Early on, Bill was often the lead engineer for mechanisms on the satellite, working on motors, gimbals, separation systems, instrument covers, and release devices.  In his work with release mechanisms Bill was an industry leader in the transition from pyro devices to non-explosive release mechanisms, being the first to fly several of the mechanisms now available on the market.  Systems engineering positions followed as his experience grew, including a state of the art microwave radiometer, WindSat, and a ground based proof of concept for autonomous robotic capabilities, FREND.  

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Many of these programs incorporated the principals of NewSpace, before it was branded as such, and thereby, was a contributor to the NewSpace paradigm. Bill enjoyed the excitement of creating innovative systems to wildly aggressive schedules followed by the pride of seeing the satellite launch, then work on orbit.  Some were missions built following the strict protocols of BigSpace.  The BigSpace projects were successful and certainly important, but the layers of process control, with little added value were always frustrating. Bill learned important lessons from these projects, earning an advanced degree in the school of hard knocks:  priceless learnings of what can be done, what does not need to be done, what works and what doesn’t work.  Most importantly how to have fun in the process of building cool satellites.