SpaceLink ‘s Principal Aerospace Engineer, James Spicer, was named to the Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) prestigious “20 under 35.” The honorees will be celebrated at SSPI’s Future Leaders Celebration held at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, on October 12 during Silicon Valley Space Week.
SSPI’s annual list of the “20 Under 35” features 20 young professionals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement to date and the clear potential to play an even greater leadership role in the coming years.
James is an outstanding young scientist and engineer who has shown remarkable initiative, creativity, and problem-solving skills early in his career. He was selected for his significant accomplishments, which include co-founding a startup right out of graduate school. SpaceLink, which is building a satellite relay system in MEO that uses optical links to provide communications for human spaceflight and fast access to remote sensing satellite data, was built on the foundation of his previous company.
The group of young professionals honored as the “20 under 35” were selected from nominations submitted by the SSPI membership and evaluated by a panel of judges made up of many of the mentors who support SSPI’s student outreach programs. This is the fifth year that SSPI will recognize the 20 under 35 at its annual Future Leaders dinner.
“James has been a critical part of our SpaceLink system architecture team,” said Rob Singh, Chief Technology Officer at SpaceLink. “He has proven time and again, the ability to bring a visionary perspective coupled with advanced capabilities in modeling and system optimization to the benefit of enhancing our optical, high-capacity data relay system.”
“SSPI plays an important role in connecting people across the space and satellite industry and promoting the value we bring to our world,” said Dave Bettinger, Chief Executive Officer at SpaceLink. “We are proud to be part of the organization and to have one of our rising stars recognized with this industry accolade. James is one of the especially talented and dedicated individuals who will lead humanity into the new space economy.”
“With so many bright young professionals in the industry, it is always a challenge to call out the most outstanding individuals,” said Robert Bell, Executive Director of SSPI. “James stood out for the significance of his achievements and his nomination was supported by multiple enthusiastic endorsements from across the industry.”
