Meet Jakob Peters, Financial Officer of YPSat !

Tell us a bit about yourself, what is your job at ESA?

I am part of the Industrial Policy & Space Economy team. Our main tasks involve assessing Socio-Economic Benefits from ESA activities and their technological, strategic, economical, or environmental impacts. We also measure the status and trends of the Space Economy as a whole. Basically, if you are ever interested in detailed space sector developments or how European Space Agency - ESA activities benefit humanity, we are worth a call.

Since last fall you are also the Financial Officer of YPSat, what made you join the project?

Being trusted to lead the financials of an official ESA mission is of course a tempting challenge in its own rights. However, what really convinced me to join were the ambition of the team. A group of young professionals bonding together to create a satellite from scratch and launch it on the maiden flight of the Ariane 6… that’s the kind of journey you want to be a part of.

What surprised you the most in your YPSat experience?

For me it was the freedom you have in your tasks. Not only do you have significant autonomy in how you solve road-blocks, but you are furthermore supported to pitch and pursue any additional contribution for the project. When I suggested to enter YPSAT to the large-scale, ESA funded, Case Studies for Sustainable-Benefits, I received tremendous support from the project leads and management to make it become reality. Any idea is given attention and the tools to pursue it.

What are you most proud of?

I am happy I can play my part in the mission and have the team’s back whenever finance and socio-economic challenges come our way. However, the main credit for YPSat’s successes must go to all the engineers that work dedicated to make our spacecraft fly.

Your most memorable moment?

We were in a call when the news broke that the Ariane 6 launch delays to Q4 2023 and the team was understandably gutted. Yet, it took less than 5 minutes to bounce back to constructive conversation about the tasks at hand and an optimized timeline for the YPSAT . It stuck with me as a prime example of the determination of the team for the mission.

How do you feel about your work going to space?

Phenomenally of course, projects like this are why one joins the space sector; major thanks goes to ARIANESPACE and our European Space Agency - ESA colleagues for providing this opportunity! And remember, we are not only seeing our work go to space but we also see it leave space immediately after the transmission completion. So we get to be excited twice, once for the successful mission and again for the zero debris created.