Ben Stern

Ben holds an Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hertfordshire. He began his career at EADS in Stevenage (later Airbus Defence and Space) as a spacecraft stress engineer, contributing to a diverse range of projects, including the analysis and testing of telecommunications satellites, spacecraft subsystems, and other flight hardware. In 2003, Ben joined Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) as a stress engineer, where he played a key role in the development of the GIOVE-A, a pathfinder mission for the European Union’s Galileo Global Navigation Satellite System. Following this, he transitioned into business development, focusing on markets in Asia and Latin America. Over the years, Ben has held a variety of roles at SSTL, working with multidisciplinary teams on numerous high-profile projects. He became SSTL’s Key Account Manager for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and later assumed the role of Key Account Manager for the European Space Agency (ESA). In addition to his work at SSTL, Ben is deeply engaged in the UK space industry. He has been an active member of UKspace, the trade association for the UK space sector. In 2021, he was elected Vice Chair of the Earth Observation Committee, and in 2023, he was appointed Vice Chair of UKspace. Ben is the Chair of the UK Space Skills Advisory Panel.