Meet the Space Pioneers

Meet the Space Pioneers. This Huntsville, Alabama-based X PRIZE Team, the Rocket City Space Pioneers, brings together a strong base of technical talent and many years of experience in the developement of space hardware.

Tim Pickens DyneticsTim Pickens, chief propulsion engineer for Dynetics, has 15+ years of experience in the aerospace industry, specializing in the design, fabrication, and testing of propulsion hardware systems. He was founder and CEO of Orion Propulsion, a propulsion engineer at Plasma Processes Inc. and Space America Inc., and lead propulsion designer at Scaled Composites for SpaceShipOne. Read more on Tim Pickens' bio page.

Mike Graves, Spacecraft Integration, is the department manager of Space Vehicles at Dynetics with more than 18 years of experience in space vehicle mechanical design, software development and testing, fabrication, ground operations, and all ground support equipment. This X PRIZE Team member is the lead project manager for the Fast, Affordable, Science & Technology Satellite Huntsville (FASTSAT-HSV01) for the Department of Defense (DoD) Space Test Program (STP). Read more on Mike Graves' bio page.

Jason Andrews, Mission Design/Avionics/Launch Integration, is president and CEO of Andrews Space/Spaceflight Services. He has more than 15 years of experience in the integration of aerospace systems, developing advanced space products and technologies, and providing innovative solutions and technical services.

Pete Paceley, Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GN&C), is general manager of Draper Laboratory in Huntsville. He has more than 28 years of experience in the design, development, and certification of commercial and government space systems, including launch vehicle and spacecraft GNC and avionics systems, pressurized science and cargo modules for Shuttle, unpressurized cargo pallets for shuttle and ISS, flight support equipment, and ground support equipment.

Mike Soutullo, Structures and Thermal, is aerospace chief engineer at Teledyne Brown Engineering. He has more than 27 years of experience in full life cycle space systems DDT&E and operations, including Ares I-X Roll control chief engineer; director of the Cargo Mission Contract and ISS Payload Integration Contract; Deputy program manager – Payload Mission Integration; project manager of Shuttle-Mir and several Spacelab missions; and Solid Rocket Motor Parachute Reinforcement.

Mark Fisher, Propulsion, is manager of Dynetics’ Propulsion Department with more than 20 years of space systems experience, including serving as vice president for Orion Propulsion Inc. and program director at Miltec Corp. At NASA, he served as engineer/manager for the Orbital Space Plane (OSP) Program Integration Office, manager for the SLI Main Engine Projects, engineer for the RS-83 Main Engine Project, manager for X-34, and lead for Fastrac Engine Systems. This X PRIZE Team member also served as Orion’s president and the deputy project manager for Bigelow’s Sundancer propulsion system.

Barry King, Missions Operations, is director for Space Test and Operations at Dynetics. He has 28 years of launch experience, particularly in the areas of integration, test, and mission operations. His experience includes missile test and range operations at Reagan Test Site, Cape Canaveral AFS, Vandenberg AFB, and Kodiak Launch Complex. He has been involved in more than 200 launches for NASA, the DoD, and commercial missions. He is a former range operations supervisor on DoD Shuttle and Boeing launch director for the Ground-Based Interceptor.

John Gregory, Student Research, is director of the Alabama Space Grant Consortium and Alabama NASA EPSCoR Programs at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. This X PRIZE Team member has experience managing 14 programs with “Students Building Spaceflight Hardware” in which students assume responsibility for execution of the entire project, with mentoring from expert professionals.

Cy Bruno, Propulsion, is Attitude Control Propulsion Systems program manager at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. He has more than 30 years of experience developing, qualifying, and producing storable propellant propulsion systems including Ares I-X Roll Control System and Peacekeeper Missile System Stage IV. He also is responsible for developing crossover applications of high performance DoD propulsion systems for deep space applications.

Joe Maly, Payload Launch Adapter Systems, is associate principal engineer for Moog CSA Engineering. He was principal investigator for the development of ESPA, and he has managed flight programs at CSA such as the Hubble Space Telescope Solar Array 3 Dampers and the ESPA Ring for NASA's LRO/LCROSS Mission. He recently led a team at CSA to develop the Tuned Oscillator Array (TOA), a system of five 800-lb tuned mass absorbers for the Ares I launch vehicle. He is currently working with LoadPath LLC and the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate to develop a cubesat adaptor for small launch vehicles.

 

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