Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering

News

17 Jan 2023

Fede’s achievements are out of this world as he launches M1 #HAKUTOR Lunar Lander

image of alumni, Fede, at work at Spacon

Alumnus Federico Giusto is a Space Systems Engineer and Deputy Project Manager at ispace inc., a lunar exploration company.

Federico obtained a First Class degree in Aeronautical Engineering (MEng Hons) from Loughborough’s School of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering in 2018. He is a PRINCE2® and CAPM® certified project manager and Member of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

In December of last year, Fede’s dreams became a reality as he participated in launch operations from the company’s Mission Control Centre in Tokyo, Japan. The space organisation successfully completed the launch of the M1 #HAKUTO-R Lunar Lander via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, establishing nominal contact and commanding operations with the spacecraft.

Usually based at ispace Europe in Luxembourg, Fede headed to Japan to support a global team of operators and engineers in the role of Spacecraft Controller (SPACON) and Operator (OPS), commanding the spacecraft on its way to the moon and monitoring incoming space data, or telemetry.

Fede said:

“I am blessed to have been asked to participate in launch operations from our Mission Control Centre in Tokyo. This is an enormous achievement for ispace and it comes in a time of recovery from a challenging pandemic, which had profound global impacts at human and market level. Our Tokyo, Luxembourg, and Denver teams pushed through and delivered, overcoming all obstacles along the way.

“I am a proud member of ispace and grateful for the opportunities given to me throughout the last few years, looking forward to the future of the company and exciting prospects in the lunar and NewSpace ecosystems.”