Science Mission & Systems: Design & Operations Lab (APPEL-vSMSDO-LAB)

Dr. Jerry Jon Sellers, is author of Understanding Space: An Introduction to Astronautics, and is a contributing author and editor of Applied Space Systems Engineering. He was the director of the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Space Systems Research Center. He has over 25 years of space systems experience including Guidance & On-board Navigation Officer in Space Shuttle Mission Control; Assistant Professor of Astronautics at the U.S. Air Force Academy; and Chief of Astronautics for the Air Force European Office of Aerospace Research & Development. He is an Associate Fellow at AIAA and the former Chairman of the Space Systems Technical Committee. He is also an adjunct professor at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Peter Van Wirt develops/instructs courses in space systems engineering and consults to help improve SE capabilities. He is an Adjunct Professor with The Stevens Institute of Technology and instructs at the National Security Space Institute. He has served as a PM&SE for a variety of Air Force engineering developments and has over 29 years of aerospace engineering experience. He earned his doctorate at the Utah State in Control Theory.

Dr. Bruce Chesley is an experienced space program manager and industry executive. He served as the Chief Strategist for a space system portfolio spanning human spaceflight, commercial satellites, and government space systems and he led the early development of a global broadband satellite constellation. He has also delivered advanced space systems and prototypes while serving in a variety of roles in program management, business development and engineering. His USAF assignments included Air Force Space Command, the National Reconnaissance Office, and USAFA where he was an Assistant Professor of Astronautics. He was elected to the International Academy of Astronautics in 2020 and serves as a Vice President on the Bureau of the International Astronautical Federation. He has published more than 20 technical papers and book chapters on satellite design and space systems engineering. He is also an adjunct professor at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Dr. Wiley Larson is managing editor of McGraw-Hill’s Space Technology Series and editor and coauthor of Space Mission Analysis and Design, co-editor of Applied Space Systems Engineering and over 20 other reference books on space systems. He is the Director and Distinguished Service Professor for the Space Systems Engineering Master's program at the Stevens Institute of Technology and was former director of SpaceTech Master’s Program in Space Systems Engineering at Delft Technical University in The Netherlands. He has also served as Head of Engineering at the International Space University in Strasbourg, France, and has over 40 years of experience in space launch, satellite integration and test, and space mission design. He has consulted with numerous government and industry organizations and taught thousands of people around the world. Wiley is an elected member of the International Academy of Astronautics.