Satellites: from idea to financing

What does it take to develop a new satellite constellation from the initial idea to the point of getting the funding to build it? And how are funding decisions actually made and are we really aware of what drives our own decisions in life? Helena van Mierlo was the driving force for a constellation of satellites for wildfire monitoring which is slated for launch in 2029. She brings us on a journey of the eight years she spent to turn this novel space-based wildfire monitoring service into a reality. Along the way you will be learning some interesting facts about wildfires, satellites and her own career path, but above all she will share with us her lessons learned about what it takes to get your idea financed.

Biography:

Bio: Helena van Mierlo has more than 28 years of experience in the space sector, with the majority of her time spent in the Earth Observation domain and a couple of years in robotics and payload management as part of the International Space Station Program.

She spent seven years of her career in The Netherlands, holding positions at the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) and the European Space Agency.

During her time at the Canadian Space Agency, Helena transitioned from a technical role, first as an astrodynamics specialist, then a systems engineer, into a programmatic role in which she investigated the need for new Canadian satellite missions such as QEYSSat and WildFireSat, and built the necessary collaborations and strategic cases to obtain federal funding to develop those missions. She is currently the Interim Director, Earth Observation Utilization and Services at the Canadian Space Agency.

Over the length of her career Helena participated in 25+ space projects, with leadership functions in more than half of these. As part of these projects she collaborated with government, industry and academic organizations in more than 12 countries.

Helena holds a Masters of Science degree in aerospace engineering from Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands, and is a 1997 alumna of the International Space University (ISU). She has three children aged 13, 19, and 22.

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