ESA Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications, and Head of the UK-based European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT), Magali Vaissiere, has been named UK Space Personality of the Year 2017.
The board of SSPI UK Chapter voted Ms Vaissiere as winner of this annual honour for her many impactful ongoing contributions to the UK space and satellite sector and the enhancements which she has spearheaded to raise awareness and integration of space and satellite technologies and applications in wider industry and society.
Ms Vaissiere has been instrumental in the establishment and continuing development of ECSAT, in Harwell, Oxfordshire, UK, whose principal goal is to stimulate the development of commercial space-based products and services, and to encourage engagement between space and non-space sectors.
She has worked tirelessly to engender inclusion and collaboration in the space sector and within ESA (European Space Agency). She has made many contributions towards extending the focus of ESA towards commercial markets and ‘downstream’ applications that help improve organisations and communities.
“Magali has made great strides in breaking down barriers between different satellite domains, and she has successfully raised the profile of satellite services with non-space based organisations,” commented Betty Bonnardel, President of SSPI UK.
“Magali’s contribution to growing the space economy in the UK and Europe continues to be immense and she is a great ambassador for the sector,” Bonnardel added.
Ms Vaissiere has 24 years of experience in the space and satellite industry, being involved first with ground-based radar systems and subsequently with satellites. She says: “The major lesson I have learned is that our industry is always moving; furthermore, with its global nature, and the rapid evolution of technology, changes, and opportunities, are coming ever faster.”
“Today’s highly dynamic satellite communications market embraces two different worlds: the worldwide space business involves many interconnected areas of policy, with multiple governmental and institutional stakeholders. Meanwhile the telecom world is a place of continuous innovation and opportunity, all against a backdrop of fast-paced market economics,” she continued.
“Our driving goal at ECSAT is to bring these two worlds together, to expand the utilisation of space assets deeper into the fields of telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, among others, as well as supporting awareness and uptake of space applications among new communities of users,” commented Vaissiere.
“I consider this award as an acknowledgement of the achievements of our whole ECSAT team to strive to make the benefits of space and enabling technologies available to more organisations and people through collaboration, and I thank SSPI UK for this great honour,” she added.
About Magali Vaissiere
Magali Vaissiere was appointed Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications (D/TIA) in 2008. Later, in 2013, she was appointed Head of ECSAT. Ms Vaissiere joined ESA in 2005 as the Head of the Telecommunications Department within the ESA Directorate for Telecommunications and Navigation. Born in France in 1957, Ms Vaissiere has an Executive MBA from the Centre de Perfectionnement aux Affaires, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Stanford and a Diplome d’ingénieur de l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Paris.
The wide range of activities within the Directorate of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications reflects the major increase in telecommunication activities and applications in today’s world. It also addresses future new perspectives and possibilities enabled by innovations in Public Private Partnerships bringing together ESA, operators and wider industry. DTIA activities encourage growth for integrated applications in fields such as security, health, energy and development. For more information on DTIA, click here.
SSPI Annual Better Satellite World Awards 2017
Ms Vaissiere will be presented with her UK Space Personality of the Year Award on 4 December, 2017 at the Annual Better Satellite World Awards, held at 1 Whitehall Court, London SW1.
Leaders of Space and Satellite Professionals International annually meet at The Better Satellite World Awards and Dinner, organised by SSPI UK Chapter and SSPI Isle of Man Chapter, to celebrate the contributions made by the satellite industry to enhance the economy, safety, security, governance, development and health of the planet.
