The Space Studies Capstone Key Note Lecture will be presented by James Christo, Ground Systems Manager for COSPAS-SARSAT at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.  This lecture will follow a banquet for all Space Studies faculty, staff, students and friends---RSVP for the banquet is required. The lecture is open to the public.

When:  7:30 pm, Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Where:  Eagles Crest Grill, King’s Walk Golf Course

Title: The  History of Cospas-Sarsat

Bio:

Mr. Christo joined the search and rescue program in the fall of 1998 as the ground systems manager at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. He manages the SARLab, a laboratory that conducts spacecraft tests and hosts the first Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS) prototype ground station using the GPS constellation. He provides support to the Polar Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) projects. His duties and accomplishments span from analyzing coding methods used on search and rescue to working with GPS simulators to developing industry standards for organizations like the Radio Technical Commissions for Maritime  (RTCM) and Aviation (RTCA),   developing requirements for the next generation Search and rescue systems  and  for the introduction of rechargeable Li Ion batteries into distress beacons.

Mr. Christo holds M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and in Applied Physics from Catholic University of America, a J.D. degree from University of Maryland at Baltimore and a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Wayne State University.