Founder

• Paul G. Allen

Corporate Officers

• Gary L. Wentz Jr.
  Chief Executive Officer
  & Chairman
• Susan G. Turner
  Chief Operating Officer

Our Board Members

OUR Leadership Team

The leadership team assembled by the board has extensive combined space systems development expertise and was specifically recruited for their unique combination of experience and entrepreneurial drive.

Gary L. Wentz Jr., Chief Executive Officer & Chairman

Gary L. Wentz, Jr. served as the Chief Engineer of the Science and Mission Systems at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, Alabama from January 2006 until 2010. The Science and Mission Systems activities at MSFC range from exploration systems design and development, International Space Station element and payload hardware development, to Science Research and development activities. He resigned from NASA service in August 2010. Soon thereafter, Wentz started in the position of President at Stratolaunch Corporation, a small entrepreneurial company.

Wentz joined NASA in January 1993 as an Experiment Fluid Systems Test Engineer at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). He worked extensively preparing domestic and international scientific experiments to fly on-board the Space Shuttle. In 1996, he was selected to join the Space Station Hardware Integration Office at KSC, which was responsible for the integration and test of Space Station hardware from the manufacturing site to the launch pad. With delivery of the flight hardware to KSC in 1999, he was appointed as the resident KSC manager at the MSFC in support of MSFC managed payloads. In October 2002, Mr. Wentz joined the Marshall Space Flight Center team as the Program Integration lead for the 2nd Generation RLV Program Office; appointed as the Chief of Staff for the Orbital Space Program Manager in 2003. He was named the Deputy Manager for Exploration at the MSFC in 2004.

Prior to joining the NASA team, he supported Martin Marietta in the depot integration and test of the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) system for the USAF F-16 and the TOW-Cobra attack helicopter missile systems.

Wentz earned his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and a M.S. in Engineering Management from the University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida. He is the recipient of the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, NASA Certificate of Commendation, the NASA Space Station Program Team Excellence Award, numerous group achievements, and certificates of achievement.

Susan G. Turner, Chief Operating Officer

Susan G. Turner served as the Technical Assistant to the Engineering Director and Program Manager of the Space Technology Program at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, Alabama from December 2009 until 2010. In this capacity, she performed strategic and acquisition planning for the center. She resigned from NASA service in November 2010. Soon thereafter, Turner started in the position of Vice President / Chief Operating Officer at Stratolaunch Corporation, a small entrepreneurial company.

Turner joined NASA in August 1986 as a Solid Propulsion Engineer at the MSFC. She worked extensively in the design and modifications of the Inertial Upper Stage and re-usable solid rocket motors. She continued to expand upon her expertise conducting Aero vehicle design and mission analysis activities as related to the main propulsion system of the Space Shuttle. In 1998, she was selected to serve as the Assistant Director of the Propulsion Laboratory at MSFC, which expanded her participation across the agency on numerous propulsion technology programs. She was appointed the X-37 Project Manager in May 1999 where she negotiated the cooperative agreement with the Boeing Co and managed government task orders across seven NASA centers. In 2005, Turner was selected to serve as the Deputy Chief Engineer of the Science and Mission Systems Office which was responsible for all science and exploration activities at the MSFC. In March 2008, she was named the Space Shuttle Program Deputy Manager for the Solid Rocket Booster Project.

Prior to joining the NASA team, Ms. Turner supported research efforts at the Army Missile Command, Directed Energy Directorate, Redstone Arsenal.

Turner earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University and a M.S. in System Engineering from the University of Alabama – Huntsville. She has completed the coursework for her doctoral degree in Engineering Management at the University of Alabama – Huntsville. She is the recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, NASA Group Achievements, graduate of the International Space University, and the MSFC Federal Women’s Program Outstanding Woman Achiever Award (Engineer) in 1999.