Clarke-Engineering L.L.C.

Curriculum Vitae

Engineering Experience

May 2013 – June 2024
Senior Spacecraft Engineer Systems Engineer
DISH (Formerly EchoStar) Satellite Services, Cheyenne, WY
  • DISH Satellite Services is a spacecraft operations department within DISH Network
    • The Satellite Services team maintains the fleet of spacecraft that provide satellite television to DISH customers 
  • Guided DISH Satellite Services’ operations, enhancing the performance and longevity of the spacecraft fleet through strategic planning, expert analysis, and innovative problem-solving.
  • Directed FCC-regulated deorbit operations, employing PMI project methodologies to ensure cross-functional execution and compliance, significantly contributing to DISH’s operational excellence and revenue optimization.
    • May 2017 – Echostar 08 Emergency Deorbit
    • Sept. 2017 – EchoStar 03 Emergency Deorbit
    • Jan. 2018 – EchoStar 01 Planned Deorbit
    • May 2018 – Echostar 06 Emergency Deorbit
      • Created tool to generate time-tagged table commands to automatically shut down the spacecraft in event of complete loss of communication
    • October 2019 – EchoStar 12 Planned Deorbit
      • Acted as Project Manager for the activity
      • Analyzed past A2100 deorbit to develop expedited fuel-depletion procedure
    • March 2022 – EchoStar 7 Emergency Deorbit
      • Acted as Project Manager for the activity
      • Quickly put together engineering assignments and deorbit timeline to quickly deorbit spacecraft before a permanent failure in GEO
      • Used manual offset between solar arrays to manage momentum while deorbit was executed to avoid using excess fuel
        • Developed tool to calculate the most efficient offset and monitor momentum reduction progress
  • Championed project recovery efforts for new spacecraft assumption of ops in Q4 2023, transforming ambiguous plans into actionable tasks using Microsoft Project, which improved project visibility and team coordination
  • Led propulsion and mechanism subsystems, endorsing procedural adherence and innovation, fostering team collaboration, and achieving operational efficiency and safety.
  • Utilized advanced analytical tools (Python, MATLAB, MS Office Suite) for high-rate spacecraft performance trend analysis, influencing strategic decisions at the executive level.
  • Supported development efforts on new spacecraft, including analyzing design review documentation and representing DISH at design reviews to verify operation requirements are satisfied
  • Planned and directed complex payload re-configurations
  • Attended design reviews and analyzed documentation to verify operational requirements were satisfied
    • April 2014 – EchoStar 19 Critical Design Review
    • November 2014 – EchoStar 23 Preliminary Design Review
    • September 2018 – EchoStar 24 Critical Design Review
  • Participated in ground testing, orbit raising activities, and in-orbit testing of new spacecraft
    • July 2016 – EchoStar 18 Compatibility Testing
    • August 2017 – Represented EchoStar in Germany in during the In-Orbit testing of EchoStar 21
    • July 2024 – Took over as Project Manager for the Assumption of Ops for EchoStar 24 (Jupiter 3)
      • Converted original plan into format that could generate digestible Gantt charts in Microsoft Project
  • Managed, evaluated quality, and optimized spacecraft procedures, tools, and the processes needed for efficient execution of operation activities
  • Performed 24×7 on-call operations on a rotating basis
  • Responded to anomalies, provided initial direction to operators, initiated and lead anomaly resolution efforts
  • Worked with multiple types of spacecraft buses
    • Very proficient with the SSL | MAXAR FS1300, LS1300, and Omega-3 bus architectures
    • Familiar with the Lockheed Martin A2100 bus architecture
  • Trained new and tenured engineers and operators on various operational procedures and technical information
    • Developed and continued to execute recurring payload trainings since 2018 that mimic real-life payload anomalies and require trainees to utilize published procedures to recover the spacecraft to a nominal condition
May 2011 – May 2013
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), University of Colorado, CO
Mission Operations – Command Controller
  • Conducted real-time commanding for NASA’s SORCE, Kepler, and QuikSCAT
  • Provided engineering support to professionals/scientists to conduct space science missions
  • Monitored spacecraft performance, sent real-time commands
  • Product Checking Script – Responsible for maintaining a PERL script that checks all daily products loaded to the SORCE spacecraft
  • Created testing documents for software team to follow during new script releases
  • GOODS table updates – As a member of the ADCS team for SORCE, responsible for planning monthly orbital dynamic tables that help the spacecraft account for the changing space weather
  • RCS lead for the Kepler spacecraft
  • Wrote monthly and quarterly reports detailing Kepler’s RCS status and health
  • Updated training binder as operations changed

Education

Master of Engineering: Engineering Management
DEC 2022
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

GPA: 3.93
Selected Courses: Engineering Management • Strategic Technologic Planning • Design of Engineering Experiments • Advanced Quality Control

Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering
May 2013
University of Colorado at Boulder

GPA: 3.21
Selected Courses: Vehicle Performance and Design • Electronics and Communication • Orbital Dynamics Attitude Determination • Propulsion • Automatic Control Systems • Spacecraft Design

Projects

Fall 2022
Offline Telemetry Monitoring Tool (OTMT)

OTMT Writeup

Developed a python tool to pull in spacecraft data and add it to commonly used control charts. Showed how easily implemented SCP charts can identify an issue with a spacecraft before operational impacts occur.

Created and utilized an agile/waterfall type schedule with regularly scheduled gate reviews to ensure development continued on time.

November 2014
Space System Loral User’s Conference

Presented to attendees on behalf of EchoStar

  • FS1300 Trending – Going Beyond the HOP [Health Operation Procedure]
    • Discussed various health trending operations performed at EchoStar
    • Asserted that going beyond the requirements listed in the manufacturer documentation, in the long run, results in easier and more accurate analysis of fleet performance
    • Described a system level understanding of a sub-system level procedure: Make sure that as spacecraft operators we know how changes in one part of the satellite affect the rest of the bus
August 2012 – May 2013
Low Cost Exploration Landing System (LoCELS)

LoCELS Media

Project Goal: Design a full scale lunar lander prototype using space applicable materials for impact testing on earth. The lander prototype will be capable of carrying a 5 kg mass payload, while limiting the g-load on that payload to under 100 g’s.

As the test and safety engineer, I designed testing procedures, built testing rigs, and executed tests for a prototype lunar lander.

I also helped machine and build the prototype itself.

Awards

April 2015
EchoStar SOC Distinguished Performance Award

Issued for going above and beyond what was expected, and continuing to do so on every project

Skills

Technical

Interface Description Language (IDL) • MATLAB • Mathematica • Microsoft Office • Perl • UNIX/Linux • STK (Certified) • Python • EPOCH/ARES C2 Software • Open Project • JIRA • GIT

Soft

Planning • Emotional Intelligence • Presenting • Technical Writing • Quick/Eager to Learn • Delegation • Self-awareness • Accepting of Feedback • Independent • Working Under Pressure