The Program: A Perspective on the Global Race to Space

This talk will present thoughts on the current state of space and its socio-economic impacts on humanity with an insight into the role played by the United States Space Force and its service laboratory – the Air Force Research Lab. The human space enterprise has experienced significant changes over the past decade ranging from the explosive growth of new commercial space industry to the global realization of the advantages that space provides in military conflict and peacetime, and the impacts that the loss in space capabilities would have to countries that depend on them. Some of the benefits that humanity derives from the space enterprise include a diverse array of capabilities from space-launch to rapid-revisit satellite imaging and satellite communications, many of which have only recently become available. This talk will cover some of the current forces and global trends that are driving the race to space, setting the groundwork for future exploration endeavors.

Presenter: Dr. Wellesley Pereira

Dr. Wellesley Pereira is the Mission Area Lead for Space Information Mobility at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). This Mission Area includes Space-based Imaging, Satellite Communications, and Position, Navigation, and Timing. He is responsible for establishing the strategic vision, goals, and partnerships for these areas. He has guided the development of several defense and commercial satellite projects and constellations and participated in multi-nation partnerships proving key technological and data fusion capabilities for the US government and its allies, enabling delivery of products to end users with reduced time latencies. He has an extensive background in sensor development, algorithm development, and data analytics for Remote Sensing applications, and has successfully led the development and demonstration of some unprecedented game-changing space-based capabilities in this field.

His extensive contributions to the scientific community include numerous publications in open and closed/defense literature, presentations, and invited talks at Remote Sensing Symposia.

In 2020, Dr Pereira was elected Fellow of the International Society of Optics and Photonics (SPIE) and was also honored with a Leadership Award as Government Scientist of the Year by the American Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE). He currently serves as the Associate Editor for the SPIE Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, is a Lead for several US Space Community of Interest Groups and is an active member in NATO Research Technology Groups.

He is an effective US government emissary to the commercial, academic, and Allied partner communities having successfully established numerous government contracts and international agreements to bolster relationships and advance technological innovation for space.

Thursday, February 22nd, 2024 6:00pm Tanoan Country Club