SGAC Announces the Winners of the 2023 SGAC – OHB SE Competition
In cooperation with OHB, SGAC are pleased to announce Danlei Chen, Ravneet Kaur and Nadia Lamera as the winners of the 2023 SGAC – OHB SE Competition. This competition sought innovative ideas on how humankind could benefit from Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs), how we could defend against the thread they pose, and how they can become a sustainable resource for the benefit of humankind. The winners will be sponsored to attend the 21st Space Generation Congress (September 28– 30 2023) and will be granted free access to the 74th International Astronautical Congress (October 2–6 2023) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Danlei Chen
Danlei works as an Engineering Support Lead for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), providing real-time engineering support for the International Space Station’s Mobile Servicing System (MSS), including the Canadarm2 and Dextre, as part of MDA’s Robotics and Space Operations team. Additionally, she has worked as a Systems Engineer (PEO EIT) at CSA, operating RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM), a trio of Earth observation SAR satellites, with the MDA Geointelligence and Satellite Operations team. Prior to her role as a Spacecraft Systems Engineer, she has worked as a Mission Planner and Ground Systems Engineer on RADARSAT-2 and RCM for satellite Earth observation at CSA. She has also worked on the initial development of the thermal and structural design, as well as orbit determination and prediction for Ukpik-1, Western University’s first-ever CubeSat in collaboration with CSA.
” I am deeply honored to receive the OHB SE Competition Award. This award has made it possible for me to be part of and contribute to SGAC’s global professional network.”
Ravneet Kaur
Ravneet possesses profound expertise in the field of space system engineering, with her career primarily focused on satellite systems. Her initial exposure to the space industry occurred during her involvement with Team Indus, a finalist team in the Google Lunar X prize competition, back in 2017. As of 2023, Ravneet has excelled as a system engineer, successfully contributing to the development and launch of micro-satellite platforms within a year’s time at German Orbitals Systems GmbH. Presently, she holds the position of satellite communication system engineer at UK-based Catapult Satellite Applications, where her role involves facilitating the utilization of space systems for end users in the scope of future networks. Ravneet’s educational background encompasses a Master of Science degree in Space Systems Engineering from the Technical University of Berlin, obtained in 2021. Concurrently, she has ventured into the entrepreneurial aspects of the space industry as a core member of two university spin-offs. In addition to her professional pursuits, Ravneet has a keen interest in climbing and can often be found bouldering or top roping, leveraging her skills as a certified climber.
“I would like to express my gratitude to SGAC and OHB for granting me this scholarship, which enables me to share insights about the significant aspects of the space ecosystem on a larger platform. This support also reaffirms my commitment to the path I embarked on many years ago.”
Nadia Lamera
Nadia Lamera works as Ground Station System Engineer at Leaf Space, an Italian ground station network operator offering ground segment-as-a-service (GSaaS) solutions for global space. As part of the Sites Management team, she has to interface with hosting partners from all over the world in her daily routine, together with performing site surveys, antenna installations, and maintenance activities on the ground station network. She received her Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Milano before acquiring a Master’s degree in Telecommunication Technologies, Systems, and Networks at Universidad Politécnica Valencia.
Nadia has been introduced to the wider space sector and community firstly as a member and then external advisor of the TMTC Team of the 6S CubeSat project at PoliSpace, the first space association of Politecnico di Milano. In August 2022, she participated and graduated from the Endurosat Space Challenge Bootcamp 2022, held in Gela, in the Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria.
Nadia is the author of several scientific articles such as “Development of an innovative UHF-band Antenna for 6S PoliSpace CubeSat 1U”, which was presented last year during the International Astronautical Congress in Paris.
“I am very excited and grateful to SGAC and OHB for selecting my paper as one of the winners of the OHB SE Competition 2023. Having the possibility to participate in both IAC and SGC is a great opportunity to listen, interact, and learn from experts in the space field, and it allows me to contribute to the discussion on topics that I am truly passionate about.”