Board
08/2022 – 12/2022

Allen
President

Allen is a second year SpaceMaster student from Leipzig in eastern Germany. His first space project consisted of soldering connectors for the payload of the sounding rocket project MAIUS. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Physics at the University of Hannover followed by a Master in Scientific Computing and Data Analysis at the University of Durham in England before coming to Kiruna to focus on space research. He is the current team leader of Project ALMA and used to be part of the Events Team of GSO. As president, he is now responsible for leading meetings, ensuring the progress of the organisation, supporting the PR officer in sponsorship procurements and creating an open discussion and collaboration space for the projects. 

“Starting out in the Events Team already provided a great opportunity to increase interaction of the students with representatives of industry and research institutions through the Lunchtime Interviews hosted by GSO. Now as president I look forward to facilitating more such dialogues and showcasting the diversity of careers that are possible in the space sector, in particular here locally in Kiruna. Furthermore, being part of the GSO board enables me to learn more about the other projects on campus. It is exciting to support them and working towards ensuring that future projects can benefit from the vast amount of practical knowledge they have amassed!” 

Deepa
Vice President

Deepa is a Space Master student from the south Indian city of Chennai, and has completed her undergraduate studies in Aerospace Engineering. She was inspired by the courses offered at Space campus and also tempted by the beautiful landscape and weather of Kiruna. The opportunity to see the Northern lights and live in subzero temperatures while studying her favourite subjects was a huge motivation to her!

She is has been involved in two student projects at the campus, project FASTER and BEXUS project ALMA. She joined the management team of FASTER and is the lead System Engineer. In ALMA, she was the thermal engineer and a member of the mechanical team. In December 2021, Deepa was elected as the Vice President of the new GSO board and her duties primarily involve coordinating the project recruitment, the nomination of new board members and assisting the president in various tasks.

“As a board member, I have learnt how an independent organisation works and also how inputs from every member can facilitate good decision making. It has also opened up new networking opportunities and I have been able to learn more about the amazing projects in Kiruna. I am excited to see how GSO evolves and also feel delighted to be able to contribute to the joint effort behind it.”

Amal
Public Relations Officer

Amal is a second year SpaceMaster student. He is from the southern part of India, and has a background in mechanical engineering. As one of the board members in GSO’s founding year he represented project RAVEN. Now he is the PR officer of the organisation. His responsibilities entail contacting public and private partners, taking part in board meetings and assisting in hosting GSO events. 

“As a board member of an independent organisation, I have learnt how board meetings work and decisions are taken in a company. Being a representative to a huge project team has also helped me develop leadership skill. And finally, through GSO I had the opportunity to meet and network with a lot of people from space industries and blooming space organisations.”

Juan
Treasurer

Juan is a second year Spacecraft Design student, he is from Zaragoza a city in the north-east of Spain. He did his undergraduate studies in Physics and he moved to Sweden looking for getting space engineering knowledge, the theme he always wanted to study. While being part of Project FASTER, as Treasurer his role in GSO is to manage the funds allocated to different student projects. Furthermore, it is his responsibility to look for new sponsorship deals and assist the other Board members as needed.

“I consider that having an organisation like GSO working actively in the SpaceCampus is really positive, not only for the people involved in student projects but for everyone in campus. From day one we have tried to set up different workshops and activities to involve students and create connections between us and the space industry. I am really looking forward to seeing how GSO grows and evolves in the next months.”

Spyridon
ALMA representative

Spyros is a second year SpaceMaster student who will spend his second year in Toulouse, France. He is from Greece and is the current representative of Project ALMA on the GSO board. After studying Physics in the Netherlands, he chose to go against his nature and come to the dark Kiruna to follow the SpaceMaster and learn more about space engineering. ❄️ He chose to be part of project ALMA to gain more hands on experience and knowledge on the topic.

David
APTAS representative

David is a Space Master student from Spain, with undergraduate studies in Aerospace and Telecommunications Engineering. He decided to study in Kiruna because he liked the completeness of the Joint Program that is offered there, in a new environment totally different from the warmness that he is used to. He is involved in one student project at campus, APTAS, in which he is a member of the Ground Station and Communications department, and his role in the GSO board is representing said project, keeping the committee updated with any recent changes in APTAS and also dialoguing between the different projects.

“Being part of the GSO board is very interesting, as I feel that there is a common objective of collaboration between the projects. It is a place to learn how all the different teams are progressing and overcoming the difficulties that they encounter, which can be also useful for my own purpose in APTAS and my future professional career”.

Jonathan
ASTER representative

Jonathan is a Spacecraft Design student hailing from southern Germany. He has a Bachelor degree in General Engineering Science, with a specialisation in mechanical engineering. He came to Kiruna motivated by a desire to help extend humanity’s space exploration efforts to the Moon, Mars and beyond. Currently, he is the head of the mechanical department in Project ASTER. In this position, he has been responsible for large parts of the overall design, including the design of the reaction wheels, the manufacturing and the testing process. As representative for Project ASTER, his roles are to attend the weekly meetings and to exchange information and updates between the team and the board, as well as to vote on decisions taken by GSO

“As I was already part of the first GSO board, I am happy that I can continue shaping the organisation to become the strong support for space projects that we envisioned GSO to be when it was founded. Trying to define a good framework for projects is certainly a challenging task, but a great challenge at that. I am looking forward to seeing how GSO will continue to grow and evolve in the coming years.”

Antoni
FASTER representative

Antoni is a Space Master student at LTU. He is a first year Space Master student who hails from Barcelona on the coast of Spain. He has studied Aerospace Systems Engineering and Telecommunications Engineering, and he moved to the north of Sweden in attempt to run away from the hot temperatures and sunny days of the south of Europe! He is involved in an impressive three of the student projects here at campus. In BEXUS project ALMA, he is head of the electrical department; in FASTER he also works for the electrical department; and in APTAS he leads the Communication and Ground Station department. Antoni’s role in GSO is to keep the GSO committee updated with the news from the FASTER team and help in the preparation and organization of different events that GSO organizes.

As a GSO board member, Antoni considers that what GSO is doing to be the best way to involve all the students and professors on the SpaceCampus as a community. With GSO the projects are more encouraged to reach their targets and to collaborate with other projects. It is not a simple task to know what is happening in all the projects, when there are so many!

Max
HAMMER representative

Max is a German-engineered Spacecraft Design student from the always happy city of Köln. With a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Mechanical Engineering from RWTH Aachen, the biggest university for engineering in Germany, he holds the role of project manager and founding member of project HAMMER. The cold of Kiruna is perfect to cool down his round-the-clock working brain. As project manager, one of his tasks is also to represent the project on GSO’s board as well as in the recruitment process.

“As a board member of GSO it is a pleasure for me to represent my project’s interests and drive its progress. GSO is a good tool for the projects to secure support of and communication with the university and sponsorships of a variety of companies. Even if it is hard to fit every project’s interests under one hat, I think, it is a very fulfilling task, which we all will benefit from in the future.”

Lasse
MGS representative

Lasse graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Hamburg, Germany. His interest in space exploration has driven him to further deepen his studies in the field of space. For him, studying in the winter wonderland of Kiruna is well worth the challenges that come with freezing temperatures and polar night in the winter. ❄

Lasse is actually a double-agent for Project APTAS, where his roles include managing both the software and science subsystems, as well as integrating the satellite in the cleanroom. In MGS he is head of the actuator subsystem. In GSO, Lasse represents the interests of project MGS. This includes providing update reports of the project’s progress and coordinating interests with other projects in regular board meetings.

“For me, GSO is all about cooperation. It is about realizing that student projects do not exist only on their own, but amongst each other. It’s about collaboration between the projects, sharing knowledge, assisting each other in problems, laying foundations for future projects, and communicating and discussing issues. I want to play a part in this, and believe the experience will benefit me later on.”

Edoardo
RAVEN representative

Edoardo is from Italy and graduated in Aerospace Engineering at Politecnico di Milano. Being a practical and passionate type, he was interested in a new environment and a new challenge. Kiruna and the space campus were the perfect fit: a focused campus revolving completely around space science and technology, in the remote Swedish Lapland, packed full of interesting projects and activities.

As a part of project RAVEN, he has been working as both a member of the Propulsion Team for the past two years and as its team leader for nearly as long. Edoardo just joined the GSO Board as the representative for Project RAVEN. He is responsible for carrying the point of view of his project to Board meetings, while updating the rest of the board on the progress of Project RAVEN.

“Since I have been a board member for a very short time, it is difficult to say what this means to me. However, I have lots of ideas that I would like GSO to develop to improve the project’s environment for them to thrive. Finally, I would like to say that I am very glad for the opportunity.”