Top Student Launches "Burnt Frost" Satellite Interceptor

In March, the newest AFCEA member former Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue presented the 130th AFCEA John McReynolds Wozencraft Electrical & Computer Engineering Academic Honor Award to Lt. Andrew Spencer Jackson, USN in the historic Hotel Del Monte lobby at NPS Herrmann Hall. Few knew Jackson's 2008 engineering assignment became news worldwide. While gathering for a photograph, retired Vice Adm. Ronald Route, NPS president, noticed Jackson's SECDEF Joint Service Commendation Ribbon—they discovered both had served on USS Lake Erie, an AEGIS cruiser, at different times. Jackson remarked, "the Lake Erie seemed to be a ship where many future admirals hailed from—maybe there is more in store for me in my career!"

Mayor Donohue attended Jackson's thesis presentations with several graduate engineering students in early March where he heard about his special computer experiment on a late 2017 launch of NPS Satellite 1 on Elon Musk's Space X Falcon 9.

Jackson received a Joint Service Commendation Medal with ribbon from the Pacific Command Commander and Secretary of Defense in February. The operation was called Burnt Frost. Fire Controlman 2nd Class Andrew Jackson, missile system supervisor, built the manual firing sequence list that facilitated the launch and was the first watchstander to receive indications of mission success. At approximately 10:26 p.m. EST, the USS Lake Erie fired a single modified tactical Standard Missile-3, hitting the U.S. satellite approximately 247 km (133 mi) over the Pacific Ocean as it traveled in space at more than 17,000 mph.

Jackson graduated in March with a MSEE and Naval War College Joint Professional Military Education Phase 1, presented by NPS alumnus and cyber expert Rear Adm. David Lewis, commander Space & Naval Warfare Systems. His next assignment is the Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group.

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