20 Under 35
SSPI’s annual list of “20 Under 35” features 20 employees and entrepreneurs to keep your eye on in coming years. They were selected from nominations submitted by the membership and evaluated by the same panel of judges who name winners of the Promise Awards. They represent, quite simply, the best of us in the years ahead.
The “20 Under 35“ are honored each year during the Night of Excellence, alongside the newest inductees to the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame. At event, SSPI presents the three top-ranked members of the 20 Under 35 with a Promise Award, recognizing them as leaders of their year’s cohort For more information on the SSPI Promise Awards, click here.
Nominations
Nominations are now open for the “20 Under 35” cohort of 2025. Nominations are due by October 3, 2025, and this year’s “20 Under 35” cohort will be named on December 18, 2025. You can fill out the nomination form online or download the form and submit it via email.
Access the Online Nomination Form Download the Nomination Form
Start Your Own Specialized “20 Under 35” Recognition Program
SSPI invites SSPI-WISE, Chapters, regional interest groups, and affiliates to celebrate rising talent by organizing a “20 Under 35” recognition program. These programs are designed to be flexible, easy to launch, and meaningful – whether you recognize one rising star or ten. Click here to learn more.
The 2024 “20 Under 35”
SSPI honored the seventh annual “20 Under 35” list at the Future Leaders Celebration on October 21, 2024.
Mackenzie Mason
Boeing
Promise Award Recipient
Paige (Cooley) Webster
ATLAS Space Operations
Promise Award Recipient
Bradley Williams
NASA
Promise Award Recipient
Yaqoob Alqassab
Bahrain Space Agency
Howard Chang
NASA
Konark Chopra
Astrobotic Technology
Alberto Diago Gallardo
Mynaric
Alexandria (Alex) Duran
Viasat
Katie Gwozdecky
Rocket Lab USA
Bryan Ho
MDA Space
Scarlett Koller
Mithril Technologies
Ryan Kramlich
Astroscale US
Thomas Larkin
NanTenna
Joseph Lyon
Planet
Jane McNicoll
Rocket Lab USA
Casey McNulty
Boeing
Katina Mruk
RKF Engineering Solutions
Megan Owen
Stellar Solutions
Atilla Saadat
Turion Space Corp.
Sam Arne Whalley
Isar Aerospace
The 2023 “20 Under 35”
SSPI honored the sixth annual “20 Under 35” list at the Future Leaders Celebration on October 18, 2023.
Bhavi Jagatia
Planet
Promise Award Recipient
Julie Newman
Boeing
Promise Award Recipient
Onyinye Nwankwo
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Promise Award Recipient
Aysha Alharam
Bahrain Space Agency
Andrew Chau
Millennium Space
Amy Comeau
Boeing
Laura Cummings
Astroscale US
Christian Keil
Astranis
Srikanth Kodeboyina
Blue Eye Soft dba Blue Space
Dr. Justyna Kosianka
Ursa Space
Neha Lin
Iridium
Dr. Zhe Liu
Maxar
Armando Loli
Boeing
Asad Malik
iRocket
Klaus Okkelberg
Boeing
Matej Poliacek
DLR - German Aerospace Centre
Sapna Rao
Lockheed Martin
Alix Rousselière
Euroconsult
Glory Sikka
Maxar
Kenneth Smith
The Aerospace Corporation
The 2022 “20 Under 35”
SSPI honored the fifth annual "20 Under 35" list at the Future Leaders Celebration on October 12, 2022.
Chiara Cocchiara
EUMETSAT
Promise Award Recipient
Donya Naz Divsalar
Caidin Biotechnologies
Promise Award Recipient
Dr. Anthony Yuen
Space Generation Advisory Council
Promise Award Recipient
Sabrina Alam
SES
Charis Angeli
Hellas Sat
Dr. Olivia Borgue
University of Luxembourg
Kevin Burville
MDA
Joakim Espeland
QuadSAT
Federico Giusto
ispace
Robert Hawkins
Boeing
Trina Jefferson
Ball Aerospace
Ryan Jeffrey
Sidus Space
Saroj Kumar
University of Alabama at Huntsville
Dr. Vivek Muralidharan
University of Luxembourg
Mariam Naseem
University of Maryland, College Park
Angga Risnando
Telkomsat
Alvaro Sanchez
Integrasys
James Spicer
SpaceLink
Jenna Tiwana
ispace
Nathan Tat
KBR
The 2021 “20 Under 35”
SSPI honored the fourth annual "20 Under 35" list at the Future Leaders Celebration on October 5, 2021.
Kelsey Doerksen
Planet
Promise Award Recipient
Syndey Hamilton
Boeing
Promise Award Recipient
Raven Moreland
Ball Aerospace
Promise Award Recipient
Daniel Carey
ATLAS Space Operations
Luke Clancy
Speedcast
Meg Eckensen
Ursa Space
Luis Ferreira
Airbus Defence and Space
Dr. Markus Geiss
OHB System AG
David Harary
OBXTek Inc., SAF/SQ
Mikala Johnson, Ph.D.
Kymeta Corporation
Mina Konaka
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Dr. Akshata Krishnamurthy
NASA Jet Propulsion Lab
Sam Lewis
ATLAS Space Operations
Valentina Luchetti
Space Generation Advisory Council
Brandon Marsella
Boeing
Camilo Andrés Reyes Mantilla
SES Satellites
Courtney Schmitt
Blue Origin
Dr. Olga Stelmakh-Drescher
EXOLAUNCH
Jimmy Strates
NXT Communications Corp.
Nathan Welborne
Viasat Government Systems
The 2020 “20 Under 35”
SSPI honored the third annual "20 Under 35" list at the Future Leaders Celebration on October 6, 2020.
Taylor Kerl
Maxar
Promise Award Recipient
Brittany Zajic
Planet
Promise Award Recipient
Brittany Zimmerman
Paragon Space Development
Promise Award Recipient
Harriet Brettle
Astroscale
Reina Buenconsejo
Cal Tech
Bethany Downer
ESA - Hubble Space Telescope
James Farrell
Boeing
Giulia Federico
SPiN
George John
Hogan Lovells
Pierre-Alexis Joumel
Airbus
Adnan Al Muhairi
Yahsat
Dr. Tobias Niederwieser
CU Boulder
Joost van Oorschot
Maana Electric
Melissa Orlick
Isotropic Networks
Nicholas Puschman
Bird & Bird LLP
Sahith Reddy Madara
University of Sharjah
Manny Shar
Bryce Space & Technology
Dr. Jeffrey Stuart
NASA Jet Propulsion Lab
Derek Thompson, Ph.D.
Phase Four
Fatmah Al Yammahi
Yahsat
The 2019 “20 Under 35”
SSPI announced the second "20 Under 35" list at the 2019 Future Leaders Dinner.
Daniel Alvarez
Millennium Space Systems
Promise Award Recipient
Julian Horvath
Iridium
Promise Award Recipient
Natalia Larrea Brito
Euroconsult
Promise Award Recipient
Chris Beauregard
National Space Council
Gaurav Bhatia
Hughes Network Systems
Dr. Nikita Chiu
Space Engineering Research Center
Ryan Clulo
ATLAS Space Operations
Lindsay Crossan
Boeing
Dr. Ashwati Das
NASA Jet Propulsion Lab
Clémentine Decoopman
Space Generation Advisory Council
Guillermo Del Rio
Elara Comunicaciones
Isil Demir
Planet
Sajit Jumani
GEOshare
Jomya Lei
Boeing
Joao Lousada
GMV Insyen AG
Andrea Marin
Intelsat
Adam Milewich
Intelsat
Abiodun Ogunbiyi
Aerospace Palace International
Manny Shar
Bryce Space & Technology
Jeremy Turpin
Isotropic Systems
The 2018 “20 Under 35”
SSPI announced the inaugural "20 Under 35" list at the 2018 Future Leaders Dinner.
Jillian Gorsuch
Space Systems/Loral
Promise Award Recipient
Theodore McDonald
SpaceX
Promise Award Recipient
Mike Safyan
Planet
Promise Award Recipient
Ali Akhtar
Supernet
Raoul Le Boucher d’Herouville
OneWeb Satellites
Zack Downey
Ursa Space
Joanna Estrada
Elara Comunicaciones
Phil Hahn
Blue Origin
Arlen Kam
OneWeb
Jeff Kendall
Space Systems/Loral
Jess Koloini
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Valvanera Moreno
SES
Marvin Salas
Elara Comunicaciones
Peter Schimitsch
Globecomm
Emily Schubert
Boeing
JP Sheehan
OneWeb
Cate van Oppen
Kymeta Corporation
Krystal Wilson
Secure World Foundation
Lindsay Wolff
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Adam Yozwiak
OneWeb
