26 April 2021
The IAF Distinguished Service Award was established to acknowledge active IAF volunteers for their immense contributions to the progress of astronautics and the Federation.
Roberta, who is based at the European Space Agency’s (ESA) European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT) in Harwell in the UK, has been involved with the IAF for 14 years in a variety of roles.
Upon receiving the award, she said: “Since 2007, I have supported the activities of the IAF, setting up and chairing the session on Knowledge Management for Space Operations, in addition to the role of coordinator of the Symposium on Safety and Quality in Space Activities, and setting up a related Technical Committee. In 2010, I set up the Symposium on Integrated Applications, including the IAF Technical Committee on Integrated Applications. In 2018, I was appointed to chair the IAF Global Space Applications Conference (GLAC 2018) in Montevideo, Uruguay. This involved working closely with the IAF Secretariat in preparing the event, selecting the sessions and liaising with speakers. In recognition of these the activities, I was appointed a full member of the International Academy of Astronautics in 2019.”
Telespazio UK CEO, Mark Hewer, said: “This IAF award for Roberta is a fantastic achievement and due recognition for her incredible work and commitment to the organisation over so many years. The whole Telespazio team offers its congratulations.”