Space Connect Episode 4 (April 2025)

Patricia Cooper is a leading expert on satellite communications, regulation and space policy, and is the founder of the space consultancy, Constellation Advisory, LLC, where she advises smart space and satellite ventures and international projects.

For six years, Cooper led Government Affairs for the Starlink satellite broadband constellation project at Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), where she secured Federal Communications Commission authorization for a record 12,000 satellites, and market access in more than 30 countries. She advocated for updates to spectrum, telecom competition and space safety regulations in the US and around the globe to support the coming generation of satellite networks. Today, Starlink serves over 2 million users worldwide with a constellation of over 6,000 satellites in over 70 countries.  

Prior to SpaceX, Patricia was an executive at geostationary satellite fleet operator Intelsat and as for nearly 7 years, President of the Satellite Industry Association (SIA), the leading trade organization representing U.S. satellite operators, manufacturers and service providers. At SIA, Patricia advocated in regulatory and national security arenas, for fair trade and competition rules internationally, and spearheaded a successful bipartisan, bi-cameral legislative initiative to reform satellite export control legislation. Previously, Patricia had served in both the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Commerce, and led international outreach at two start-ups, CoreExpress, an Internet fiber infrastructure play and PanAmSat Corporation, a disruptor in the early satellite services market.  

Patricia holds a Master’s Degree with Distinction in International Economics from the John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor’s Degrees in Political Science and German from Kansas State University (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa). 

Roser Almenar is a PhD Candidate in Law at the University of Valencia (Spain), and serves as a member of the ITU Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Board, representing Europe.

She is currently the Co-Lead of the “AI and Space Law” Research Group, hosted by the Space Law and Policy Project Group of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), and has contributed as a research member to the recently published report on “Balancing Innovation and Responsibility: International Recommendations for AI Regulation in Space”, elaborated under the auspices of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL).

Her research work focuses on the disciplines of Space Law and Policy (dealing with remote sensing technologies, AI, and data protection, among others), Telecommunications Law, and the impact of technological advances in the protection of human rights from a Private Law perspective.

Dr. Sandra H. “Sandy” Magnus is employed by MITRE acting in the capacity of a “temporary government employee” as the Chief Engineer for the Traffic Coordination System for Space in the Office of Space Commerce in the Department of Commerce. She is also affiliated with the Georgia Institute of Technology as part time of Professor of the Practice.

Dr. Magnus retired from federal service as the Deputy Director of Engineering in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for the Undersecretary of Research and Engineering. In that role she served as the “Chief Engineer” for the DoD establishing engineering policy, propagating best practices, and working to connect the engineering community across the department.

Prior to joining the DoD she served as the Executive Director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession.

Selected to the NASA Astronaut Corps in April 1996, Dr. Magnus flew in space on the STS-112 shuttle mission in 2002, and on the final shuttle flight, STS-135, in 2011. In addition, she flew to the International Space Station on STS-126 in November 2008, served as flight engineer and science officer on Expedition 18, and returned home on STS-119 after four and a half months on board.

Following her assignment on Station, she served at NASA Headquarters in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Her last duty at NASA, after STS-135, was as the deputy chief of the Astronaut Office. Before joining NASA, Dr. Magnus worked for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company from 1986 to 1991, as a stealth engineer. While at McDonnell Douglas, she worked on internal research and development and on the Navy’s A-12 Attack Aircraft program, studying the effectiveness of radar signature reduction techniques.

She is a Fellow of AIAA, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and has been inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame.

She was the Head of Sales, the Middle East and Africa for Meta (Facebook). Before that, she was the country manager in Nigeria and the regional sales director for the West African branch of Avanti Communications Group Plc, a satellite company based in the United Kingdom with a fleet of satellites.

She cumulatively spent 13 years in Sales and Management in the Telecommunication Infrastructure giant Ericsson. She also worked as a Cluster Lead for Nokia Siemens Network in West Africa.

Jane was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. She graduated with a second-class upper degree in electronics engineering in 2001 from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She furthered her education at Warwick Business School in the UK, where she received a master’s degree, and an executive education at both Harvard Business School and Yale School of Management in the United States. She has worked in the telecommunications industry in Africa for more than 17 years. Before working for Meta and Avanti, she worked for Nokia and Ericsson. Her knowledge of technology, her ability to manage complex stakeholder relationships, and her skill to manage teams and create strategies to support growth and drive business are keys to her success.

Being one of the few females, heading key business areas in the tech industry, has exposed Jane to numerous professional and personal challenges peculiar to women. Spurred by discussions with fellow female executives around the globe, she organised a forum at Ericsson in which emerging and experienced female leaders could support each other in developing their careers. The overwhelming success of the forum led her to found Women and Career (www.womenncareer.com), to reach women beyond her Organisation and to support girls seeking careers after school.

In March 2020, she published a book, “Be Fearless: Give Yourself Permission To Be You”, where she drew from her more than 15 years of experience as a telecommunication executive in Africa to help women build lasting careers, especially in the male-dominated STEM industries. The book hit seven Amazon bestseller lists on March 17, 2020, climbing all the way to number one in the Business Ethics and Knowledge Capital categories. The book also took top ranking in several career and leadership categories as well as appearing on seven New Release lists.

Jane’s passion for promoting girls in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) can be traced to her undergraduate days as a member of the International Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE). Along with the late Clementina Saduwa (nee Uvieghara), she cofounded IEEE Women In Engineering. Jane has continued to be actively involved in speaking to girls and women about STEM careers. She has spoken at TEDx programs, the Afri- can Science Academy, Asheshi University in Ghana, and CFA’s Start-ups Hangout. The latter program, founded by Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata, Jr., allows African entrepreneurs to meet, network, and learn so that their startups can excel. Jane has also spoken on several television programs.

Jane volunteers for the ACE Foundation’s Young Career and Graduate Mentorship Programme, and she is an aspiring fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Institute. She was a board member of the Ericsson Diversity and Inclusion Board and of Moma Matercity, a retail division of Telfrent Solutions. A home girl at heart, she actively gives back to the Ajegunle community of Lagos through the Sozo Network’s #BeforeITurn18 programme, which prepares underserved teenage girls for life, career, and leadership.

A quintessential extrovert and physical fitness proponent, Jane enjoys golf, cycling and salsa. She also writes a regular telecoms column for Business and Financial Times Ghana. Married toEgerton Idehen, they both have a son, Asher, and a daughter, Sarah, who inspire Jane to continue to push for diversity in male-dominated fields. Although she travels extensively, Jane continues to make her home in Lagos.

She was recently awarded the Most Outstanding Female CEO of the Year 2024, by the 5th Business and Excellence Awards, not only that, she also is the recipient of the Womenovate INWED2024 women impact leader awards this award was in recognition of her invaluable contributions as a female technologist making positive impact in our society.

The First Saudi and Arab Female Astronaut.

Ray has over 10 years of experience in stem cell research and tissue re-engineering. Throughout her career, she has refined research protocols, resolved technical challenges, managed numerous breast cancer research projects, and published several papers in the field.

As part of the SSA-HSF1 space mission, she became the first Saudi female astronaut to travel to space. She was joined by fellow astronaut Ali Alqarni, marking a historic milestone for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as one of the few countries to send two astronauts of the same nationality on a single mission.

Ray holds a Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences—with First Class Honors—from Alfaisal University in Saudi Arabia, and a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences, specializing in Reproduction, Genetics, and Development (ReGD), from the University of Otago in New Zealand.

She was raised in the western region of Saudi Arabia alongside her siblings and parents. Her lifelong passion for experimentation and scientific discovery led her to apply to the Saudi National Astronaut Program with a mission to conduct research in a zero-gravity environment that serves both the Kingdom and humanity.

Driven by her commitment to advancing microgravity research, Ray envisions transforming Saudi Arabia into a global hub for space biosciences. To realize this vision, she proposed the BioGravity Program, an initiative that empowers elite scientists to leverage microgravity in research areas such as cancer, stem cells, protein crystallography, and drug therapeutics. Her vision also includes the development of specialized training programs for scientist-astronauts and the creation of validation centers for microgravity-based experiments.

Ray’s dedication to uniting science and human spaceflight positions her as a global leader in space exploration—one who inspires the next generation of scientists and astronauts in Saudi Arabia and beyond.