Leadership
Eddie Brown
CEO, Founder, Engineer
Eddie is the chief executive officer of Astron Systems and has a background working on rocket propulsion systems, system design, re-entry vehicle design, electronics, and software. He has a first class masters degree in Aeronautics with Spacecraft Engineering (MEng) from Imperial College London, achieving the Dean's list (top 10%) in years one, two, and three. Forever fascinated by learning and solving hard problems, Eddie started long before his university days working on game servers and mobile apps in his spare time resulting in over a decade of experience working on commercial software. However, inspired by space travel from a young age, Eddie is most passionate about realising the full potential of space. Eddie formerly led the 'Upper Engine' division of Imperial College London Rocketry's propulsion team, from the founding of the society, building a 1kN throttlable nitrous oxide hybrid rocket motor, and also helped setup Imperial's own rocket engine test facility. He also previously worked on the analysis and design of a deployable heat shield concept for hypersonic aerocapture and entry to Titan's atmosphere and codes for simulating re-entry trajectories, high speed aerodynamics, and aerothermal environments.
Kieran Jones-Tett
COO, CFO, Founder, Engineer
Kieran has a background working on both chemical and plasma-based next-generation propulsion systems for space. He has a first class masters degree in Aeronautics with Spacecraft Engineering from Imperial College London, achieving the Dean’s list in years three and four, and also formerly worked as the lead engineer on Hall Effect Thruster projects at URA Thrusters. Kieran's prior research includes carrying out the preliminary design for a hall effect thruster using water vapour as a propellant, where it was found that comparable efficiencies to traditional Xenon thrusters are possible making the thruster an attractive commercial proposition which is continuing to be developed. At URA Thrusters Kieran worked on innovative propulsion systems including R&D and successful management of a variety of spacecraft propulsion projects including both chemical and electrical designs.
Rafal Sokolowski
CTO, Founder, Engineer
Rafal is the chief technical officer for Astron Systems, helping ensure designs produced by the team can be successfully manufactured and turned into reality. He has a background working on rocket propulsion systems, structures and mechanisms for spacecraft, re-entry aerothermodynamics, and understanding and using manufacturing processes to turn designs into reality. He has a first class honours degree in MEng Aeronautics with Spacecraft Engineering from Imperial College London. Rafal's experience building things started in his early days making oddities with the help of a lathe, a 3D printer, and a soldering iron, as well as his background in the family joinery business. Rafal was also formerly the Chief Engineer of the Propulsion Team of Imperial College London Rocketry, leading day to day activities to develop and produce the team’s fully field-testable and flight-worthy 1 kN thrust, 15 kNs impulse hybrid nitrous oxide-paraffin rocket engine, as well as designing and producing the elaborate field testing hardware needed to establish Imperial's own rocket engine test facility. Prior to Astron Rafal worked on space structures and mechanisms within Oxford Space Systems.
Advisors
Greg Autry, PhD
Space expert, former NASA White House Liasion
Dr. Greg Autry is an American space policy expert, educator, entrepreneur and author. He is widely regarded as one of the leading experts globally on the commercial spaceflight industry. Greg is the Associate Provost for Space Commercialization and Strategy at the University of Central Florida and is a visiting professor at Imperial College London's Institute for Security Science and Technology. Greg is a firm believer in humankind's future in the solar system. He has researched the commercial space field since 2003, was former research lead of the AIAA Commercial Space Group, serves on the editorial board of the New Space Journal and Space Force Journal, and also has written for Forbes and SpaceNews. Greg also is the former chair of the FAA Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee Safety Working Group, previously served on the NASA Agency Review Team and as NASA's White House Liaison, and was formerly nominated to serve as the Chief Financial Officer at NASA.
Gregory Krauland
Led SpaceX's Falcon 9 upper stage development
Gregory Krauland has helped turn into reality some of the most exciting aerospace projects in recent history. His accolades include leading the design and development of Falcon 9's upper stage at SpaceX, working as Chief Engineer at Boom Supersonic for the XB-1 vehicle, and working on SpaceShipTwo at Scaled Composites.
Benjamin Lenoir, PhD
European aerospace innovation expert
Benjamin's areas of expertise include Aerospace, Defense, Deep Tech and Additive Manufacturing. He is currently a Senior Project Manager at Elia Group. He formerly managed innovation activities at Thales as well as strategy consulting projects at Archery, and also has experience mentoring aerospace companies. He has a Masters in Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University and École Polytechnique, and completed a PhD in experimental physics at ONERA.
Gautier Brunet, MBA
VP sales at Loft Orbital, engineer on Ariane 5 ECA
Gautier has a wealth of experience in the commercial space industry in both senior management and engineering roles. Gautier formerly was COO at ThrustMe and is the current VP of Sales at Loft Orbital, giving him an excellent knowledge of the commercial small payload market and customer requirements and expectations. Gautier also previously worked as a Systems Engineer for the ESA, and as a Mechanical Engineer at Airbus where he worked on the Ariane 5 ECA and ME launch vehicles, and the Astrium Space Plane. He has a Masters in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT, and has an MBA from the Harvard Business School.