BusinessPayload Pioneers 2023

Payload Pioneers 2023: Victoria Carter-Cortez

Victoria Carter-Cortez, a space strategy consultant at the professional services firm PwC, spent her undergraduate years as an astrophysics student. It was her first introduction to space. 

“Studying the shock physics of impacts caused by space debris taught me a lot about the complexity of space as an extreme environment and the deep extent to which it challenges us: technologically, politically and economically,” the 29-year-old said.

Next steps: She quickly became a policy analyst at ESA, where she was in charge of strengthening relationships between different countries’ space agencies and private enterprises. Since then, she has worked with a slew of companies and public institutions across the globe to understand ways in which the cosmos could be leveraged to help us on Earth. 

“It’s this convergence that I find very attractive because it taught me just how intertwined science, technology, and engineering can be with governance, policy, and business when it comes to driving change and growth in the space sector,” she said. 

Carter-Cortez has spent her time at PwC thinking about how to future-proof space—a goal that involves looking at non-space sectors to see how space technology and data could be applied elsewhere, and making sure space companies follow environmental, social, and corporate governance laws that could be created in the future. 

Related Stories
BusinessLEOTechnology

Vast Unveils Designs for Haven-1 Station

Designed in part by Apple designer Peter Russell-Clarke, Haven-1 looks more like a resort than an orbiting labratory.

BusinessMilitary

Dude, Double VICTUS! Impulse Wins Two Tactical Space Missions

Military officials chose Impulse Space to fly two different tactically-responsive demonstration missions with its high-powered spacecraft in 2026.

BusinessMilitaryTechnology

Sierra Space Enters the Delivery Business

Sierra Space won a $980,000 AFRL contract to study how its Ghost reentry spacecraft could provide point-to-point delivery services for the US government.

BusinessEO

ESA’s To-Do List for an EO Boom

The strategy commits to utilizing commercial EO capabilities wherever possible, reaffirming ESA’s strong public-private relationship.