Badri YOUNES

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) • Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN), Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate

Current Assignments

Mr. Younes is presently the Deputy Associate Administrator and Program Manager for Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN). He is responsible for NASA’s space communications and navigation infrastructure and services, as well as data standards and spectrum. Mr. Younes manages the SCaN Program Office at NASA Headquarters and oversees all NASA telecommunications and navigation projects and networks, including NASA’s Near Space Network (NSN) and Deep Space Network (DSN). Mr. Younes is also responsible for the development of enabling technologies critical to meeting the Agency’s vision for an integrated, interoperable SCaN architecture aligned with NASA’s future space exploration needs. With nearly four decades of applied, research, and leadership experience in microwave and RF systems engineering, Mr. Younes brings a unique combination of both strategic vision and technical expertise to his oversight and management of SCaN, positioning the organization to meet current and future technological needs, and providing pragmatic and practical management practices to maintain and improve SCaN’s capabilities. He has successfully leveraged his experience within the Department of Defense (DoD) spectrum management organization to proactively spearhead a paradigm shift within NASA SCaN to develop networks that are fully interoperable across government and commercial assets, to address current and future RF and spectrum issues. Through Mr. Younes’s direction, SCaN provides leadership and input to groups that shape US space and communications policy, including the Interagency Operations Advisory Board, the Position, Navigation and Timing Advisory Board, and National Space Council. Active engagement and leadership at the international level, including the study groups and working groups of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the Space Frequency coordination Group, further ensures NASA ability to pursue the ground-breaking science and exploration NASA is known for. As NASA and its commercial partners near exciting milestones in the Artemis program, including the Artemis I uncrewed launch in 2022, Mr. Younes’s strategic planning has positioned NASA’s SCaN Program as a central focal point of information and expertise on lunar spectrum usage.

Past Assignments

Mr. Younes’ experience spans over thirty-eight years of leadership in microwave and RF systems engineering and technology. Over the course of his career at the DoD and NASA, he has directly supported the Heads of the U.S. Delegation to three ITU World Radio Conferences (WRC) and has previously represented DoD spectrum interests within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Mr. Younes began his civil servant career as a Mission Services Program RF Systems Engineer and the Spectrum Manager for Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), managing end-to-end telecommunications systems engineering analysis and study activities and implementing NASA's policy on frequency spectrum within GSFC and within the customer communities of NASA's Space and Ground Networks. While at GSFC he also successfully managed the development and implementation of the hardware systems for NASA’s second TDRS ground terminal. Prior to returning to NASA in 2007, Mr. Younes served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for C3I and Director for Spectrum Management in the Pentagon with responsibility for strategic planning, implementation and spectrum policy. Under his leadership, the Department negotiated win-win agreements with the Federal Communications Commission, National Telecommunications Information Administration, and the U.S. private sector related to 3G, Ultra-Wide Band, and 5GHz technologies. He played a leading role in efforts to development of the Presidential Initiative Recommendations on Spectrum Reform. Through his leadership, he transformed the management and use of the electromagnetic spectrum within and outside the Department.

Education & Awards

Mr. Younes holds a Masters in Electronics Engineering from Catholic University of America and had completed all his PhD requirements except for the dissertation. Mr. Younes is a recipient of the AIAA Aerospace Communications Technical Excellence Award in 2021, as well as a GSFC Outstanding Leadership Award (1997) and Presidential Meritorious Rank Award (2005).

Events

International Astronautical Congress 2022

18-22 September 2022

Paris, France

Participation:

The Global Conference on Space and the Information Society 2016

6-7 June 2016

Geneva, Switzerland

Participation: