Richard Bennett  
System Engineer
Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

Present Position:
Project Element Manager- Systems Engineering, Dec. 1997 to present

Mission Systems Engineer assigned to the GENESIS Project providing end-to-end systems engineering across all project elements ensuring balanced, internally compatible systems.

Project Engineering - Senior, Nov. 1992 to Nov. 1997

• Team Leader of the Advanced Projects Design Team (Team-X). Provide daily management and guidance for a seventeen member space mission design organization. Coordinate team membership and design processes, provide customer interface, organize team and facility schedules, lead studies and maintain sufficient metrics to monitor and enhance study performance.
• Project Manager assigned to the Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST) MIDEX Step II proposal effort. Developed and authored investigation management plan. Designed project implementation plan, cost and schedule. Assisted the principal investigator in coordinating proposal technical concepts and solutions from a group of multi-national institutions including U.S. private universities; NASA/GSFC & MSFC; University of Birmingham, UK; and IAS, Frascati, Italy.
• Division 34 power representative to the Advanced Projects Design Team (Team-X). Provided power system design expertise for integrated advanced mission studies. Also functioned as the Electric Power Section cost estimation coordinating engineer responsible to Division 34's Strategic Goal #2 Focus Group. Supported power systems studies and IN-STEP RTOP management activities for the Electric Power systems Section. Conceptualized power system designs, implementation plans and costs for advanced studies including AIT, ACME, MESUR network, SIR-C Free flyer and the 2nd generation µ S/C project. Established a cost tracking and management system for task management of the In-Space Experiment activities including cost planning, variance analysis, earned value and status reporting. Assisted in the coordination and evaluation of the IN-STEP '92 AO activity. Authored section process for design-to-cost estimation.

Previous Positions:
Hughes Aircraft Company - Space & Communications Group 1978 - 1992

• Operations Manager:
  Planned, implemented and managed organization for the system integration, test and launch of the first of a new product line of three-axis stabilized communications satellites (HS-601), AUSSAT B1. Developed baseline requirements and production flow. Selected team and managed floor operations. Defined and resolved technical issues. Maintained close working relationship with Hughes customer, AUSSAT PTY. LTD. and the launch vehicle services provider, China Great Wall Industries Corporation. Managed launch site operations and services in Xichang, China. Successfully placed first vehicle in-orbit and on-station during August, 1992 after developing an optimized six week ship-and-shoot campaign.
• Previous management experience: Assistant Department Manager of 80 scientists, engineers and technicians involved in the design and development of satellite and space shuttle avionic control electronics. Proposed and designed fully automated test systems. Authored test plans and procedures. Validated systems, supervised flight hardware qualification and acceptance programs along with general business and financial responsibilities including proposal work, cost account control and earned value. .
  

Technical Background

• Digital hardware circuit and systems production design including. . .
  • Ground system block decoders and synchronizers for Pioneer Venus orbiter and probe system
  • Memory simulators used for flight software development on Galileo DCP, Space Shuttle Rendezvous Radar, and IAPS experiment (Ion propulsion system)
  • Telemetry & command simulator for test support of the IAPS thrust controller
  • Bit synchronizer developed to perform bit-error-rate testing for shuttle / TDRS communication equipment
  • Shuttle Rendezvous Radar backplane design for the EA1 (a ten slice, microprocessor controlled flight avionics unit
  • Fully automatic test systems for. . .
    • (1) Shuttle two-axis gimbal drive controller;
    • (2) INTELSAT VI driver electronics (thruster, valve, solenoid, squib & stepper units);
    • (3) ACS electronics for several defense satellite programs - Environmental test planning, procedures and specifications covering Thermal (solar thermal vacuum, temperature cycling & long duration exposure), Vibration (sine, random & acoustic), Shock, EMI/EMC, ESD and facilities design & setup. 

Education:
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California Bachelor of Science - Engineering (Electronics), December 1977

Glendale Community College, Glendale, California Associate in Arts - June 1975