OrbitLink Consulting is dedicated to providing top-notch spacecraft control and communication solutions to our clients. Our founder, Dr. Mason Nixon, Ph.D., has over 15 years of experience in the aerospace industry and has been leading the charge since OrbitLink Consulting was founded in 2023.
Dr. Nixon is an accomplished professional with a focus on control systems and human automation and has achieved the prestigious level of Senior Member with the IEEE organization and is also an active member in the AIAA organization, currently serving on the international AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Committee. He graduated Summa Cum Laude and ranked first in his class at Auburn University where he received his bachelor's in Electrical Engineering and Wireless Electrical Engineering. He later went on to receive his Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a focus on Control Systems and Human Automation and a minor in Computer Science. Subsequently, while maintaining fulltime employment, he successfully defended his dissertation to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Alabama in Huntsville under the tutelage of world-renowned nonlinear controls expert, Dr. Yuri Shtessel.
During his professional career, Dr. Nixon has worked for the United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command / Army Forces Strategic Command where he supported mission analyses through simulation and was involved in the design and development of the SNaP, the Kestrel Eye satellite program, and other small satellite missions. In total, he has been involved with over thirteen different spacecraft through all phases of development. He concluded his tenure at SMDC as the Principal Investigator and Program Manager for the Space Lab where he oversaw a pilot program, called ACES RED, which aimed to build a low-cost small satellite testing platform. As part of this program, he and his team built, tested, and delivered flight hardware that was launched on a Space X Falcon 9 mission to attach to the International Space Station in the spring of 2019.
Dr. Nixon currently serves as the President and Founder of OrbitLink and the Senior Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer with Valkyrie Enterprises. His Ph.D. dissertation involved nonlinear control systems with a focus on adaptive higher order sliding mode control with application to a novel distributed small satellite formation active antenna array at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
OrbitLink Consulting leverages its deep expertise in spacecraft control and communication to deliver tailored solutions that meet clients' unique needs. The company is committed to providing innovative, reliable, and cost-effective solutions that help clients achieve their goals in the aerospace industry.
Contact OrbitLink Consulting today to learn how the company can help achieve spacecraft control and communication goals.