Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM

Monday, October 6, 2003 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium

Dannie Stamp

"Iridium -- Revolutionizing Space"

ABSTRACT -- Iridium revolutionized the satellite and launch vehicle industry. Iridium was the first true commercial manufacturer of satellites. Dannie Stamp leveraged Motorola's commercial heritage and transitioned the government satellite way of doing business to a commercial process. Satellites have been used commercially, but never manufactured utilizing commercial process before the Iridium program. The manufacturing cycle time was reduced from 225 days for government processed satellites to 24 days for Iridium Satellites. A satellite was produced every 4.8 calendar days on the Iridium line. The verification of the processes is validated with excellent on-orbit performance of the satellites. The lifetime of the constellation was recently extended to the year 2014, more than double the original estimate. Iridium made major new inroads into the launch vehicle business as well. Dannie Stamp initiated the first major western contract for a Russian launch vehicle. Three Protons (each carrying 7 satellites) built by Khrunichev were successfully launched. Six China Long March launches were successfully conducted and twelve Boeing Delta II launches were conducted out of Vandenberg A.F.B. The campaign was concluded using an SS-19 ICBM out of Pletesk, Russia, to launch two satellites.

SPEAKER -- Dannie Stamp continues to enjoy an exciting and challenging career with more than 35 years experience in the space and satellite industry. He is currently the Chief Officer of Operations for Iridium Satellite LLC. Dannie started his career by earning two master's degrees (the first in Aerospace Engineering from Iowa State University, the second in Business Economics from Claremont Graduate School.) He then entered the U.S. Air Force where he enjoyed a 20 year commission at the end of which he retired. He is now in his15th year of commercial satellite experience. In the late 90's, Dannie Stamp was known for breaking numerous world records in the commercial satellite industry. He continues to impress the industry by exceeding projections and expectations. For example, Dannie and his team were able extend the life of the 66 satellites in the Iridium constellation for 9 years longer than what they were originally designed for. Dannie was the primary individual responsible for overseeing the building and launching of Iridium's 66 satellite vehicles. He currently maintains the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the system.