Wed, 09 Jul 2025 When SSTL was formed in the mid 1980s, Andrew Haslehurst was a young boy dreaming of space. Let’s hear about his journey in his own words:

"I first got into space around the time this photo was taken – me in a bow tie, wide-eyed and curious. We’d gone on a family holiday to the US and visited Cape Canaveral. I was hooked. Soon after, I wrote to NASA, and a couple of months later this enormous package turned up in the post, full of Space Shuttle photos. You can imagine what that did to my enthusiasm and imagination.

I studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, with my second year spent back in the US at the University of West Virginia. After graduating in 2001, I joined Airbus just up the road in Stevenage, working on the Beagle 2 Mars lander. I also had the chance to spend time in Friedrichshafen, Germany – a great experience.

In 2004, I joined SSTL as a mechanical engineer working on reaction wheels for the GIOVE-A satellite mission, and then moved on to developing deployed solar panels for later missions. From there, I held management roles in a number of engineering teams – Power, Sensors & Actuators, Propulsion, and GNSS – before becoming Head of Payloads, responsible for the optical and SAR imaging systems flown on our EO missions.

A couple of years ago, I joined the Leadership Team as Chief Technical Officer. In my current Executive role I look after Project Delivery as well as R&D. It’s been a busy time – and I’m super proud to be here."

Thank you, Andrew – for your insight, your leadership, and for bringing a little of that bow-tie wonder to everything you do!