Developing Responsive and Agile Space Systems - Space-Library

has its own satellite operations center. A year ago, Hopkins even
made it to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Western Pacific, where he
participated in a satellite launch and lived for two weeks at the
Army installation on the island. “It was hot, a lot of work and long
days, but a once-in-a-lifetime experience I’ll never forget,” he said.
Hopkins was most interested in research and development work
when he began his career as an engineer in the late 1970s. His first
job was at Litton, Guidance and Control, followed by work at the
Northrop Corporation. At Northrop, his work included investigating
single event phenomena in GaAs (gallium arsenide), total dose
effects on HgCdTe (mercury cadmium telluride) array structures,
and characterizing radiation effects on photovoltaic devices. He
also began to coauthor several papers on these subjects with his
colleagues. The Northrop position involved interaction with people
at Aerospace, and he remembers discussing projects with Mike
Daugherty, who retired as executive vice president, and Bruce Janousek,
a principal engineer/scientist in the Physical Sciences Laboratory.
Hopkins then came to work at Aerospace briefly, but was
drawn away to Science Applications International Corporation by
the “lure of money.” After a year
there, however, he got tired of
constantly working the weekends
required by the job. He moved on
to a job at TRW, and two years
later returned to Aerospace. He
landed in the Engineering and
Technology Group, and has been
at the corporation ever since.
All of these positions were
building blocks that supported
Hopkins’ work in radiation effects.
“The Reagan years were very good years. There were lots of
job opportunities,” he said. Although his career began during the
Cold War, Hopkins said many of the technologies developed during
those days remain applicable to today’s space systems. “For example,
there was a lot of investment in making electronics radiation
hardened. These devices are used in building space systems today
because, at a minimum, we still have to deal with the natural space
radiation environment. Having that technology available makes our
jobs easier by making sure critical subsystems will perform in an
adverse environment,” he said.
The ORS work Hopkins’ group supports is a fairly new effort
for the DOD. The mission is to develop the enablers associated
with a responsive space architecture. The goal is different from the
“big space” arena, where it may take five to ten years to develop a
space system. The work instead is focused on “small space.” “We’re
looking at developing enablers across the spectrum from launch
vehicles, launch ranges, space vehicles, and payloads, to make the
space deployment process go faster and be more responsive,” he
said. The other principal activity of ORS is responding to and making
recommendations for urgent needs that come down from the
warfighter. “The ORS effort is considered an adjunct to the type of
large space and high-performance system work typically done in El
Segundo. Obviously, you’re not going to have the same type of performance
with a small satellite. So you’re trading performance for
agility and speed in terms of acquisition, and the focus is on tactical
support to the warfighter in theater,” he said.
Hopkins explained the AFRL and SDTW efforts headed up in
Albuquerque.
“AFRL develops space technology, and Aerospace works as its
systems engineer on the technology demonstrations flown in space.
A good portion of SDTW work is for the Space Test Program,
flying research and development payloads for various DOD entities—Air
Force, Army, and Navy. All three organizations [AFRL,
SDTW, and ORS] are similar in that they’re all very forward looking,”
he said. But occasionally, the needs of these three primary
customers conflict, and Hopkins then counsels his staff: “Keep the
discussion technical. Keep the emotion out of it. And try and work
toward a solution that makes the best technical sense,” he said.
As for his thoughts on management, Hopkins said, “A great deal
of it is common sense and the ability to effectively communicate.
The hard part is the people part, not the technical work. ” Hopkins
explained the importance of communicating with employees and
management. “You’ve got to understand their [employees’] needs,
as well as your manager’s needs, and trying to address those needs
is extremely important,” he said. “A key aspect is also leadership,
which is different than management.
You can be a good
“One of the best things about manager by following your
STE [staff technical effort],
working in Albuquerque is we are
capital, and overhead budgets,
building, launching, and operating but that doesn’t make you a
small satellites, so we get to see all good leader. To be a leader you
have to understand the vision
the aspects of space programs—
of your particular organization.
from cradle to grave.”
You have to figure out what
needs to be done and have the
courage to execute those actions
to make that vision a reality,” he said.
Hopkins has been active in professional organizations throughout
his career, including being the general conference chair for both
the Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conference, and Hardened
Electronics and Radiation Technology Conference. “I got
involved to stay abreast of technical advancements in my field. Engaging
with colleagues who have common technical interests in a
small technical community, helping to put together the conferences
and organizing them—it’s just fun, that’s the bottom line,” he said.
Hopkins has also taught “Key Enabling Technologies” at The Aerospace
Institute. “Interacting with peers and sharing information is
important,” he said. He also wanted to broaden his perspective by
looking across the space technology enterprise, and said, “What
better learning experience could I have than putting together a
course?” Hopkins teaches the introduction to the course, and then
draws in different technical experts from across the company. “It’s
pretty unusual in that we have 10 or 12 instructors for the class,” he
said.
What has kept Hopkins working at Aerospace for 20 plus years
now is the culture of the corporation and the work. “I’ve dabbled
in a lot of different companies, and within the defense and aerospace
industry, I don’t think I ever found a place that treated their
people better than Aerospace,” Hopkins said, adding, “Aerospace is
uniquely positioned to provide insight into and influence on some
of the very important decisions our country is facing. How could
you not be engaged in that kind of work? It’s exciting.”
Crosslink Summer 2009 • 5