E-news June 2023

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Subject: E-news June 2023

E-news June 2023

"Being a great place to work is the difference between being a good company and a great company."

Brian Kristofek

HE Space Summer Parties are on!

Summer is here! On June 3 in the Netherlands we kicked off our series of HE Space summer parties. Our offices in Germany and the UK will follow suit in the coming months.

Impressions of the HE Space Summer Party in the Netherlands at Brasserie Buitenhuis in Valkenburg.

The HE Space summer parties offer a great chance to get together with colleagues and connect with both familiar and new faces in an informal environment while enjoying delicious food in the summer sun.

In the Netherlands our summer party kept up with the tradition of offering fun and sporty outdoor activities at the party location. This year we could try out not only archery but also a summer version of curling as well as rafting. Thanks to the venue's proximity to water, we could build our own rafts from scratch and put them directly to the test in the lake. Kudos to our colleagues' engineering skills as all the rafts managed to stay afloat!

We look forward to seeing what the other offices get up to at their summer parties!

Joining forces at Space-Comm Expo

On June 7 and 8, HE Space UK Director Jason Maroothynaden took part in Space-Comm Expo, in Farnborough, UK. For the first time, our joint space force was fully represented as Jason was supported not only by a colleague from CS GROUP - Stephan Kox, but also one from Sopra Steria - Steve Isaac.

From left to right: Steve Isaac, Jason Maroothynaden, and Stephan Kox at Space-Comm Expo in Farnborough, UK.

Space-Comm Expo offered the perfect platform to launch the new joint SpaceForce group of HE Space, CS GROUP and Sopra Steria. Jason, Stephan and Steve were pleased to see that our combined space offering was well received in the UK.

Thanks to their networking at the event, both the UK Space Agency and British defence and aerospace multinational BAE Systems are interested in exploring how our combined service offering can support their activities.

We are excited to further support the growing space business in the UK with our expanding contracting, complex systems and digital services.

Get to know Pierre Le Nahedic,

the new Operations Director of HE Space GmbH

Pierre, tell us a bit about your background – what led you to CS GROUP and then HE Space?

I've been working for CS GROUP for almost 11 years, during which I supported different projects. The first project was with AIRBUS Helicopter where I was responsible, as an Embedded System Engineer, for the smooth integration of EC 225 MFD software (such as Multiple Function Display or cockpit displays) to ensure successful flight tests and certification processes.

In February 2016 I joined CS GROUP Germany where I first oversaw EUMETSAT consultancy activities. I progressively took on more responsibility and today I manage all business operations in Germany.

Pierre, could you please describe your role at HE Space?

As Operations Director, my role is to make sure that all operations are running as expected. This means supporting not only the Managing Director, François Xavier Laffont, but also all our colleagues across departments. Understanding the specificity of HE Space, CS GROUP and their respective business is key to ensure the successful integration of HE Space into CS GROUP operations.

What do you think are the combined strengths of HE Space and CS GROUP?

The most obvious strength we share is taking good care of our people. Secondly, our recruitment workforce is a key example of how we complement each other with our respective expertise. We could further strengthen each other by combining the best practices of both companies.

What are you looking forward to the most in your new role?

After our now well-established collaboration with EUMETSAT, I'm looking forward to our next successes. The successful integration is not without hurdles and will be a team effort. I think we should measure our success based on three factors. First, the human factor - meaning that by the end of the year we've established an effective joint approach based on a strong team spirit. Second, we should work together to develop our current activities and extend our perimeter to new customers. Finally, we should reach the defined objective within our 2023 budget.

Why are you passionate about people and passionate about space?

I think being passionate about people is especially important for managers to establish successful work relationships. Even though during busy times contact with the employees can be limited, it is important for a manager to recognise the added value each employee brings to the company because of their own unique career path and experience.

A good fairy appears and you have 3 free wishes, what do you wish for?

I don't really believe in magic. However, if I had a free wish then I'd like for us to have a joint success with the ongoing integration. On a more philosophical note, human nature has both positive and negative sides. If I could magically change anything, I'd like people to be better at understanding each other and looking beyond their own immediate interests. This would make cooperation and team building that much easier.

Helping students understand the European space industry

We were delighted to support the Space Generation Advisory Council’s first in person regional event in Germany, SG[Germany] 2023, which took place on June 17 at the Technische Universität Berlin.

Impressions of SG Germany 2023 on June 17 at Technische Universität Berlin (Germany).

SGAC is a non-profit organisation connecting university students and young space professionals with the United Nations and the space industry and academia. SG Germany was therefore centered around bringing together Europe's young space community and fostering students' and young professionals' engagement with industry experts to help them better understand the European space landscape. To this end, the event featured a wide range of keynotes, panel discussions and interactive round tables with various space players active in Germany and across Europe such as ESA, Airbus, DCUBED, TeleOrbit and many more.

As an SGAC volunteer, our HE Space colleague Stephan Speidel was actively involved in the organisation of SG Germany. HE Space contributed to the event programme by offering an online career session where recruiters Medina Djakova and Vicente Gracia presented an overview of the German and European space sector and provided key insights on CV writing skills and starting a career in space.

Another highlight of the event was also a guided tour of Germany’s oldest observatory with astronomer Dr. Felix Lühning, Director of the Archenhold Observatory, which houses the world’s longest moveable telescope and where Albert Einstein gave his first public lecture on his general theory of relativity.

NEW combined employee newsletter from July

Mirroring the growing integration between HE Space and CS GROUP, starting from July 2023 we're going to distribute a new combined employee newsletter to all our colleagues working in space across Europe.

The employee newsletter is a great way to keep in touch with new developments across the company and to find out more about what our colleagues get up to in their work either at customer sites or in any of our back offices.

We'd like to continue in this direction by interviewing colleagues about their ongoing projects, introducing new joiners, reporting on employee and business events across locations, company updates, and any other work related or unrelated activities our colleagues are passionate about.

To share your story please get in touch with Federica Sala (fsala@hespace.com). You can tell your story in your own way, either with a short 15-minute interview with Federica, or by emailing her a short 150 word article.

To further promote knowledge sharing across companies we'd like to organise more lunch webinars. If you'd like to put forward your ideas for the next lunch webinar, please contact Barbara ten Berge (btenberge@hespace.com)

Our Newcomers

We are happy to announce that the following colleagues have recently joined HE Space. A warm welcome to:

Selma Zamoum joined HE Space as a Communication Systems and Technologies Engineer at ESTEC in TEC in Noordwijk. After a PhD on random access for Satellite Communications, she joined a startup working on a Space Situational Awareness inspection satellite in Toulouse. Selma then joined Thales Alenia Space where she worked on physical layer aspects of the ground segment of very high throughput satellite systems.

Outside of work, Selma is passionate about foreign languages, and dancing. She enjoys practising Taekwondo, running, hiking and swimming but also travelling and reading.

David Woodhouse joined HE Space as a Design and Content Officer at ECSAT in Harwell (UK).

David holds a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design and has worked in varied multi-disciplinary positions around his home patch Nottingham as a graphic, print, web, digital and consultant designer. As well as his passion for all things creative, David has interests in science & space: Georges Méliès films to The Big Bang Theory (Bazinga!), Sputnik to Juice, David Bowie's Space Oddity to PBS GO. Favourites: Food - Space Raiders crisps, Colour - Mars Red, Author - H. G. Wells, Animal - Space Monkeys.

Claudia Misch joined HE Space as Administration Assistant at ESTEC.

She grew up in Germany but has lived and worked in Japan, the United Kingdom and for many years in the Netherlands. She holds a Master's Degree in Literature sciences and Psychology from the University of Leipzig. In the past she has worked in administrative positions in a variety of fields.

Apart from being passionate about her job, Claudia loves hiking with her dog Masha, theatre and cinema.

Ritesh Jain joined HE Space as a Business Innovation Engineer at ESTEC.

Originally from a small village near Jaipur in India, he is an Aerospace engineer by education, a businessman by blood, and passionate to bring space tech to Earth. He loves talking about entrepreneurship and different cultures as he has lived in Italy, Portugal, and France. He is a people person, always eager to learn new things, flying a plane is at the top of the list.

In his free time, Ritesh often cooks, plans for a new adventure or plays games. His friends often say, when in trouble, better call Ritesh!

Felix Bosco joined HE Space as a Satellite Image Calibration Engineer at EUMETSAT in Darmstadt (Germany). Born and raised in Northern Germany, he went to Heidelberg to pursue a Master’s Degree in Astrophysics. There, he spent the recent years at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in order to obtain his PhD, studying astronomical instruments and new methods to measure the mass of black holes.

In his free time, Felix enjoys sport activities such as swimming, hiking and Ultimate Frisbee, but also making music.

Supporting child-centred education in Nepal

The HE Space Children’s Foundation has now been supporting the “School to school” project in Nepal, initiated by Tineke Roegiers in 2019, for 3 consecutive years.

Improving the quality of education in rural primary schools is a long-term effort. In 2023 the HE Space Children’s Foundation will renew its support to primary school education in Nepal with a Learning Enhancement project covering not only the rural villages Jutepani and Hakpara as in previous years but also extending to the villages of Simrash and Botani, Nepal.

Our colleague and project starter Tineke Roegiers said she is “very happy to see another year of support for this project in Nepal where CEPP [our Nepalese partner organisation], with support from a Belgian NGO Bikas, addresses the full community around the school.”

Our partner organisation on the ground, the Centre for Educational Policies and Practices (CEPP), favours an holistic approach: it aims to strengthen the ties within the community, encouraging parents, school management committees, headmasters, teachers, and students to work together, all the while offering continuous support to all parties involved.

The main goal of this programme is not to build schools or to improve school infrastructure, but rather to create a happy, child-centred educational environment. The Children's Foundation support is used to fund a mix of essential activities; training for teachers, follow-up on digitization, organising meetings for parents and upgrading the classroom, playground and providing support for the plant nursery.

HE Space Live

Curious about the upcoming space events HE Space will be involved in?

French Space Days

10-13 July, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London & Harwell (UK)

Our UK Director Jason Maroothynaden and CS GROUP Business Developer Nicolas Frouvelle will travel across the UK with a French delegation to explore the growing business opportunities in the UK space sector.

Find out more here (in French).

Events calendar

13 July

Summer Party, Darmstadt

22-28 July

Space Station Design Workshop, Stuttgart

11-15 September

EUMETSAT Conference, Malmö

3 October

Defence in Space, London

14-16 November

Space Tech Expo, Bremen