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Mr.Stakkestad received both his bachelor and master degrees in mathematics from the University of California at Davis, and then accepted a position as a staff orbit analyst at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company (LMSC). He produced orbit-planning products for an array of operational satellite programs run by the Air Force, NASA, and SDI. In 1992, Mr. Stakkestad and a small team of engineers developed a prototype satellite ground system using off-the-shelf hardware and software products to demonstrate that a robust satellite ground system could be rapidly, cheaply, and reliably developed. This prototype was used as the example for the future development of the AFSCN satellite ground systems. His work on the prototype included implementation of the orbital dynamics portion of the ground system including development of the operational rule base. In 1993, Mr. Stakkestad left LMSC to help found KinetX, Inc. and serve as its first President and Chief Financial Officer. As the orbit dynamics lead for the development of the IRIDIUM® satellite ground control system, he developed the initial orbital dynamics requirements for the ground system. He led the orbit trade study that chose the company to implement the requirements, worked as the liaison between the development and operational staffs, and was part of the initial operations team that assembled the IRIDIUM® constellation. Mr. Stakkestad also led a variety of KinetX software, hardware, and system engineering projects for the IRIDIUM® project. After leaving the IRIDIUM® project, he worked on new business development for KinetX andassisted Spectrum Astro in the design of the satellite constellation and ground system architecture for the SBIRS Low project. He has written a number of papers on effective satellite operations and autonomy for large satellite constellations, a subject with which he is still actively involved. | 