Life after Delft: rocket man

Mark Uitendaal (28) graduated from the Aerospace Engineering faculty in July 2009, with the Stratos I rocket as his MSc graduation project. He went on to work as a systems engineer and project manager for the ESA’s Rexus/Bexus (Rocket and Balloon Experiments for University Students) campaign, at the SSC (Swedish Space Corporation) in Kiruna, Sweden. He also co-founded a rocketry company called T-Minus Engineering, with several fellow Dare (Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering) members. 

For your graduation project, you set a new altitude record for European experimental rocketry. That’s pretty hard to beat. How are you managing to do it?
“Indeed, that’s what I’m trying to do now: to top Stratos I. It was an awesome project, but when I’m 67, I don’t want to look back at it as the highlight of my career, therefore I have to constantly set new goals.” 

And your first ‘new goal’ after the Stratos was the Stratos II.
“I did help set up the Stratos II project, originally with the thought of staying on at the TU as a staff member. Back then there was an idea to set up a rocketry master and to have a single person responsible for all of the rocketry projects, to be a sort of interloper between TU Delft with its more theoretical approach, and Dare, which focuses mainly on practical aspects. In the end, though, the idea didn’t go through, so I applied for the position of systems engineer at Esrange, and luckily was hired.” 

What do you do at Esrange now? 
“As the Rexus/Bexus systems engineer, I integrate the student payloads made all over Europe into the gondola (Bexus), or the service module (Rexus), to make sure everything fits correctly. As the project manager, my job is to do anything to get the project going: planning, reviewing, keeping the project groups on track and on schedule – everything to have a successful launch campaign in the end.” 

You’re also a member of the launch crew? 
“Yes, and that’s the most awesome part about my job! During a rocket launch, you’re on the launch pad, guiding the payload scientist who of course wants to do all sorts of stuff with the payload while there’s like a metric ton of propellant beneath it, which you don’t want to ignite when you’re around! So basically it’s all about safety; you really have to visualize everything that can go wrong and prevent it from happening.  The last time with the Rexus, I was in the bunker and doing radio traffic and I actually got to push ‘the big red button’! That was really nice. It gives an adrenalin rush, when you’re ramping up towards the launch.” 

So would you want to be the launch officer in the future? 
“No. I wanted to be an engineer because I love being part of the creative process, and as exciting as the job can be, a launch officer’s work doesn’t involve a whole lot of creativity. I’m quite happy where I am now.”

What’s the most difficult part about your work? 
“It’s difficult being away from my girlfriend and social life. My job does allow me to travel quite a bit and often I end up in Holland, and besides that I work a 67% contract: two months in Kiruna and one month free in the Netherlands, but it’s still doesn’t compare with the stability I would’ve had I been working in Holland.” 

What about climate? 
“It’s really cold, but I must admit that I really like that – I’m that type of guy. Thanks to the cold, you can ski well into the spring months, and there’s a free ski slope just 10 minutes walking from my house. The polar nights, however, are more difficult to endure, but you do get used to them eventually.”

Besides skiing, what do you do in your free time? 
“I have a mountain bike which I use in the summer. I’m also planning to get my paraglider up there, to fly a bit. I started paragliding about six years ago when I took a course in the Alps, and have been addicted ever since. Paragliding compliments rocketry nicely: in rocketry you design something that flies but don’t experience the flight yourself, while in paragliding you don’t have the creative aspect of design, but you experience flight.”

You’ve recently started a new company, can you tell us about it?
“T-minus will be a rocketry company. Quite a lot of knowledge and experience in rocket design, production, and operation was accumulated from Stratos I and similar projects. So currently in Dare we have the largest expertise in sounding rockets within Europe, but no means of using that expertise in Holland. I, for example, have to travel 2000km North to be able to work with rockets, so why can’t I do the same here?”  

What projects do you have in mind? 
“The first project will likely be meteo-rockets (boosted dart systesms), because we see a market for them. Besides that, sounding rockets, propulsion systems, launcher systems, and a consultancy are all future possibilities.”

What’s the most difficult part of starting a new company?
“Because we’re all technologically-oriented people, things like financial matters, taxes, administration, etc., are the challenging parts. Also, as with everything in the space industry, everything takes a longer time than expected, so it takes a while for the contract negotiations to go through.”

What is your ultimate ambition in life? 
“I don’t really have that; I prefer to set small goals and achieve them one at a time. My next big goal is to launch a T-Minus meteo-rocket in Andoya (Norwegian rocket range) 2-3 years from now, and after that as long as I keep launching rockets and flying my paraglider, I’ll be happy with my life.”

Kleinknecht vindt het begrijpelijk dat mensen massaal solliciteren als ze lang niet weten of ze ontslagen zullen worden. “Ik vermoed dat dezer weken zeker honderden sollicitatiebrieven van TU-medewerkers de deur uitgaan. De beste mensen hebben straks zo een andere baan en zijn weg. De mindere goden blijven plakken – en met die mensen moet de TU dan verder. Zo draagt een lange periode van onzekerheid bij tot kwalitatieve verdunning.”
Als het niet mogelijk is om de reorganisatie te versnellen, denkt Kleinknecht, dan rest er maar één alternatief. “Kondig als werkgever af dat er geen gedwongen ontslagen zullen plaatsvinden en doe dat op een geloofwaardige manier. Dat doe je niet omdat je zo sociaal bent. Je doet het in je eigen belang. Je concurreert immers met andere universiteiten om talent.”
Kleinknecht was afgelopen donderdag te gast bij de ondernemingsraad (or). Daar zei hij bang te zijn dat straks één van zijn mensen naar hem toe komt met de mededeling dat hij of zij weggaat.
De hoogleraar economie van innovatie was bij de or om te vertellen over wanneer een organisatie beter wel of niet een derde kan inhuren. De TU huurt vergeleken met andere universiteiten veel derden in, een doorn in het oog van de ondernemingsraad.

Bij de inhuur van derden zijn volgens de zogeheten ‘transactiekostentheorie’ verschillende criteria. De frequentie van de transactie moet niet te hoog zijn, de opdrachtgever moet geen investeringen hoeven doen die na het verbreken van de relatie waardeloos blijken en moet er zekerheid zijn over de kwaliteit van het product en over wie risico’s incasseert. Daarnaast moet (vertrouwelijke) kennis niet weglekken. Er moet kortom antwoord komen op de vraag welke kosten lager zijn: interne transactiekosten (met gevaar voor hoge overheadkosten) of externe transactiekosten (met voornoemde risico’s).