Kathryn Graham

"I am friendly, helpful and collaborative person. I am a trainer, communicator and coach type, which is great because in my job I need to communicate with, support and train people I work with. The key to my success in my role is communication. "

"I am a system engineer at a small company that works in the space sector, designing and building satellites and delivering training. Working a small company I do a wide variety of tasks. Some of these tasks include, system engineering and mission analysis for satellites we are designing, such as power needs, how much data we can download in a day, do we have enough power to run the satellite when it is launched. I also work on business development for the company, meeting people at events, building contacts and writing proposals for new work. Also I write and deliver training specific to the space industry, today I am writing an introduction to space course. Some of my career highlights have included, downloading the first image from a satellite, supporting the first launch from the UK at Spaceport Cornwall, delivering a mission design course to professionals in Mexico. "

"I originally studied Physics with Astrophysics BSc, and then completed a PhD in Astronomy. I then started working as as a scientist and engineer studying space missions, where she earned £16,000 a year when she started, over 20 years ago. I then moved into mission concept design and ran my own team in this area, before moving to run a larger system engineering team. I enjoyed line management and reached the point where I managed 60 engineers. For a year I moved into a leadership role for a different company. It was fun but I missed being in the space industry. I have mow moved to a small company where I can do a wide variety of different activities including technical, business development, training and STEM. "

"In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family and walking our dog, a Lurchur called Lucie. My kids are now at university, so I look forward to spending time with them when they are home. I love being outside in nature so will spend a lot of time outside. I also do a range of creative hobbies, such as photography, sewing etc. I also spend a lot of time outside in my garden and enjoy mountain biking with my husband. "

"During my typical day, I arrive at around 9am. I will catch up on emails and then get on with work. Today this was working describing mission analysis we will do. I will also do some work on a bid and mentor an intern. Other days I could be discussing the link budget for a mission we are designing or discussing training we are planning to give to graduates. Most of my day is spent at the computer, so I love when we have an exhibition or conference to go to and I can explore what others in the industry are doing, or talk about the work that we do. One project I am working on is a cubesat mission for Cornwall. A big aim of the project is to stimulate interest in space for the Cornish community, and it also has an environmental application, which means I get to discuss measurements needed for environmental monitoring of sea grass for example. "

"4 A levels - Physics, Chemistry, Maths and General StudiesBSc Physics with AstrophysicsPhD X-Ray Astronomy"