October 29, 2010 Vol. 3, Issue 10
Three leaders in the aerospace world offered reflections and career advice to a packed room of young professionals at the International Astronautical Congress.
The International Astronautical Federation’s Young Professionals Program offered a series of events for young professionals attending the 2010 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Prague, including a plenary session, a virtual forum, and several networking receptions.
The Young Professionals event on the second night of the IAC featured a lively discussion among three global leaders in the industry with very different backgrounds: European Space Agency Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain, Lockheed Martin Vice President and former space shuttle pilot Ken Reightler, and Dr. Yasushi Horikawa, a veteran of the Japanese Aerospace Agency (JAXA) who is soon to be the head of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Academy Director, Dr. Ed Hoffman moderated the discussion.
A common theme among the panelists was the importance of teamwork. “I would not say I was successful,” Dordain said. “I was lucky enough to work on successful teams.”
Reightler spoke of his experience as the pilot of the first joint U.S./Russian space shuttle mission. “Watching how that worked, how the people came together” was a key experience in his career.
Horikawa echoed the sentiment. “Space is team work.” He also stressed the need to learn together. “You have to work hard and study lots of things—not only by yourself, but with other people.”
Reightler counseled young professionals to remain focused when they encounter opportunities and difficulties. “You need to take a long view and not look at next year or five years from now, but twenty years down the road,” he said.
Looking to the future, the space agencies with advanced capabilities will have an important leadership role to play as increasing numbers of developing nations seek the benefits of space. Horikawa pointed out that Japan was still a developing nation when it started its space program. “We are pleased to share that knowledge with developing countries,” he said.
Dordain stressed that most global space activity today concerns improving the quality of life on Earth. “The future of planet Earth is a global future. There is no individual future,” he said. “This is a global challenge. You all have to work together to make the future happen.”
The career and knowledge sharing event was sponsored by Lockheed Martin.
