Inmarsat's Mark Dickinson elected as new chairman of SDA

Inmarsat Vice President of Satellite Operations, Mark Dickinson, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Space Data Association (SDA).

SDA, established in 2009, is an international non-profit association of satellite operators that supports the controlled, reliable and efficient sharing of space environment and RF spectrum data.

Mark Dickinson, who has a Ph.D in High Energy Astrophysics, is responsible for the operation of Inmarsat’s fleet of geostationary telecommunication satellites, as well as well part of the team defining the specifications and following the development of Inmarsat’s future satellites.

Space safety

“The SDA has always taken steps to best ensure the future of the entire satellite industry” said Mark.

“I am happy to play a leading role in that future, especially at such an exciting time for the SDA. The upcoming launch of SDC 2.0 is an important step for the industry, helping us to secure the future of space safety.”

SDC 2.0 is a highly accurate, independently generated catalogue of space objects which will grow to include objects larger than 20cm, both in and traversing the geostationary arc, allowing for transparent and actionable collision warnings.

The service also features functionality to combat Radio Frequency Interference (RFI), including the construction of geolocation scenarios and a Carrier ID database.