Who We Are

After leaving Oxford in 1993 with an MA in Physics, Doug joined the Defence Research Agency (now QinetiQ) to work on all things space, including radar surveillance, space radiation, spacecraft dynamics and military communications systems.

In 2001, Doug moved to Surrey Satellites to become a spacecraft systems engineer. Over the following years, he developed several new spacecraft including Europe’s first Galileo demonstrator satellite, GIOVE-A; ran the Science and Exploration business unit; and delivered multiple satellites and optical imaging payloads including the UK’s first cubesat.

In 2015, Doug created In-Space Missions, a company founded to develop new space enabled services and offer expert consultancy to industry, academia and government. Since 2015, Doug has variously run the UK’s rocket programme; led the technical development of a disruptive innovation centre; developed a commercial demonstration platform for space; and initiated a company delivering real time video and immersive experiences from space. Doug also sits on a number of industry advisory boards and takes an active interest in STEAM outreach.

Tony is the CTO of In-Space Missions Limited, bringing more than 28 years of experience in the space industry working for several major spacecraft manufacturers and ground system providers. Tony provides support and governance to project delivery as well as devising and driving forwards many novel service and technology offerings & capabilities.

Prior to joining In-Space, Tony was the Engineering Director at SSTL responsible for all spacecraft and ground segment engineering on project delivery and R&D.

Tony started his career in systems and AOCS engineering and has taken every opportunity to expand his capabilities in technologies across avionics, operations, software and ground segments, and in missions and payloads including Earth Observation, Science, Telecommunications and Navigation. His experience ranges across institutional, experimental and commercial missions, and has included two patents and a NASA Group Achievement Award.

Tony sits on the STEM ESERO-UK steering board and is active in the strategy for growing the Hampshire and M3 LEP region.

Ed is the Director of Space Systems at In-Space. He is a highly experienced spacecraft system engineer with a background in design, build and launch processing of many small satellite missions over 20 years.

Prior to joining In-Space, Ed had most recently been the Head of Mission Solutions and Innovation at Surrey Satellites where he managed the R&D activities of the World’s leading small satellite developer.

Ed started his career in RF and AIT and has worked on, led and managed every part of the satellite design, development, build, test and launch chain.

Kathryn is the Delivery and Operations Director at In-Space. She also leads their entrepreneurial joint venture, Spacetime Enterprises, working to provide virtual astronaut experiences. She has held various technical and delivery leadership positions within the Space and Cyber Security domains across Bae Systems Applied Intelligence, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and other divisions of what is now Airbus Space.

Kathryn holds a PhD in Astrodynamics, an MSc in Spacecraft Engineering, and graduated from the University of Cambridge (King’s College) with an MA in Astrophysics, where she worked on the University Women’s Executive. She is passionate about gender equality and equity, particularly in relation to STEM activities and tries to instil this passion in her young daughter with varying degrees of success.

Nimal is a Principal Space Systems Engineer at In-Space. He joined in 2018 having been the Earth Observation Systems Engineer at Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), responsible for developing and maintaining the technical strategy and roadmap for his business area.

Prior to this, Nimal worked as a mission systems and concepts engineer at SSTL across a variety of activities including the Remove Debris and Carbonite-1 missions. He also led technical studies examining technology trends, novel mission/payload concepts and economic considerations of satellite imagery. He has hands-on experience of nanosatellite assembly, build and test and of launch site integration. He also previously worked as a technician supporting the development and test of space mission components.

Nimal holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from the York University in Toronto and completed a Space Studies Programme with the International Space University.

Andres is a Senior Avionics Engineer at In-Space. Having completed his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Electronic Engineering and Computing in Bogota, Colombia Andres pursued his passion for developing new electronics systems with roles across a number of domains including IoT video processing devices; Augmented Reality systems and protection products for Hazardous areas.

After pursuing academic study into space systems part-time, Andres joined In-Space to gain more hands-on experience in Space hardware design and build. He has led the design of key systems on the Faraday spacecraft and can usually be found at his prototype bench or in the In-Space lab.

Susan is a Principal Engineer and Head of Outreach for In-Space. She has over 20 years’ experience of working in the Space industry in a variety of roles ranging from the thermal and radiation design of spacecraft, through systems engineering and architecture to technical project and programme management.

Susan previously worked at Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd where she was their Exploration Lead and deputy Head of Science. Prior to this she had undertaken a variety of roles on numerous small satellite programmes. This included a wide variety of R&D activities, payload developments and leading the Thermal and Space Environment design for the GIOVE-A mission, the first Galileo pre-cursor spacecraft.

Susan holds a PhD in Spacecraft Systems Engineering, a Masters in Astronautics and Spacecraft Engineering and a BSc in Physics with Astrophysics. Her evident capability and enormous enthusiasm for Space Science and Engineering makes her the perfect Head of Outreach.

Brian is the Spacecraft Production Lead at In-Space. He has a huge amount of experience building small spacecraft and holds ESA certification for electronic assemblies.

After starting his career training at Marconi Defence Systems in Portsmouth working on torpedoes, Brian then gained experience on video phones and inflight entertainment systems before transferring to Matra Marconi Space. He worked in the manufacturing department on Skynet 4 spacecraft before moving to Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd working on the UoSAT 12 platform.

At Surrey Brian progressed from contractor through to the Assembly, Integration and Test department where he soon become the Electrical/Mechanical Lead. He has worked on a range of spacecraft including the Galileo constellation and has supported clients all over the globe. Brian also has experience in leading and supporting launch campaigns in Russia, India and the US across a variety of launch vehicles.

Shefali is the Head of Sales & Marketing at In-Space. Prior to this, she worked as a senior commercial strategist at a venture-capital backed, early stage space technology business, Oxford Space Systems (OSS). At OSS, Shefali successfully built strategies to secure new customers, yielding strong revenue growth. She led, managed & won some of the company’s largest bids including UK MoD, UK Space Agency & international commercial customers.

Shefali was also seconded by the UK government to India on behalf of the UK space industry to help assess the scope and scale of market opportunities for UK space companies to export to India.

Shefali holds an MSc in Astronautics & Space Engineering and BSc in Aircraft Engineering. She is also a member of the Innovation Sub-group at Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and advices on developing the strategy for Oxfordshire’s innovation activities. Shefali actively supports STEM activities and is a member of the ESERO-UK steering committee.

Sarah is the Finance Director at In-Space. Sarah has worked in the space industry for over 20 years and has held the positions of both Finance and Managing Director of Surrey Satellite Technology. Her experiences have equipped her with the skills and insight required to navigate pitfalls and capitalise on opportunities pertaining to business growth in the international business environment.

A Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Sarah has deep financial monitoring expertise with a solid understanding of governance and controls required to ensure financial strength and business performance. She also has extensive experience of enabling disruptive innovation in heavily regulated technology environments. In addition to her role at In-Space Sarah holds a number of Non-Executive Directorships