Chris Kemp, Founder & CEO
Chris leads the overall company strategy and direction. Chris previously served as CTO of NASA and founded OpenStack. At NASA, he partnered with Google and Microsoft and helped create Google Moon and Mars and worked with the White House to develop the cloud computing strategy for the US federal government. Chris advises and serves as a board member at various tech companies.
Adam London, Founder & CTO
Adam leads the technology strategy and long-term product roadmap. He founded Ventions and spent the majority of his career inventing miniature rocket technologies in partnership with NASA and DARPA. Adam has a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from MIT where his research culminated in creation of the world’s smallest liquid-cooled chemical rocket engine.
Chris Thompson, VP Engineering
Chris leads rocket and launch system development. Chris was a co-founder of SpaceX and VP of Structures, where he led development of the Falcon 1, Falcon 9, and Dragon Capsule for the NASA COTS Programs. Prior to Astra, he also held leadership roles at Virgin Orbit, Virgin Galactic, and McDonnell Douglas/Boeing. He proudly served in the Marine Corps as a CH-53E helicopter crew chief. Chris has a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from California State Long Beach and an A&P License from Embry-Riddle.
Bryson Gentile, VP Manufacturing
Bryson leads rocket manufacturing and production. Bryson led the manufacturing engineering team at SpaceX for the Falcon 9 rocket where he accelerated rocket production, reliability, and reusability. He then joined NIO to prepare for volume production of their first commercially available electric vehicles. Bryson has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. in Engineering and Industrial Management from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.
Usman Anwer, VP Software
Usman leads development of Astra's proprietary enterprise, engineering, manufacturing, productivity, and launch software, as well as the underlying foundation and infrastructure services. Prior to Astra, he founded AWS IoT SiteWise, Amazon’s first web service to acquire and manage data from factories at scale. As a PM at Microsoft, he introduced popular open source software in Windows and Visual Studio, and co-invented an app platform for Xbox, and HoloLens. Usman has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Yale University.
Trang Thung, VP People
Trang is responsible for recruiting, retaining, and developing the most talented team of engineers ever assembled. She has previously built out talent programs at hypergrowth startups in the tech industry, including Tanium, Talend, and MicroStrategy. She holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia.
Hemant Chaurasia, VP Strategy & Planning
Hemant leads the team that defines Astra’s long-term strategy and keeps us on track to our near-term goals. He previously led projects at McKinsey & Company, advising CEOs of leading aerospace, tech, and manufacturing companies on growth strategy and product development. He holds a Ph.D. from MIT in Aerospace Engineering.
Milton Keeter, VP Launch and Safety
Milton is responsible for ensuring safe and efficient launch and test operations, for compliance with city, state, and federal regulations. Prior to Astra, he led range safety and launch operations programs across the aerospace industry, including Orbital ATK and the US Air Force. He served for 20 years in the US Air Force, and holds a Bachelors in Professional Aeronautics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
Ryan Carrithers, VP Finance
Ryan leads our finance operations. Prior to joining Astra, Ryan was divisional CFO of Americas for KUKA AG and CFO of South America for KUKA do Brasil. He has also held various leadership positions in FP&A and Controlling at Comau S.p.A. and Robert Bosch GmbH. Ryan has a B.S. in Management from Kettering University.
Greg Ammirati, VP Sales
Greg leads business development. Prior to Astra, Greg led Global Sales for Vector Space, and has held leadership roles in a variety of technology companies including IBM, MaaS360, and Veritas. Greg has a B.S. in Business Administration and International Business from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from The College of William & Mary.
Fred Kennedy, VP Future Missions
Fred leads Future Missions. Prior to Astra, Fred stood up the Department of Defense's Space Development Agency as its inaugural Director, led DARPA's Tactical Technology Office, and served as a Senior Advisor for Space at the White House. Fred served in the Air Force for 25 years before retiring as Colonel. He holds a B.S. and M.S. from MIT in Aerospace Engineering and Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering and Physical Sciences from the University of Surrey.