PAUL SCHRANTZ, Vice President, Engineering
Mr. Schrantz assists clients in space-related aspects of advanced telecommunications projects, including mobile, fixed, broadcast and navigation satellites and their terrestrial facilities.
Recent activities at W.L. Pritchard & Co., L.C. have included technical support to an Insurance Broker in assessing technical risk areas in a multi-satellite program, and to a spacecraft owner in technical audits and design reviews and tests.
Mr. Schrantz was employed for 8 years in the Space Division at APL/JHU where he was involved in the design and mechanical testing of the TRANSIT satellites as well as several NASA research satellites. From 1968 to 1993, he held a variety of technical management positions at COMSAT Laboratories including Associate Director of the Satellite Technologies Division. He served as technical interface for the Labs Engineering Assistance Contract which included delivery of the INTELSAT V and VI flight simulators. He also served as technical interface for the Labs Support Contract for INTELSAT In-Residence in Monitoring. He was a member of the INTELSAT V and VI mission teams including INTELSAT 603 Shuttle Reboost Mission, and directed support for satellite launch loads and deployment analyses.
Mr. Schrantz was also responsible for the COMSAT Labs Support Contract to INMARSAT-3, and served as a member of the INMARSAT-2 Technical and Management Audit Team, as well as the INMARSAT-2 and -3 Flight Readiness Review Teams. He directed Spacecraft related R&D including development of satellite expert systems, and the Common Pressure Vessel Battery (CPV) which has been licensed to Eagle Pitcher LLC, and installed on all IRIDIUM satellites.
From 1993 until 1999, Mr. Schrantz was Vice President of the Satellite Systems and Consulting (SS&C) business unit of COMSAT Laboratories. The Satellite Consulting Group is headquartered in Clarksburg, Maryland and has a field office in El Segundo, CA where its personnel have been involved in monitoring the construction of major satellite programs including INTELSAT VII/VIIA, KOREASAT 1 & 2, AsiaSat 2 & 3, ITALSAT I & II, Nilesat 101, and JCSAT 3, 4, and 5. Additional programs included SATMEX 5, JCSAT 6, XM 1, and ICO as well as several SES Astra spacecraft and Orion 2/3. Activities also included: TT&C station integration, launch vehicle, launch and in-orbit test operations support, as well as RFP preparation, proposal evaluation, and contract negotiations for new programs.
Mr. Schrantz participated in consulting activities including attendance at System Design Reviews and Customer Management Reviews. He led a technical audit of the proposed E.A.S.T. Mobile Satellite System. He provided expert testimony before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Engineering Staff on R&E Tax Matters involving COMSAT Satellite Investments including Intelsat, Inmarsat, and DBS.
Mr. Schrantz is a senior member of the AIAA, a member of the Society of Satellite Professional International (SSPI), and has been awarded two U.S. patents.
Mr. Schrantz has an M S M E from Northwestern University, where he received the Walter P. Murphy Fellowship, and a B.M.E. from the University of Detroit, where he was a member of Tau Beta Pi and Pi Tau Sigma.
W.L.
Pritchard & Co., L.C.
4405 East West Highway, Suite 501
Bethesda, MD 20814
Tel: 1.301.654.1144 • Fax: 1.301.654.1814
email: wlpritchard-co@verizon.net