ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew KwokAndrew Kwok obtained a B.S. in mathematics in 1980 and an M.A. in applied mathematics in 1981, both from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Telecommunications Division as a technical staff member in 1981.
Mr. Kwok worked on a film height data analysis for the Deep Space Network (DSN) 64-m antennas and on reliability studies and life-cycle costing for the network. In the mid 1980s to late 1990s, he was the DSN tracking system engineer helping with the upgrades and implementation tasks for three DSN antenna types: 34-m High Efficiency (HEF), 34-m Beam Waveguide (BWG), and 70-m.
He transferred to the JPL Navigation Section in 1999 to work on new data interfaces for the DSN Network Simplification Project (NSP). He worked with JPL navigators to revise the formulation in the JPL navigation software to process the new data products of the NSP era.
Mr. Kwok joined the Telecommunications and Mission Operations Directorate (TMOD) Future Missions Planning Office in 2001. He worked with future missions in planning a cost-effective usage of the DSN that met mission requirements. He later served as the Telecommunications Mission Services manager for the Kepler and Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) projects.
In recent years, he has worked on telecom operations for Juno, Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), and use of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) for relay of data for the Mars Science Laboratory project. He also supports strategic missions modeling to study and identify telecom requirements and support issues for present and future missions using the DSN.
Co-Author of the following article of the DESCANSO Design & Performance Summary Series - Telecommunications: