Q&A with Patrick Willard, Power Systems Engineer

 Q: What excites you the most about working at a company like Apex?

Working for a scrappy start-up company breaking into the exploding market of satellite buses thrills me. The chance to wear multiple hats and expand my knowledge in multiple different facets of space is a fantastic opportunity I intend to seize. I am inspired to get the first satellite bus into space and iterate on the design, constantly delivering more advanced technology orbiting the Earth and possibly beyond!

Q: Why are you excited about space?

Space has been the forge for so many discoveries, like gravitational waves, and has been a means for rapid development here on Earth. Most people have no idea how much they interface with satellites up in space on a day-to-day basis. From getting your weather report in the morning to using GPS on your drive to work, all rely on satellites. As we enable more satellites to make their way to space and build infrastructure, new revolutionary technology will be at our fingertips, like GPS was decades ago.

Q: You are somewhat new here at Apex. What has surprised you the most so far?

Apex is a unique company in how fast we are trying to accomplish our missions. Understanding that it takes on the order of years for most companies to put something in space, Apex is planning on building their first satellite bus in mere months. A feat that could only be accomplished by brilliant and nimble engineers. I am eager to hit the ground running with this incredible team and get our system to space pronto!

Q: Tell us a bit about what you do in your free time.

I absolutely love the outdoors. It's hard to beat the LA summer; going to the beach for a volleyball match and surfing is sublime. I race on a J111 sailboat out of Marina Del Rey and do a bit of traveling to race around America. As for the winter, you can find me in the mountains skiing up in Mammoth and Tahoe on the weekends.

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