Beau Backus

Beau Backus

Senior Project Manager for Spectrum

The Aerospace Corporation

Mr. Backus began his professional career as an Air Force Officer assigned to AF Systems Command at the Aerospace Data Facility, Buckley ANGB, Co. Following his tour at Buckley ANGB, he went on to be the Director of Inter-Range Operations at Sunnyvale Air Force Station.  In 1991, Mr. Backus joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Deep Space Network (DSN) Operations & Engineering Analysis Staff as the JPL assistant spectrum manager. In 1995, he accepted the position of Goldstone Frequency and Air Space Coordination supervisor where he led a team of spectrum and airspace managers.

Mr. Backus joined the spectrum management team at the Aerospace Corporation in 1997. As a spectrum architect, he established and led a variety of efforts to ensure national security access to spectrum for space operations and development was assured. He has served as the National Systems Program Manager for the IMT-2000 spectrum reallocation presidential initiative, provided initiated development of spectrum coordination methodologies and policies between agencies and established a variety of programs to further protect spectrum use by National Systems. In support of GOES-R, Mr. Backus developed and succeeded in the spectrum registration strategy to gain national and international agreement to the non-conventional use of X-band as part of the new GOES-R communication architecture.

Mr. Backus serves on the NTIA Policy & Programs Steering Group – Spectrum Working Group, the Space Frequency Coordination Group, the ESA/NASA/JAXA Frequency Coordination Meeting and the DoD/NASA/DOC Pre-coordination group.  He served as a US Delegate to the successful World Radio Conference 15, in Geneva, Switzerland and is now participating in several ITU and US working parties as we begin to prepare for WRC-19.

For 12 years, Mr. Backus has directed a high caliber team of spectrum managers in support of customers throughout the Federal Government as well as a number of commercial organizations.  These customers include NOAA, NASA, Air Force Space Command, DoD CIO, and commercial companies such as the Alfred Mann Foundation.  Mr. Backus is the technical lead for Aerospace in the newly formed National Spectrum Consortium.

Mr. Backus is currently technical manager for the Spectrum Management Center of Expertise for Aerospace and the expert lead in spectrum management for NOAA/NESDIS.