SatMagazine (SM)
Mr. Brooks, as a youngster, did you always have a desire to become involved in the space industry? If so, how did you prepare yourself for such a career, given the disciplines necessary for success?
Paul Brooks
Like many children I dreamed of being an astronaut and was fascinated by the Viking, Skylab, and other space missions as well as taking up astronomy. Fortunately this interest was matched by an affinity for math and physics, so from the age of 11 on I was pretty well focussed on a physical science future. To actually work in space seemed a little fanciful, so I looked to gain qualifications as a physicist and astronomer. This included attending lectures by Sir Martin Sweeting when he was “only” a lecturer at Surrey University, so my links with SSTL go back some way.
SM
After your studies at Oxford University, you joined the United Kingdom’s Defence Research Agency... what role did you play at the agency and how did such prompt your ongoing career in the space/imagery industry?
Paul Brooks
I initially worked on optical remote sensing missions and attitude control systems, working on the designs and equipment and the applications of optical remote sensing as well as working on the launch and operation of four Skynet communication satellites. These early years being closely involved with real kit and applications were critical as they laid the basis for all my subsequent activities. When selling spacecraft or leading the business activities, you tend to attract a reasonable amount of cynicism from the engineers who need to deliver the promise, so it’s critical that you understand the pain and difficulty of actually making things work in orbit.
In 2001, the agency was privatized and became QinetiQ...did that alter the goals of the agency in a positive manner? How did such changes affect your projects?
Paul Brooks
It was a very positive change for me and many other people in the organization as it gave a commercial focus to the activities we were undertaking. By commercial I don’t just mean making profit, but rather ensuring that what we do generates value to the customer. This is a key feature that I have tried to continue and spread in my later work — everything we do must provide a measurable value to the customer. The easiest metric is return on investment in terms of money but I believe that all projects should be clear on how they generate value and how that compares with the cost to the customer, even if the project is for a military, scientific, or exploration objective.
For all of our undertakings in SSTL we develop a “Value Metric” — a simple, numerical statement of why what we are offering is good value to the customer.
SM
As an instigator of the TopSat satellite mission during your time at QinetiQ, what has been learned about the use of small satellites for security and surveillance missions?
Paul Brooks
TopSat and SSTL’s DMC mission were very important as they demonstrated that small, affordable satellites could deliver high resolution imagery at very low cost from Low Earth Orbit. TopSat was developed at the time when the only high resolution satellite in the civil domain was Ikonos. Given that the total cost of TopSat was ~£13M (including launch), and that Ikonos benefited from some $760M of investment, there was a lot of skepticism that a small satellite could undertake a valuable Earth Observation role.
SSTL had already demonstrated that small satellites provided genuine operational utility and TopSat and DMC demonstrated that this utility was not only of value but of better value (in terms of return on investment) than many large satellites, a case that has been demonstrated by our satellites since then, notably DMC2, Deimos and RapidEye, all of which have been built on the basis of a commercial business case.
SM
Weren’t you also involved in the incubation of a firm that was engaged in the developing and prototyping of a UAV/UAS? Was that goal met?
Paul Brooks
One of the frustrations of spacecraft is that they are doomed to follow orbital paths, regardless of where you wish to look and for how long. While SSTL can deliver constellations of spacecraft that address this issue, they cannot replace the ability of an aircraft or UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) to circle an area of interest for an extended period.
Back in 2003, I was intrigued to see whether we could use the highly reliable and small electronics used for small satellites, that were already robust against the harsh environment found at altitudes above the jet stream (~40,000 feet), to build an ultralight, solar powered UAV that could fly over a region for weeks or months. Fortunately a colleague of mine, Chris Kelleher, was working on a highly efficient airframe and we teamed up to develop the Zephyr project. I’m delighted to say that Zephyr has since broken the flight duration record for an unmanned aircraft, and I believe still has the potential to provide a valuable complement to satellites and more conventional aircraft and UAVs.
SM
What prompted your move to SSTL in 2006?
Paul Brooks
I had long been an admirer of SSTL — both of what they had achieved and how they approached their business and of course I was their customer for the TopSat spacecraft. Having set up a business for the Zephyr programme, I really wanted to work in a small company, one working in space and one that produces real hardware. Simply, SSTL is the best such company that I know and so I was delighted when they asked me to join, and I’m even more delighted to say that it’s lived up to all my expectations.
SM
UK-DMC2 and Deimos-1 were launched in July last year — what contribution have these satellites made to the Disaster Monitoring Constellation?
Paul Brooks
For us, these satellites are proof that our innovative, cooperative model works. This is further strengthened by the launch of NigeriaSat-X in October 2010 alongside NigeriaSat-2. These satellites will ensure data continuity and new services for DMC EO data customers
UK-DMC2 and Deimos-1 were both launched at the same time and are both operating well, providing commercially and ecologically valuable information to governments and companies.
Although sometimes referred to as “Spain” in the context of the DMC, Deimos Imaging is, in fact, a private company and it bought its first satellite to make a return on its investment in the EO data it can provide its customers. With UK-DMC2, SSTL made the same commitment — this is our own satellite and it will pay for itself through the sale of imagery.
We do not see the value of space for its own sake, but for the return it can make to users and investors. There is a tremendous demand for up-to-date and timely data brought about by the steady adoption of EO data from programs such as LandSat during the past 35 years and the more recent “Google Earth Effect”.
SM
You mentioned NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X, which I believe are due for launch in October. What will these satellites bring to Nigeria and the DMC?
Paul Brooks
NigeriaSat-2 is a state-of-the-art Earth Observation spacecraft, providing not only high resolution imagery but highly accurate geospatial information, tremendously high volumes of data and very flexible modes of operation. These are all required by the need of Nigeria to provide up-to-date maps of its rapidly growing economy and infrastructure and to take the lead of affordable information services across Africa.
NigeriaSat-X will provide data continuity for users of NigeriaSat-1 and will assist with disaster relief and global environmental monitoring campaigns alongside satellites from other Disaster Monitoring Constellation consortium members ASAL (Algeria), BLMIT (China), Deimos Space (Spain), and SSTL (UK). Of course, the Nigerian strategy does not stop at the provision of a satellite to support its economic growth but is underpinned by the need to develop its indigenous engineering capability to support a future knowledge based economy. NigeriaSat-X, a spacecraft built by the engineers trained at SSTL, was integral to this development of Nigeria’s future space program and engineering economy.
This is something else we believe strongly in — space can act as a beacon to encourage young people into science and engineering, the essential skills for a broad, sustainable economy. The Nigerian government and Space Agency (NASRDA) have combined these two critical elements into an elegant programme that will provide a valuable asset to support its growth and a cadre of engineers to allow its growth to be accelerated and broadened.
SM
Earth Observation seems to be in somewhat of a quandary with the impending LandSat data gap as well as the future of SPOT. What’s your impression on the future of Earth Observation?
Paul Brooks
First, I expect the Earth Observation business will follow satellite communications and move away from the government and institutional programmes towards private companies that will provide services to both government and commerce. Organisations such as ESA and NASA will still have a role in undertaking the cutting edge science missions, but operational missions such as LandSat and GMES (the European programme of Global Monitoring for Environment and Science) should be undertaken by industry. This can be done as the principles have been established and it is now a question of driving the cost of such missions down such that a good value service can be provided whilst returning a reasonable profit to industry. SSTL has already demonstrated that both value and profit can be derived from Earth Observation services and it is interesting to note that SPOT is now also working on a private investment basis.
Second, the proven utility of lower cost satellites enables constellations to be affordable. Constellations meet the critical, missing element of Earth Observation — timeliness. This has been demonstrated by DMCii and RapidEye and the move to providing information whenever it is required will continue to accelerate. Looking at businesses such as GoogleEarth, the demand (which is huge and well founded as a business model) will be for current, consistent and accurate information and that requires faster coverage.
SM
Do you think the time will come when small satellites will replace larger EO mission spacecraft? Many in the industry believe small satellite constellations are the communication and IRS wave of the future... would you agree with that estimation?
Paul Brooks
Larger satellites will always play their part, for example providing complex scientific measurements from multiple instruments that must be contemperous and collocated. However, “small satellites” should not be limited to satellites that are just physically small. It is more to do with approach and use of technology and what I expect to see is that small satellites will take on the commercial and operational activities currently provided by large satellites and then the small satellites will evolve to be physically larger but still utilizing the approach and technology of “small satellites”.
I believe the real “game changer” is when effective EO information is available in a timely and complete manner — and that requires constellations of satellites. We have made it possible to build a constellation by making the cost of each individual spacecraft lower. The five satellite RapidEye constellation launched in 2008 was built by SSTL for MDA and is effectively the first commercial remote sensing constellation and the pioneer of what is to come.
SM
Since EADS Astrium acquired SSTL you have signed a joint contract with Astrium to provide a remote sensing spacecraft to Kazakhstan, what, if any other similar programs have occurred since this contract with Astrium?
Paul Brooks
We’re working closely with Astrium on a number of projects, including Kazakhstan and ESA’s Sentinel 5 Precursor programme. More importantly is that with some of the key technology within Astrium — particularly RADAR — and the service led business they have pioneered through SPOTImage, Paradigm and InfoTerra we have a unique combination of low cost approach and service understanding to develop the new commercial business opportunities that we have at SSTL have always thought would be the next big thing in Earth Observation.
SM
Given your expertise in this area, how can such challenges be overcome to ensure EO continues to play its most crucial role in assisting NGOs, first responders, governments, and commercial firms in protecting both the planet and its citizens?
Paul Brooks
The first requirement for addressing the global challenges we face is providing accurate, consistent and unambiguous information about the state of the Earth and how it is changing. The data provided over the past decades by LandSat and SPOT has been critical in providing a traceable record of global change and this information is now required at a greater refresh rate and with even higher resolution to support the mitigation activities such as emission reduction and improved utilisation of resources through precision farming.
Again, we know this is all possible, the applications have been successfully demonstrated many times. The key is to provide the information on a service basis such that everyone can be confident that they can rely on the service. This requires a sustainable approach where the costs of providing the service are well below the value that can be assigned to the service.
I would say that the key is for the governments and agencies responsible for ensuring the future safety and security of citizens to specify what information and services they require to fulfil these obligations and then allow industry to put in place the systems and provide the service. This is not revolutionary, Paradigm (part of the Astrium group) has been providing the communications service for the UK’s armed forces for many years now, and if a service based approach works for military communications it can certainly work in other sensitive and critical areas such as environmental protection and sustainability.
SM
For youngsters and students considering a career in the space and satellite environs, what course work would you recommend to assist them gain the education needed to enter these industries? How can our industry assist in ensuring there is a competent core of specialists to grow our various endeavors?
These are excellent questions and ones that are critical to the future of the UK and SSTL. I have no doubt that if the UK is to maintain a strong economy it must be based on a strong foundation in education. The first issue is making science and engineering an attractive option for young people. Unfortunately, and rightly, these are hard subjects to follow so people need to see that it is worth the effort to become an engineer rather than settle for a softer option. We can help here by showing the excitement of space and the benefits that spacecraft can give to the critical issues of the day. We also need to show a working environment that is energetic and demanding, such that people want to work in engineering and that once they succeed in this goal they realise that they are part of an elite group. SSTL has such an environment and few people visit us without going away with a desire to work here.
In terms of courses, I’m a bit of a traditionalist, so stick with the fundamentals — math, physics, chemistry — leading to degrees in math, science and engineering. There are some excellent masters courses in space science and spacecraft engineering, including the courses at Surrey University that we use regularly with our professional customers. The critical aspects are a sound scientific approach to problems, a solid base of knowledge and an early immersion into real hardware, so one other feature I would look for in new recruits is someone who has built something in their shed or garage!
SSTL website: http://www.sstl.co.uk