Satellites from Stevenage

I joined Hawker-Siddeley Dynamics (HSD) in Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage in 1968 as a contract Equipment Design Engineer, moving from across the road at ICL/ICT.  In January 1969, I transferred to the group working on Blue Streak test equipment, weather satellite picture receivers. I spent long periods at Spadeadam, integrating checkout equipment for the European Launcher Development Organisation’s launch vehicle, Blue Streak being the first stage.

Later, we were nationalised, becoming BAe, and the commercial projects I was working on were transferred to HSD, England, in Hatfield. Later, I worked on designing power systems equipment for the first European communications satellite, the Orbital Test Satellite, within the MESH consortium. Then, I was seconded to French aerospace company Matra, in Velizy, Paris. I was made redundant by BAe when the company put the division up for sale to build cars, ships and shopping centres. I was then recruited by Matra in Toulouse, spending eight years on contact, finally moving back to the same plot in Stevenage, which had by then become Astrium (and today Airbus). I worked later as an independent Consultant.