Anna Rathsman has a long career in Sweden’s space industry behind her. After six years as director general of the Swedish Space Agency, retirement now awaits, in addition to a few board assignments here and there.
When she now hands over the baton, she advises her successor not to get caught up in saying no to things just because they are difficult or complicated.
– I think it is important to find a good balance between doing what you have to as an authority, which is a lot, and being quite pragmatic so that you make things happen. It is easy for an authority to say that “we can’t do that”, but rather think – “how can we do this?” If it is important for Sweden and space, see opportunities and not problems, says Anna Rathsman.
Listen to the interview with Anna Rathsman
Started at Rymdbolaget after graduation
But let’s start earlier than that, because as I said, Anna Rathsman has been in the space industry for a long time. Pretty much his entire career.
Her father wanted her to become an engineer. As a stubborn teenager, she did the opposite and studied social science at high school instead. After meeting several engineers through the orchestra she played in, engineers who also seemed to have exciting jobs, she changed her mind.
It then became electrical engineering at KTH. And that’s also where the spacewalk began when she, somewhat casually, mentioned space and satellite communications as a potential interest at a job fair.
Then there was a summer job at a smaller company that made electronics for space, and after graduation she went directly to Rymdbolaget (today’s Swedish Space Corporation, SSC). At the time, Sweden’s first satellite, Viking, had just been up in space.
When Anna Rathsman started at Rymdbolaget in 1987, it was the successor, Freja, that was to be built.
– What was new with the Freja satellite was that you would lead the work yourself. Viking consisted of many purchased parts from other parts of the world. But this one would be done myself, says Anna Rathsman.
Freja was launched in 1992 from China and was in operation for four years. The satellite collected data on the magnetosphere and ionosphere. Data that led to work for around 100 doctoral students, says Anna Rathsman.
– I was working on communication links, as well as attitude determination – that is, how the satellite should be pointed up in space. We were a small group, which I think is typically Swedish. We were maybe seven or eight people for the whole system, it was incredibly educational, she says.
Solar panels from caravans were used for the satellite
It was Sven Grahn, an engineer from KTH and a well-known name in Space Sweden, who was the project manager for the Freja satellite. It also laid the foundation for being able to build cheaper and smaller satellites.
After Freja, Sven Grahn also went and asked the Swedish Space Agency for 10 million for a new satellite, which came to be called Astrid-1. It would be significantly cheaper, and smaller, says Anna Rathsman.
On that project, she also got more responsibility. She was both project manager and system engineer.
– It was roughly the size of an old-fashioned overhead projector. We used some things we got over from Freja. But then we did in a completely new way, we made solar panels from caravan solar cells, wound our own coils. To show that it could be done, she says.
After a while at Rymdbolaget, Anna Rathsman then left the space industry. But it was only three years at Ericsson developing linear amplifiers for 3g networks before she was back at Rymdbolaget.
– I have been a manager at a few different levels. I have been communications manager and worked with business development. I have also worked with researchers, and was responsible for a number of technology development projects that later became companies, she says.
One of her major driving forces during the years at Rymdbolaget was to convey the benefits of space. It also led to involvement in associations such as Space forum.
The space area has grown over the years as director general
In the end, she also applied to move on from Rymdbolaget. She applied for the job as director general at the Swedish Space Agency, and got it. She has now been there for six years and has been able to take her desire to convey knowledge about space to the next level.
– A lot has happened. It is a combination of the fact that all organizations must develop and be on their way somewhere, but also that the space area itself is growing a lot. It’s true that space is expanding, jokes Anna Rathsman.
The Swedish Space Agency is an administrative authority under the Ministry of Education with responsibility for state-funded, civil space activities. Today they have 30 employees, and when she started there were only 18.
The abbreviation for the Swedish Space Agency in international contexts is SNSA (Swedish National Space Agency), which is reminiscent of the American Nasa. And although the agency can be seen as Sweden’s Nasa, it cannot measure up in size. NASA has 18,000 employees.
– The positive thing is that there are short contact and decision paths, says Anna Rathsman.
An example of when it went quickly is Marcus Wandt’s space flight. When the opportunity opened up, the Swedish Space Agency, the government and industry were quick to seize it by giving more money to the European Space Agency, Esa. It was also one of the highlights during the years at the authority, according to Anna Rathsman.
Anna Rathsman thinks the collaboration with Esa on other things, such as research and development, also works well. Precisely that has also been highlighted as expedient in a report from the State Treasury that was published in the autumn. There, however, the authority has also received criticism.
Among other things, because they pushed on in the work of producing a space situation image. The State Office writes that “the authority carries out certain work in areas that lie on the border of what is included in the mission and where they lack clear guidance from the government. This applies, for example, to initiatives to take a leading role in civil-military collaboration in space, work to develop a space situational picture and work to establish a national satellite program.
– I think there is a bit of a misunderstanding here. If you are talking about space imagery, what kind of satellites and craft there are over Sweden, the defense naturally wants it. But the civilian also wants it too. They are now trying to make it a purely military issue, but that is absolutely not the case. Should satellites start being sent up from Esrange, we need to know. And that we had discussions, I don’t think we can get complaints about. Using the synergies, which I also talked to ÖB about, civil-military is important, says Anna Rathsman.
Succeeded by Ella Carlsson
Anna Rathsman thinks that the authority could have been allowed to grow more and possibly also do more. According to the State Treasury’s report, the authority has continuously asked for more money than it has received. Among other things, to be able to take advantage of the synergies between the civil and military in the space sector.
And this may also be something that the Swedish Space Agency will deal with more in the future, when Ella Carlsson takes over the position as director general.
She takes office on the first of December and comes most recently from the Swedish Armed Forces, where she held the role of head of space and head of the space department. Defense also recently received a large increase of one billion for space issues, and the activities at Esrange are also of interest to NATO.
But how and whether Sweden’s Nasa will continue as usual, or change its focus, remains to be seen.
Listen to the entire interview with Anna Rathsman in the Intergalactic podcast.
Source: www.nyteknik.se
