Gaia People

Sam Verstaen

European Space Agency

Born a Belgian, that's where Sam Verstaen studied and graduated in 1999 as an electronics engineer. He got his first experiences in the space industry soon after, working mainly on the Colombus programme and science instruments for manned space flight. Then it was a logical step to apply for a job in the ESA science department in 2009.

Currently, Sam is working on Gaia as the electronics and software system engineer, following up the design, manufacturing, and quality of the various electronical units on the spacecraft. Although his main focus is the service module, he is also giving support to the payload. The job also involves the system aspect, making sure that all the units work together well and that the necessary performance is ensured for Gaia to deliver its science.

Published: 08/02/2013