The Crew
ORC is a small team. Everyone listed here has a direct role in mission planning, execution, or client operations. No PR. No padding. We have 31 people. Not all of them are listed here. The ones who are listed here have consented to being listed here. Mostly.
Senior leadership
Marcus co-founded ORC in 2011 after fifteen years in satellite communications. He holds the company’s licensee responsibility under the National Space Operations Act and is the team’s qualified launch director. Marcus does not enjoy being photographed. This has not stopped us.
Sarah has 19 years of orbital operations experience. Prior to co-founding ORC she worked in satellite communications at Meridian Satcomms. She leads our conjunction analysis team and is ORC’s representative to the Orbital Regulatory Secretariat’s Sustainability Working Group, which meets quarterly and produces recommendations that Sarah then has to explain to clients.
Leads the in-house astrodynamics team. Responsible for conjunction analysis, rendezvous planning, and mission trajectory design. Previously at Orion Satellite Systems and the European Space Analysis Centre, Westbrook. Published author on proximity operations. His models have been correct on 1,847 occasions and incorrect on one occasion, which we do not discuss publicly.
Responsible for vehicle design, maintenance, and Hangar 7 operations at Aeropark Estate, Trevannick. Oversaw the V3 “Marigold” heavy-class build in 2021 and led the capture-system upgrade in 2023. Currently overseeing an unscheduled refit of the same vehicle, on which S. Okafor has declined to comment further.
Operations team
The people who actually make the missions happen. They are, without exception, more competent than their job titles suggest and better at their jobs than this website makes them sound. They know this. We have told them.
11 years with ORC. Ground operations lead for LEO missions. Currently on assignment, ORC-2026-118. Holds an Advanced EVA certification, a first aid qualification, and a forklift licence, all of which have been used in anger. Recognised Q1 2026 for resolving an attitude control anomaly without mentioning it to anyone until it was already fixed. We are still processing how we feel about that.
Joined ORC in 2019 from a defence-prime mission planning team whose name she is not permitted to disclose. Responsible for manifest scheduling and capture-window optimisation. Principal liaison with orbital tracking platforms. Mother of two. Plays five-a-side on Wednesdays. Has never missed a Wednesday despite everything we have thrown at her schedule. We find this impressive and mildly alarming.
Primary mission controller for GEO operations. Manages real-time vehicle uplink and downlink during active mission phases. Background in satellite communications at Meridian Satcomms before joining ORC in 2018. Has spoken to more vehicles at 35,786 km than most people have spoken to vehicles at any altitude. Remains, by all accounts, calm about this.
Manages ORS liaison, UNOORI registry submissions, and IORC observer reporting. Ensures every ORC mission is conducted within applicable national space law. Where applicable national space law is ambiguous — which is more often than the legislators intended — L. Sandhu obtains written guidance. The written guidance lives in a very large folder. The folder has its own shelf.
ORC Training Programme
All ORC crew members are required to complete the training programme. This includes crew members who joined before the programme was introduced in 2016. This includes crew members who have been with ORC since 2011 and therefore predate the programme by five years. This has been confirmed by L. Sandhu. L. Sandhu considers it a useful reminder.
Six modules cover the regulatory framework, OCELOT operation (theoretical — OCELOT is offline), fuel management, approval chain procedures, debris classification, and mission reporting. All are mandatory. The order is also mandatory. You must complete them in order. L. Sandhu has noted that the order matters. This has been confirmed in writing.
Access training programme →Your completion record
Completion status is tracked in your browser. L. Sandhu would prefer it were tracked in OCELOT. OCELOT is offline. The browser will have to do.
Continue trainingWhat the training covers
Mission Control: Emergency Retrieval
A fully compliant orbital debris retrieval simulation. Regulatory interruptions are mandatory. Fuel is managed through petty cash. OCELOT is offline. Six missions available. C. Morrison will file a report. L. Sandhu has confirmed the interruptions are coded in. This was L. Sandhu’s idea.
Join ORC
ORC is a small, technically demanding operation. We hire slowly and rarely. When we do hire, it is because we have looked for a long time and found someone whose background is specifically suited to the work. We do not hire generalists. We do not use recruitment agencies. We tried it once. We do not discuss the outcome.
There are currently five open vacancies. A. Kowalski reviews all applications. A. Kowalski is aware of the backlog. The backlog is manageable. The OCELOT Systems Engineer vacancy is marked urgent. T. Davies has asked to be consulted on shortlisting. T. Davies’s request has been noted.
What we look for
- Flight dynamics or astrodynamics background
- Spacecraft operations experience (ground segment preferred)
- Comfort with high-stakes, low-margin missions
- Familiarity with orbital tracking platforms and debris catalogues
- Experience with orbital licensing in at least one jurisdiction
Secondary: Unit 14, Telford House, Orbital Park Estate, Brecksworth, OX11 9ZZ
Current open roles
Senior Operative, Grade 2
Retrieval operations, LEO and MEO. ORS Grade 2 licence required. Form ORC-088 to be completed in advance. Contact T. Davies for the form.
OCELOT Systems Engineer
OCELOT has been offline since August 2023. This role has been posted before. T. Davies currently holds it and will remain during handover. Patience required. Significant patience.
Regulatory Affairs Coordinator
Supporting L. Sandhu. LLM preferred. Familiarity with ORS Form 9-C — the fax form — required. The folder system has its own shelf. The shelf was ordered specifically.
Mission Report Writer
C. Morrison’s team. C. Morrison is the only member of the team. First draft is the published draft. Strong passive voice required. Do not ask about the 2017 object report.
Fleet Maintenance Technician
Supporting S. Okafor. Current priority: ORC-V3 “Marigold.” The scope has expanded three times. S. Okafor will brief. S. Okafor will be thorough. Do not comment on the timeline to Finance.