Julia Weber

Biography

Julia Weber is a Space Manufacturing Engineer at Planet Labs in Berlin, building out Planet’s first facility outside the United States for the Pelican fleet. Leveraging her background in satellite operations, where she managed health and collision avoidance for the largest commercial Earth observation constellation, she applies flight experience directly to manufacturing. At AfroTech, she is bringing a real SuperDove satellite onto the stage to show how spacecraft are built and controlled from 500 km above Earth. Space is not limited to legacy hubs. It belongs to the global diaspora. The room exists, and AfroTech attendees belong in it.

Sessions

1. Keeping Satellites Alive: A Hands-On Demo

   Thu, Nov 5, 11:00 AM – 11:20 AM CT

   Track Smart Cities

   Julia Weber, Space Manufacturing Engineer at Planet Labs, will bring a real SuperDove satellite to the AfroTech stage, giving attendees a rare, hands-on look at the hardware behind the world’s largest commercial Earth observation fleet. Drawing on her background as a Space Systems Engineer, where she managed orbital health and real-time execution in space, Julia will break down how satellites are controlled from Earth to capture daily imagery for climate monitoring, disaster response, and food security. Now helping build Planet's next-generation manufacturing capabilities, she brings an end-to-end perspective from cleanroom build to orbital operations, inspiring greater representation and highlighting the wide range of careers shaping the future of space