Staff

Professional Profile

Since June 2016
Director, European Space Policy Institute, Vienna, Austria

2007 - 2016
Served as the Secretary General of ASD-Eurospace.

2004 - 2007
Head of the French Space Agency (CNES) office in North America and Attaché for Space and Aeronautics at the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C.

2001 – 2004
Deputy Director for Strategy and Programs, responsible for the Industrial Strategy of CNES, the French Space Agency.

1998 – 2000
Adviser to the French Ministry of Research for Industrial Policy Funds management, aiming at support to competitiveness support and new space applications and services development and promotion.

1996 – 1998
Appointed by Arianespace in Evry, France, to lead a risk mitigation and cost reduction plan covering to the end of operational life of the Ariane 4 launcher.

1990 - 1996
Mr. Tortora was based in Kourou, French Guiana, as Head of Arianespace Operations Quality Department. There, he led the Quality Management of the Ariane 4 launchers final integration and of the launch pad operations and maintenance. He supervised the industrialization and the implementation of the associated control plans.

 Mr. Tortora started his career in 1984 at the French military procurement agency, DGA, as a naval weapons integration and test engineer, expert in signal processing and warships acoustic discretion.

Languages: English, French

Nationality: French

Professional Profile

Since June 2017
Coordinator of Studies, European Space Policy Institute, Vienna
Planning and supervision of ESPI workplan
Project management and quality assurance
ESPI databases management

2015 - 2017
Senior Advisor
Space strategies studies managment
Business and partnership development

2010 - 2015
Industry Strategy Analyst, Eurospace
Research and analyses
Database management
Events organisation
Working groups management

2010
Methods Engineer, Thales Alenia Space
Lean manufacturing and process integration
Smart production tools

Education

2010
Master in Industrial management and logistics, IPSA

2009
Master in mecatronics, Institut Polytechnique des Sciences Avancées

2005 - 2008
Bachelor in aeronautics and space system engineering, IPSA

2012
Space technology professional course TTVS, CNES

Languages:
French, English, Spanish

Nationality:
French

Professional Profile

Since 2014
Resident Fellow at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), Vienna, Austria

2012-2013
Research Intern at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), Vienna, Austria

2011
Manager of a Beach Club, Grosseto, Italy

2009
Trainee at the Protocol Assistance Office of the Organizing Committee of the XIII FINA, Rome, Italy

Education

2012
ESA/ECSL Summer Course on Space Law and Policy, Paphos, Cyprus

2012
SIOI/ASI/CNR-ISGI Master on Space Policy and Institutions, Rome, Italy. Final dissertation on International Space Law: “Space Sustainability and the new Normative Solutions”.

2011
Institute for Global Studies- School of Government Security Studies Programme, Rome, Italy.

2008-2012
Magister´degree in International Relations of Asia and Africa, Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Naples, L´Orientale, Naples, Italy. Final dissertation on World Politics (pending): “Asian Regionalism in the Space Sector”.

2009
SIOI Master on International Relations and International Protection of Human Rights, Rome, Italy. Final dissertation on International Relations: “Article IX of Japanese Constitution and its Geopolitical Effects”

2006
Intensive Japanese Language course, Kudan Institute of Language and Culture, Tokyo, Japan

2004-2008
Bachelor´s of Oriental Languages and Cultures, University of Rome, La Sapienza, Rome, Italy. Final dissertation on Japanese History.

Languages:
Italian, English, Japanese

Nationality:
Italian

Professional Profile

Since July 2015
Resident Fellow, European Space Policy Institute, Vienna, Austria

2015
Space Policy Officer seconded by the European Space Agency (ESA)

2012-2015
Technical Officer, Energy Manager, ESA-ESRIN, Frascati, Italy

2007-2012
Technical Officer, International Space Station Payloads Development, ESA-ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

2005-2007
Project Manager, International Space Station Node 3 External Active Thermal Control System Development, Thales Alenia Space, Turin, Italy

2000-2005
Academic and Industrial Research Activities: Machine Design and Space Vehicles Re-Entry Technology, University of Bologna, Italy; Microgravity Experiments, ESA Parabolic Flight Campaigns, Bordeaux, France; Innovative Aerospace Materials and Processes, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, USA.

Publications

More than 25 publications and reports in Bioastronautics, Space Policy, International Space Station, Space Vehicles, Space Science and Applications, Education and Communication.

Education

2014
Leadership, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA

2011
Space Policy and Law, George Washington University, Washington, USA

2008
PhD in Materials Mechanics and Technological Processes “Innovative Technologies for Space Habitats”, University of Bologna, Italy

2004
Certified Professional Engineer (Esame di Stato Ingegneria), Bologna, Italy.

2002
Master of Science in Space Studies, International Space University, Strasbourg, France

2001
ISU Space Studies Program (Summer 2001), ZARM, Bremen, Germany

Awards

2006
International Space Station Vehicle Office, NASA Johnson Space Centre, Houston, U.S.A.

2002
International Astronautical Federation, Napolitano Award, Houston, USA

2000
ESA Parabolic Flight Campaign Award

Memberships

Ordine degli Ingegneri, Rome, Italy; International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS).

Languages:
Italian, English, French, German

Nationality:
Italian

Professional Profile

Since 2016
Resident Fellow at ESPI, Vienna, Austria.

2015
Resident Fellow at European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), Vienna, Austria, with a fellowship by SIOI-ASI.

2014
Trainee at European Space Agency (ESA HQ) – Relations with Member States Department, Paris, France.

2012 - 2014
Mathematics, physics and chemistry private teacher.

2011
Research Assistant at National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) – Institute for Radio Astronomy (IRA), Bologna, Italy.

Education

2014
Master in Space Institutions and Policies. Italian Society for International Organizations (SIOI) and Italian Space Agency (ASI), Rome, Italy. Thesis: “Global Space Governance: Earth Observation and data policy”.

2008 - 2010
Master of Science in Astrophysics and Cosmology. University of Bologna, Italy. Thesis: “Diffuse radio emission in external regions of Clusters of Galaxies”.

2003 - 2008
Bachelor of Science in Astronomy. University of Bologna, Italy.

Languages:
Italian, English, French

Nationality:
Italian

Professional Profile

Since June 2017
Resident Fellow at European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), Vienna, Austria, with a fellowship by SIOI-ASI

January 2017 - May 2017
Trainee at Thales Alenia Space, Strategic Business Intelligence Department, Rome, Italy

July 2016 - present
Vice-President at Space School Association, Rome, Italy

October 2015 - December 2016
Personal Assistance and Trainer for management programs at IGS, Naples, Italy

Education

2016
Master Course in Space Institutions and Policies. Italian Society for International Organizations (SIOI), Rome, Italy

2015
Course for Account figure and Management skills, IGS, Naples, Italy

2015
Master´s Degree in International Relations, La Sapienza, Rome, Italy

2013
Communication skills training, Skola Soho, London

2013
Course on education and rights, UNICEF, Rome, Italy

2012
Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and international Relations, La Sapienza, Rome, Italy

Languages:
Italian, English, Spanish

Nationality:
Italian

Professional Profile

Since December 2017
Resident Fellow at ESPI, seconded by CNES, specializing in Space Security

March - August 2017
Research Intern, ESPI, participation in a study on European access to space

Since September 2016
Research Assistant, participation in a study on small satellites and small launchers – in collaboration with CNRS, the Foundation for Strategic Research, and ESPI

January-March 2015
Research Assistant, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) participation in a study on inter-agency collaboration – in collaboration with the OECD Space Forum

May-August 2013
Summer job, Royal Academy of Arts (London)

January 2012
Job shadowing, Wolfgang Ehrler Law Firm, Herdecke (Germany)

Education

September - November 2017
Intensive Russian Language Study Programme, French National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations

2016-2017
Master’s degree in Strategic Management, University of Paris Sud (Paris Saclay), Thesis: ‘Technological Foresight in the SmallSat Launch Market: a Critical Analysis’

2015-2016
MSc Science and Technology Policy, Innovation Pathway, Science Policy Research Unit, Sussex Business School, Thesis: “The NewSpace Race: A Geopolitical Investigation of Launch Space Strategies in Europe, Russia, and the United States amidst the rise of Commercial Spaceflight”

May 2016
Short course on Space Law and Policy, London Institute for Space Policy and Law

2014-2015
French DU in Astronomy and Celestial Mechanics, Observatory of Paris

September 2013 - January 2014
Programme for French-German experts, Ruhr University of Bochum (Merit scholarship awarded by the German Academic Exchange Office)

Languages:
French, English, German, basic knowledge of Italian, Japanese, and Russian

Nationality:
French

Professional Profile

Since 2016
Management Assistant at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), Vienna, Austria

2013 - 2015
Administrative Assistant at Andritz Hydro Canada, Inc., Montreal

2012 - 2013
French course at Geos Academy, Montreal, Canada

2005 - 2012
Travel manager at Travel Agency "Mondial", Vienna, Austria

 2001 - 2004
Business Administration Assistant for the coffee trading company "Promocoffee" in Zaporozhye, Ukraine

Education

2001
Master degree in Industrial Economics, National University in Zaporizhye, Ukraine

Languages:
English, German, French, Russian, Ukrainian

Nationality:
Austrian

Professional Profile

2017
ESPI IT Administrator, Vienna, Austria

Education

2017
Bioengineering. University of applied science, FH Campus Vienna, Austria

2010
Computer science - Technical University of Vienna, Austria

2001 - 2010
Bundesrealgymnasium Waltergasse

Languages:
English, German

Nationality:
Austrian

Professional Profile

Since 2014
Financial and Administrative Assistant at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), Vienna, Austria

2005-2008
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Social Psychiatry, Vienna, Austria
Scientific Researcher
Financial and Administrative Assistant

Education

1998-2004
University of Vienna, Sociology and Business

1990-1994
Humboldt Business School, Vienna

Languages:
German, English

Nationality:
Austrian

Professional Profile

Since 2008
European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) Administrative Assistant

2007
Vienna Insurance Group, Trainee in the „Konzern-Lebensleistungsabteilung“

2004 - 2006
Borealis Polyolefine GmbH, Trainee in the Human Resources Department

Education

since 2007
University of Vienna, Bachelor studies in statistics

2002 - 2007
Commercial College of the “BHAK Vienna 13 Maygasse” Participation in the pilot project: Schumpeter-Handelsakademie (Entrepreneurship-Education)

Languages:
German, English, Spanish

Nationality:
Austrian