“I’m a proud South African, and in 1985 - the year SSTL was formed - I was finishing Year 9 in my hometown of East London. A technically-focused upper school set me on the path toward Electronics and Computer Science, and later to the University of Stellenbosch, where I completed my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electronic engineering.
After graduating I became aware of a postgraduate programme at Stellenbosch to place South Africa’s first satellite into orbit. With the help of a very understanding bank manager, I enrolled in what became my first steps into space.. and into Attitude & Orbit Control Systems. The SUNSAT programme was a true baptism of fire: turning prototypes into a full spacecraft using a small, determined team of postgraduate engineers and academic staff. After launch and commissioning, I joined the university’s Electronic Systems Laboratory full-time, supporting SUNSAT operations and contributing to a bridging programme that helped under-resourced students earn engineering degrees.
In 2001 I emigrated from South Africa to join SSTL and continue my space career. I started in the AOCS team designing, building and testing star trackers for the Disaster Monitoring Constellation - work that soon expanded into sun sensors, reaction wheels, imagers and control moment gyroscopes. A standout early moment was seeing a couple of my star tracker designs fly on the first SpaceX Dragon missions to the ISS.
From there I moved into lead AOCS system engineering roles on a variety of missions, followed by technical leadership of AOCS equipment, then managing the AOCS team itself before becoming Chief Electrical Engineer.. and eventually Company Chief Engineer.
What keeps me in the space industry is the ever-changing landscape and the art of the possible. It’s remarkable to watch behemoth satellites increasingly give way to smaller, more capable spacecraft, unlocking new applications and opportunities. Long before the phrase ‘New Space’ existed, some traditionalists affectionately called SSTL the ‘space cowboys’. I’ve always taken that as a compliment. It’s been a privilege to spend 25 years helping pioneer and champion approaches that are now widely recognised and adopted across the sector. But above all, it’s the people.. their passion, creativity and dedication.. that make you want to keep working in this industry.”
Thank you, Pierre - for the engineering leadership, for the pioneering spirit, and for being part of the SSTL story for a quarter of a century and counting.