Telenor Satellite is one of Norway’s biggest success stories and a magnet to young engineers. Frode Malen, a payload manager at Telenor Satellite, admits it was a professor at his university who triggered his interest in space. He applied for the Young Graduates Training Program (YGT) at the European Space Agency (ESA) after a presentation by the Norwegian Space Center. “I found an opening at Telenor, which was very lucky,” he says.
Malen believes one of the issues the industry could have is a perception that it is difficult to get into. “I think a lot of people have the perception that it is a very hard industry to get into. They don’t realize it has so many different fields of expertise to make it work. Engineers are naturally attracted to the space industry, as it has been driving many things as regards to technology development. It is about communicating the possibilities to young engineers.”
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He adds, “You don’t have to be an astronaut or a rocket engineer. You can be in software, for example, or electronics or RF engineering.”
Over the next 20 years, Malen believes satellites will be more intertwined in communications systems with the coming of High Throughput Satellites (HTS). He believes satellites will drive down the costs of connectivity. “In 20 years, a lot of the communications people do on the move will be going through satellites. It will be connecting that last few percent of the world. The landscape will change, but I think it will be more exciting.” VS
