Franklin Chang Diaz CEO and Board Chairman Ad Astra Rocket Company

Dr. Franklin Chang Díaz @franklinchangd is Chairman and CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Company a US firm developing advanced plasma rocket technology and applications in sustainable energy with operations in Webster, Texas and Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Dr. Chang Díaz founded Ad Astra in 2005, after a 25-year career as a NASA astronaut. A veteran of 7 space missions, he has logged over 1,600 hours in space, including 19 hours in three space walks. In 1994, in conjunction with astronaut training at NASA, he founded and directed the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory (ASPL) at the Johnson Space Center to develop the physics of the VASIMR^® rocket engine. Dr. Chang Díaz holds a PhD degree in applied plasma physics from MIT and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut. He is Adjunct Professor of Physics at Rice University and the University of Houston.