Discover how the Canaveral Council of Technical Societies (CCTS) is shaping the future of space innovation through collaboration, STEM outreach, and industry-leading events like Space Congress. A must-read for anyone looking to break into or level up in the space industry.
Susan Wise:
Welcome to Stars Launch Pod, Space Technology and Research Sciences, brought to you by StarsSciences.org, where we connect, collaborate, and accelerate. I’m your host, Susan Wise, and I’m honored to have with us today Nimisha Vyas, current chair of the Canaveral Council of Technical Societies. Nimisha, welcome to the show.
Nimisha Vyas:
Thank you for inviting me. I really appreciate it.
Susan Wise:
I’m excited to hear all about what you’re doing at CCTS, but I also want to dive first into your background, because you have a very exciting and broad background. Would you like to touch on that?
Nimisha Vyas:
My name is Nimisha. I’m the current chair of CCTS, the Canaveral Council of Technical Societies, and I’ve been in the space program since my early days. I worked other engineering jobs as well, and I’ve been volunteering for CCTS for the last nine years or so in different positions. Now I’m currently the chair of CCTS.
Susan Wise:
So what is the mission of CCTS?
Nimisha Vyas:
CCTS is an organization composed of 20 different local technical professional societies, educational institutions, and a total of over 3,000 engineers, scientists, technicians, and professionals in the space program. Organizations like AIChE, PMI, and INCOSE are all members of CCTS. Once someone is a member of those organizations, they’re automatically a member of CCTS.
We’re a nonprofit, and we’ve been around since 1960—during the beginning of the space program when JFK was president.
Our mission is to support local member societies with professional development and technical education. One way we do that is by hosting many different events. We have networking events, Engineering Week events, and our main event is Space Congress, which is now in collaboration with SpaceCom and will take place this January at the Orlando Convention Center.
We also hold the Space Vision Symposium in September, Engineering Week in February, and a lot of STEM activities including science awards, scholarships, and robotics competitions, usually in September or October every year.
Susan Wise:
Wow, you’re very busy! And it’s great that you have a venue where you can get face-to-face with people in the industry and really talk about what’s going on—how things are growing, changing, and moving forward.
Nimisha Vyas:
Yes, we meet a lot of interesting professionals and also young people interested in science and the space industry who want to network. It’s a great opportunity to meet people and help them out.
Susan Wise:
Mm-hmm.
Nimisha Vyas:
You know, to help them enter into this industry as well.
Susan Wise:
To get in there and collaborate. I love it. So what are you working on right now to help further the space industry?
Nimisha Vyas:
Currently we’re focused on our upcoming events. We’re an event-driven nonprofit, so right now we’re preparing for Space Congress in January. We’re going to have a big booth there. We’re organizing our events, and SpaceCom has theirs, so there will be four conference tracks running in January.
We’ll have robots and all of our member societies at our booth. We’re focused on that right now, and also preparing for the Space Vision Symposium in September. We’ll be putting out a call for papers and working to get more technical presenters for that event, which will be in Brevard County near Cape Canaveral.
Those are the two big things we’re working on right now, along with Engineering Week, where we bring in a speaker and get our members to come network.
Susan Wise:
Nimisha, if people wanted more information and wanted to be involved or attend some of these events, is that information on your website?
Nimisha Vyas:
Yes. All our events are posted on our website, www.cctsonline.org. You can register for events there. Most of our events are free except for the conferences.
Susan Wise:
Okay.
Nimisha Vyas:
Yes.
Susan Wise:
So what was one of your big “aha” moments?
Nimisha Vyas:
I think a big “aha” moment for CCTS was when we were holding Space Congress in Brevard County. At that time, we only had 300 to 400 people attending. But when we collaborated with SpaceCom and moved the conference to the Orlando Convention Center, we began getting 5,000 people or more.
Susan Wise:
Wow.
Nimisha Vyas:
Yes.
Susan Wise:
That’s exciting—international exposure.
Nimisha Vyas:
Yes.
Susan Wise:
The space industry is very popular right now. We’re going back to the Moon, there’s a lot happening, and many people are getting involved across all different avenues.
What has been your biggest challenge on this journey, and how did you overcome it?
Nimisha Vyas:
I think our biggest challenge at CCTS has been that we’re a nonprofit and a volunteer-based organization. It’s hard to find volunteers who are committed to attending meetings and helping with events. So getting a good, stable volunteer base has been challenging.
But we’ve been lucky. There are a lot of space-enthusiastic people, and we’ve been doing well with the volunteers we have. We’re getting more people every day as more young, enthusiastic individuals join our volunteer base.
Susan Wise:
Mm-hmm.
Nimisha Vyas:
So we’ve been doing well.
Susan Wise:
I noticed something else on your website about helping kids in education.
Nimisha Vyas:
Yes. We have a scholarship program. We also give out science awards, and many of our events—like the robotics competition—are geared toward STEM activities. We want to focus more on K–12 STEM activities and helping teachers as well.
Susan Wise:
That’s exciting. You can also find information about that on your website too, right?
Nimisha Vyas:
Correct. That’s on our website, cctsonline.org.
Susan Wise:
It sounds like you started with about 300 attendees at some events, and now you’re in the thousands. You’re really growing and the word is getting out there. I love that.
Do you have any advice you’d like to share with our listeners?
Nimisha Vyas:
I would say that if you want to be in the space industry, you should go to some of these events, network, and collaborate. If you want to work in this industry, you have to put yourself out there and meet people who can help guide you as you try to get a job or pursue other goals—especially young people who are trying to get into the space industry.
Susan Wise:
Okay, so if I’m going to one of these events, I don’t have to already be an established person in the space industry?
Nimisha Vyas:
No.
Susan Wise:
Maybe I’m just a little bit interested—like, “Hmm, maybe this is for me”—and I could just go check it out?
Nimisha Vyas:
Yes, you can go, check it out, and see if your skills apply to what companies are doing. There are many companies working on great projects and new technologies, and there’s a need for everybody.
Susan Wise:
There really is. I think people would be surprised at the range of skill sets it covers.
Nimisha Vyas:
Yes, from accounting to web to IT to mechanical, electrical—every kind of engineering and science background, and mathematics.
Susan Wise:
It’s really exciting. Before we wrap up, I want to ask: I’m sure this is your passion project, but is there another passion project—past or present—that you’d like to mention?
Nimisha Vyas:
I know one thing: I like what I’m doing. I always have. I like helping people and I enjoy volunteering. It has been a great journey being part of this organization and having the opportunity to lead some of these activities. I feel blessed and grateful for the opportunity.
Susan Wise:
Well, we’re very happy to support you, and I’m so glad you came on today to share your journey and your story. We’re looking forward to all the great things coming in the new year. Can’t wait to hear more from you. Thank you.
Nimisha Vyas:
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
Susan Wise:
Thank you, Nimisha. Be sure to join us where we connect, collaborate, and accelerate. We’d like to invite you to join StarsSciences.org to receive a free one-year membership—just enter the promo code friends321. That’s friends321.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review and subscribe. Until next time, keep looking up.
“STAR Sciences is building a global innovation community.
Right now, we are focused on launching our podcast and growing our audience.”
