Chaired Professor and Head of Space Systems at the Kiruna Space Campus of Luleå University of Technology (LTU) in Northern Sweden.
Rene Laufer is chaired professor and head of space systems at the Kiruna Space Campus of Luleå University of Technology (LTU) in Northern Sweden. Previous faculty appointments include the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and Baylor University, USA, preceded by positions at the University of Stuttgart as well as the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Berlin, Germany. During these occupations he supported an participated in several planetary exploration missions and was involved in micro and nano satellite projects as well as payload instrument developments. Academic exchanges and regular visiting lecturer invitations brought him to several countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America. He studied aerospace engineering at the Technical University of Berlin and received his PhD in the same field from University of Stuttgart. He is co-chair of the small satellite missions committee of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) as well as past chair of its space systems operations and utilisation commission.