Jeff Thornburg is a career space engineer and leader who brings a unique perspective to the space industry. Jeff is founder and President of Interstellar Technologies, an engineering and technology development company focused on advanced research and development for launch vehicles and propulsion systems that expand our reach into the solar system. Prior to the current focus on Interstellar, Jeff was the Vice President for Propulsion Engineering at Stratolaunch working with Paul Allen on the advanced and fast-paced PGA Engine development for Stratolaunch. Jeff was also the Senior Director of Propulsion Engineering at SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA, and served as the principal engineer and architect of the Raptor engine development program. Jeff also served as the Vice President of Propulsion Engineering at SpaceX overseeing flight, test, development and research operations while also supporting customer interactions; including those with NASA and the U.S. Air Force. Jeff oversaw six successful Falcon 9 launches during his time as the VP of Propulsion, and coordinated qualification and certification activities with the U.S. Air Force and NASA. He was also a lead propulsion engineer and turbomachinery technical project manager for the J-2X engine development program at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, and Jeff spent 4 years working for Aerojet as an engineering director for their liquid engine turbomachinery group, and served as the site manager for the Aerojet-Woodland Hills engineering office in Woodland Hills, CA.
Jeff started his career in the U.S. Air Force as a flight commander and aircraft maintenance officer on KC-135R tanker aircraft at MacDill AFB, FL. He was selected to attend the Air Force Institute of Technology and earned his Master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Jeff was stationed at Edwards AFB, CA, where he joined the liquid rocket engine branch at the Air Force Research Laboratory where he worked on several component and engine technology programs included leadership of the joint Air Force-NASA Integrated Powerhead Demonstration engine. This program performed the world’s first hydrogen full-flow staged combustion cycle engine demonstration. Since his first assignment to Edwards AFB, Jeff has been very fortunate to have built his career working on nearly all liquid engine technology development programs since the Space Shuttle Main Engine. Jeff has received numerous Air Force and NASA awards including a NASA Space Flight Awareness award, the NASA Made It Happen award, the NASA Stennis Space Center Propulsion Test Director’s Leadership Award, and was an Air Force Research Laboratory Technical Program Manager of the Year. In addition to his master’s degree, he has a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.
Amanda Mitskevich is the program manager of the Launch Services Program at NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where she is responsible for overseeing NASA’s provision and management of domestic commercial launch services for robotic missions. She ensures overall mission success through leading, managing and directing the progress of planning and acquisition of launch services, commercial launch vehicle engineering and analysis, mission integration, launch vehicle production, launch site processing, launch campaigns and launch. Prior to her current position, she served as the program’s deputy program manager. She has been employed with NASA for over 30 years.
Previously, Mitskevich was the chief of the Flight Projects Office in the Launch Services Program. This office provides the mission management of the launch service across NASA’s commercial launch vehicle fleet. During her tenure, the mission managers, under her direction, managed over 30 successful missions through launch and implemented many cross-cutting processes to enable consistent and customer-focused management of the missions. Before becoming the office chief, Mitskevich was a mission manager in the
Launch Services Program, where she successfully led several mission teams for spacecraft that were managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Marshall Space Flight Center and Goddard Space Flight Center; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and private industry. Additionally, in 1998, she was instrumental in transitioning and consolidating major elements of the Launch Services Program from Goddard Space Flight Center and Glenn Research Center to Kennedy Space Center.
Her previous experience includes several Shuttle Operations positions, managing projects, such as implementation of improvements to aid in more efficient orbiter processing operations, optimization of the Orbiter Logistics resources for sparing orbiter hardware, and implementation of new processes for award fee evaluation of the contractors across all logistics elements. Additionally, she served as a management intern to Kennedy Space Center’s director.
Mitskevich has received numerous achievement and performance honors throughout her career. She was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Central Florida, where she received her Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and was featured in the “Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine.” Mitskevich is a registered professional engineer and holds a Federal Acquisition Certification in
Project management. Her honors also include NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal, Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Presidential Rank Award, and the Florida National Space Club’s Debus Award.
Ignacio Echavarria acts as Skydweller Aero Inc.’s Deputy Power System IPT & Battery Management Lead. Prior to joining Skydweller Aero Inc., Ignacio held the title of Electric Propulsion System Lead Engineer for E-Fan X, a retired Airbus venture. Prior to E-Fan X, he worked for Airbus Defense and Space, Commercial and Corporate Technology Divisions. Ignacio holds a Master’s of Science in Aerospace Engineering from SUNY Buffalo and “diplôme d’ingénieur” from ENSICA. He currently lives in Madrid, Spain and is fluent in Spanish and French.
Dr. Tine Tomažič (male) was born in 1983 and received B.Sc. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from University of Ljubljana in 2007 and 2014 respectively. His work in systems automation and human machine interfaces ranges from autopilot technologies for unmanned aerial vehicles to electric and hybrid-electric propulsion systems. Tomažič was involved in development of world’s first 2-seat and world’s first electric 4-seat aircraft, the Taurus Electro and the Taurus G4. His current research is in the field of certifiable hybrid-electric propulsion systems and their intuitive user interfaces, where besides being involved in the development, Tomazic is active in the working group with ASTM F44.40 to rewrite current General Aviation design standards to allow proliferation of electric flight. He is also a member of SAE, EASA T4S Technology for Safety and a recognized global expert in the field of electric flight. He is the CTO of Pipistrel.
Mr. Darmstadt is a drive and power systems engineer and technologist at the Boeing Company. He has 10 years’ experience in dynamic systems and propulsion system design and technology development. He has helped to establish an electric propulsion design and analysis capability within Boeing’s Vertical Lift Business Unit. He is currently supporting multiple electric propulsion programs, including group 1, 3, and 5 unmanned aerial systems and manned air-vehicles, each in various stages of the design, build, and test development cycle. He is an active member of the VFS Propulsion Committee and SAE Transmission and Driveline Committee. He was lead author and principal investigator for the NASA sponsored, Hazard Analysis and Failure Modes and Effects Criticality Analysis (FMECA) of Four Concept Vehicle Propulsion Systems.
Dr. Hall is a Research Engineer at the MIT Gas Turbine Laboratory, where he conducts research on advanced aircraft propulsion technology, including propulsion-airframe integration and electrification. Prior to his current role at MIT, he was the Propulsion Group Lead at Aurora Flight Sciences, where he led a multi-disciplinary team in advanced propulsion research and rapid development of propulsion systems for experimental prototype aircraft, including leading the Aurora team supporting Boeing’s Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) Program with NASA. In January 2021, he will be joining the Aerospace Engineering faculty at The Pennsylvania State University as an assistant professor.
As a graduate student at MIT, Hall was a member of the team that developed the D8 aircraft concept during the NASA N+3 Program. After graduating in 2015, he spent two terms teaching at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) as a Postdoctoral Fellow before returning to the MIT Gas Turbine Laboratory, where he was the technical lead for the NASA LEARN3 Program investigating the feasibility of electrified propulsion for ultra-efficient commercial aircraft.
Dr. Hall received his Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics from Duke University and his Masters and PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT. He is a member of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
Fay is the Associate Director for Flight Strategy, Integrated Aviation Systems Program for NASA Aeronautics. In this capacity he leads planning and formulation of large flight demonstrations. He is currently focused on establishing the feasibility of Megawatt-class electrified powertrain system flight demonstrations with the industrial base, other government, and academia.
Previously, from 2009-2016, Fay was the Project Manager of the Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project within NASA’s Integrated System Research Program. In this role, he directed the formulation and execution of NASA’s integrated system research project focused on the subsonic transport sector, working in partnership with Industry, FAA, AFRL and other government agencies. The technology development project was focused on research, development and integration of engine and airframe technologies that enable dramatic improvements in noise, emissions, and performance characteristics of future subsonic aircraft operating in the air transportation system. The six-year, $420M project closed out in March 2016, meeting all technical objectives. During the 6-year life cycle, ERA over 1000 individuals from government and industry collaborated on the project. The ERA Team was awarded the Aviation Week Laureate Award for Technology in 2016, the Royal Aeronautical Society Team Specialists Gold Award in 2017.
Fay is a graduate of Virginia Tech (Aerospace Engineering, B.S., 1981, M.S., 1982, Ph.D., 1988) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.B.A., 1997). He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and a Fellow of the AIAA.
Zubair received a bachelor’s degree from New York University in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s in Electrical Engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He is current lead the electric propulsion strategy for Pratt and Whitney and collaborates across RTX. He hold numerous patents and has deep technical knowledge and expertise in power systems and energy storage. Combating climate change through electrification and other technologies is a personal passion of Zubair’s and he hope to see us make great strides in this space over the next decade.
Dr. Brian B. Brady is a Principal Scientist at the Aerospace Corporation. Brian received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania. Brian is currently investigating hybrid rocket motor testing, methane coking rates, and green propellant properties in a new propulsion research facility. He also investigates small satellite propulsion technologies. He tested flammability of launch vehicle coatings, safety of monopropellant replacements for hydrazine, and explosion generated debris risk for satellites. He is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics where he serves on the Hybrid Rocket Technical Committee, and of the American Chemical Society where he is an ACS Fellow and a councilor for the Southern California Local Section.
Dr. Charles J. Cross is the Chief of the Turbine Engine Division, Aerospace Systems Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. In this capacity, he leads a 250 person division in executing a $110,000,000 per year budget to plan, develop and transition advanced turbine engine technologies in order to sustain legacy systems, develop emerging systems, and enable future propulsion concepts. To fulfill this mission, he is the Tri-service lead for the Advanced Turbine Technology for Affordable Mission Capability (ATTAM) program, ensuring USAF efforts are coordinated across DoD services.
Dr. Cross has been with the Air Force Research Laboratory and its predecessor organizations since 1989. His multi-faceted technical activities have included serving as an in-house researcher, team leader, group leader, program manager, branch chief, consultant, mentor and technical leader for basic research in structural dynamics, life prediction and failure analysis of turbine engine components. He is an internationally recognized expert in turbine engine dynamics, mechanics and durability and has led numerous national and international teams to investigate costly turbine engine fatigue and structural dynamics issues to resolve problems that impacted fielded engine systems for many years. His publication record includes over 110 journal papers, technical reports and proceedings, and one patent.
