In The Loop

Tom Markusic - Founder and CEO, Firefly Aerospace

In this special episode David got to go to Firefly Aerospace, just north of Austin in Cedar Park, to sit down with Founder and CEO Tom Markusic. Tom is one of the most experienced leaders in the aerospace industry, having previously worked as the Vice President of Propulsion at Virgin Galactic, Senior Systems Engineer at Blue Origin, Director of the Texas Test Site and Principal Propulsion Engineer at SpaceX.  This one was super special for us and we appreciate Firefly for letting us come say hi!

Matt Ondler - CTO of AXIOM Space

Mr. Ondler has served 28 years with NASA, starting in the Advanced Programs Office and eventually  becoming the assistant director of Engineering at the Johnson Space Center. After NASA, Matt started his own robotics company, Houston Mechatronics, and joined Axiom Space as Chief Technology Officer.  At Axiom, Matt is helping develop the worlds first commercial space station and paving the way for new industry in space.

Amiee Quon - Mars Helicopter Test Engineer

Amiee Quon is a UT alumna who now works at JPL. Amiee has worked on a number of robotic missions, most recently being the Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, as a chamber test engineer. Amiee is also involved in the National Community College Aerospace Scholar program where she mentors community college students and helps open them up to the world of space and robotics.

Ben James - Entrepreneur, “Mad Scientist”

Ben James is a seasoned product leader and entrepreneur who is passionate about mixed and augmented reality systems, electric transportation, and education. He was one of the original members of Texas Guadaloop and is a self declared "Mad Scientist," always tinkering and building things. We always love chatting with Ben and he has some great stories!

Dr. Moriba Jah - Leading Space Debris Expert

In episode 9, we are joined by Dr. Moriba Jah [https://www.flowcode.com/page/moriba]. Dr. Jah is an Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at The University of Texas at Austin where he is the holder of the Mrs. Pearlie Dashiell Henderson Centennial Fellowship in Engineering. He has previously supported Mars missions as a spacecraft navigator and is an avid science communicator. He is currently working on ways to manage and track space debris to preserve humanity’s access to space.