In July 2021, SSPI’s Women in Space Engagement (WISE) group initiated a Mentorship Program to enable women starting out, or at a crossroads in their careers, to take advantage of the experiences of pioneering women already established in the exciting but historically male-dominated satellite and space industry.

Now in our second year, more than 25 pairs of mentors and mentees around the globe have been working together, offering a rich learning and development experience for both groups. Mentors share their knowledge and experience and help nurture new talents, while mentees expand their networks and get support on ways to advance their careers in this vibrant industry.  Feedback from mentees has confirmed the success of the program:

“The program has been great for helping me with professional development in a way that I don’t necessarily receive it from my company.”

“As someone who is new to the space industry, I couldn’t imagine having better direction, education and leadership than I am receiving first hand through the mentoring process. Many thanks to SSPI-WISE for making this possible.”

“My mentor has been great about connecting me with people in her network whose work aligns with my interests. She has also had good advice about how to take advantage of my time in grad school and suggestions on how to tailor some of my research/projects to my overall career goals.”

“It’s very empowering to me just to simply have a relationship with another woman in the industry and know that I have a great resource for professional advice.”