Governor Greg Abbott launched the Texas Space Commission and announced the inaugural members of the Texas Space Commission Board of Directors and the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium Executive Committee at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The Commission is governed by a nine-member board of directors, who will also administer the legislatively created Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research Fund to provide grants to eligible entities.
The Governor, in conjunction with Lieutenant Governor Patrick and Speaker Phelan, appointed nine members to the Texas Space Commission Board of Directors:
Gwen Griffin of Houston is the chief executive officer of the Griffin Communications Group. She is the executive director of Club for the Future and 2024 chair of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership.
Kathy Lueders of Brownsville is the general manager of Starbase at SpaceX. She worked at NASA for over three decades, serving in various roles.
John Shannon of Houston is the vice president of Exploration Systems at the Boeing Company, where he is responsible for all aspects of human spaceflight. Previously, he worked for NASA at the Johnson Space Center for 26 years, serving as a flight director and space shuttle program manager.
Sarah “Sassie” Duggleby of Friendswood is the CEO and co-founder of Venus Aerospace Corp. She was previously a launch systems engineering and mission management consultant at Virgin Orbit.
Kirk Shireman of Pearland is the vice president of Lunar Exploration Campaigns at Lockheed Martin. He is on the executive committee and board of directors for the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership and board of directors for Space Center Houston.
Evan Loomis of Austin is the co-founder of ICON, a general partner in Overmatch Ventures, a founding partner of Saturn Five, a venture partner for Audere Capital LLC, and an adjunct professor at Texas A&M University.
Heather Wilson, Ph.D., of El Paso is the president of The University of Texas at El Paso. She previously served as the secretary of the United States Air Force and as a U.S. Congresswoman for a decade.
Nancy Currie-Gregg, Ph.D., of College Station is the director of the Texas A&M Space Institute. She is a former NASA astronaut and accumulated over 1,000 hours in space over the course of four missions. She also served NASA in various roles.
Brad Morrison of Boerne is the founder and CEO of Atlantis Industries. He is a member of the Boerne Kendall County Angels Network and the Texas National Security Innovation Council.
Governor Abbott, in conjunction with Lieutenant Governor Patrick and Speaker Phelan, appointed six members to the TARSEC Executive Committee:
Stephanie Murphy of Seabrook is the CEO and executive chairman of Aegis Aerospace, Inc. She is a board member of Space Center Houston and the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce and member of the Women in Aerospace and Texas A&M Engineering Advisory Council.
Matt Ondler of Houston is the president and former chief technology officer at Axiom Space, building the first commercial space station and the next generation space suit. He has nearly 40 years of aerospace and technology experience, including over 28 years serving at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Bill Weber of Austin is the CEO of Firefly Aerospace. He is vice chairman of the board for America’s Warrior Partnership, former board director of Buchanan and Edwards, former board director of Modus eDiscovery, and former board director and advisor of Thraxos.
Jack “2fish” Fisher of Houston is vice president of production and operations at Intuitive Mechanics. He is a former NASA astronaut with over 130 days in space, including two spacewalks, and former vice commander for the United States Space Force. Additionally, he is a member of the Space Force Association and the United States Air Force Academy Association of Graduates and associate fellow for the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.
Brian Freedman of Friendswood is president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership. He is the vice chairman of Wellby Financial and a board member and former chairman of the Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.
Shey Sabripour is the founder and CEO of CesiumAstro, Inc. He previously worked for Lockheed Martin Space Systems for over 24 years, serving as a design engineer, technology innovator, program manager, and director of Spacecraft Design.
Robert Ambrose, Ph.D., is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University. Previously, he worked for NASA for over 20 years, holding various positions such as the division chief for Johnson Space Center and the principal technologist for NASA Headquarters.
Daniel T. Jaffe, Ph.D., is vice president for research, professor of the Office of the Executive Vice President, and the provost of the Department of Astronomy at The University of Texas.
David Alexander, Ph.D., is a professor of physics and astronomy and director of the Rice Space Institute at Rice University. He is a member of the board of the American Astronomical Society, the Houston Spaceport Development Corporation, SpaceCom, Deep Space Industries, and the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture.