Sam Arne Whalley
Sam Arne Whalley’s career journey in the space and satellite industry began when he was elected as one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society at only 20 years old. He received this honor in recognition of his writings on green space policy and its relation to the orbital space debris crisis. Sam completed his undergraduate studies in International Relations at Malmö University and a Master’s degree in EU Affairs at Lund University. Sam entered the space and satellite industry as a Trainee in the “Foresight, Strategy and Coordination” department at the European Space Agency (ESA), where he contributed multiple strategic insights to the department’s initiatives. From the ESA, he went on to work as an Editor and Research Fellow at Rise to Peace and then as a Project Funding Coordinator at SwissLimbs.
Sam joined constellr as an Operations Associate in 2022 and was promoted to Projects & Partnership Associate in 2023. At constellr, he spearheaded the highly competitive EU Commission DG-DEFIS Earth Observation “Market Feasibility Study,” acting as project manager and funding stream manager. Over the course of his time with constellr, his efforts and support led to the securing of substantial funding for constellr’s constellation expansion through major institutional programs, including the EU’s Copernicus Contributing Mission Programme and ESA’s ScaleUp program. While working at constellr, Sam led groundbreaking research on the applications of space-based thermal infrared data for ex-peatland identification in support of the green-focused strategic objectives of the EU Joint Research Council (JRC). His work resulted in a transformative understanding of the value of Earth observation in this critical environmental context, and Sam was invited to present his findings as an expert speaker and panelist at the UNOOSA “3rd Space4Water Stakeholder Conference” in 2023; being the second time Sam was invited to speak at a Space4Water event. Sam joined Isar Aerospace in 2024 as a Business Development Proposal Writer, where his extensive experience and strategic mindset are helping to drive innovation and excellence within the organization. He has authored and co-authored a variety of academic publications on multi-disciplinary-space-related topics, ranging from the implications of European Arctic space infrastructure development on local indigenous populations to the technical presentation of contemporary Earth observation micro-satellite constellations.
Outside of working hours, Sam volunteers his time participating in interviews and podcasts and writing articles to encourage individuals with “non-technical” backgrounds to pursue careers in the space industry. He has contributed to the United Nations’ “Space4Water” portal and the widely successful “WeWorkInSpace” platform, among others. Sam has appeared as a speaker at various conferences across Europe, and also on panels at universities in Sweden, where he promotes diverse participation in the space industry, with a focus on the role of the European New Space industry in the European commercial market.
