BIOGRAPHY

Sir Martin Sweeting

Born in 1951, Sir Martin pioneered the concept
of rapid-response, low-cost and highly-capable
small satellites utilizing modern consumer
commercial ‘off-the-shelf’ (COTS) devices
to change the economics of space. Having
achieved a PhD in Electronic Engineering &
Communications, Sir Martin led a university
team to build and launch the UK’s first two
research microsatellites at the University of
Surrey, forming a university spin-out company,
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) in
1985. SSTL has now designed, built, launched
and operated in orbit 36 nano, micro, and
mini-satellites, including the international
Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC),
the RapidEye constellation and GIOVE-A,
the first Galileo navigation satellite for ESA.
SSTL has also developed a highly successful
satellite know-how technology and training
program and has worked with 14 countries,
enabling emerging space nations to achieve
their first space missions and to access space
directly, benefiting their environment and
economies. In 2004, SSTL formed a subsidiary
company, DMC International Imaging (DMCii),
to coordinate the DMC Consortium members
(Algeria, China, Nigeria, Turkey, Spain and UK),
providing imagery during disasters such as
the Asian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. It
also supports commercial and government applications, including agriculture, forestry and
environmental mapping. In 2008, SSTL formed
another subsidiary, SST-US, based in Colorado
specifically to address the US space market.
SSTL has grown to 485 commercial staff with
annual revenues of £100M and total export
sales in excess of £600M in 18 different countries. SSTL is currently manufacturing 8 small

satellites for launch in 2012–13 for Russia,
Canada and Kazakhstan, alongside 22 navigation
payloads for the Galileo Full Operational
Constellation for ESA/EC and a new constellation
of 3 high-resolution (1-metre) Earth
Observation minisatellites with capacity
leased to customers through a novel business
model. A low-cost medium-resolution SAR
minisatellite (NovaSAR) is underway for launch
in 2014 supported by the UK government.
SSTL is also developing a small geostationary
telecommunications satellite.

Sir Martin is also Director of the Surrey Space
Centre (SSC), leading a team of 90 faculty and
doctoral researchers investigating advanced
small satellite concepts and techniques. SSC
acts as the research laboratory for SSTL—real
academic-commercial synergy—and is currently
researching tiny nanosatellites and
interplanetary missions to the Moon using
COTS technologies.

Sir Martin has been elected a Fellow of the
Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the
Royal Society, appointed OBE and knighted
by HM The Queen. He has received the Royal
Academy of Engineering Silver Medal; the
Royal Society Mullard Prize; the Institute of
Engineering & Technology Faraday Medal; the
Royal Institute of Navigation Gold Medal in
recognition of the successful GIOVE-A mission
for the European Galileo system; the Elektra
Lifetime Achievement Award by the European
Electronics Industry; the Times Higher
Education Supplement Award for Innovation
for the DMC; the Arthur C. Clarke Lifetime
Achievement award and featured as one of
the UK’s “Top Ten Great Britons.” In March
2012, he was made an Honorary Fellow of the
Institution of Engineering Design, presented
by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. He is a member
of the UK Space Leadership Council.