Gary Lai

Last updated

Gary Lai is an American aerospace engineer. He was the chief architect for New Shepard, a vehicle developed by aerospace manufacturer Blue Origin for space tourism. On March 31, 2022, he flew on New Shepard's 20th mission to space, NS-20. [1] He is a Co-Founder and the Chief Technology Officer of a company called Interlune. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Lai was born in Hong Kong in 1973. [2] He grew up in the New York City metro area and attended Cornell University, graduating in 1995 with a degree in Applied Economics and Business Management. He credited a class he took at Cornell with the late astronomer Carl Sagan in his senior year as steering him towards a career in engineering and space exploration. [3] After Cornell, he attended the University of Washington and graduated with a degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering in 1999. [4]

Career

Lai worked at Kistler Aerospace in Kirkland, Washington, a company that was eventually acquired and renamed Rocketplane Kistler. At Kistler, he worked as a payload systems engineer for the K-1 launch vehicle, a project to develop a fully reusable, two-stage vehicle to launch payloads to orbit from Australia. Lai is named as a co-inventor on two of Kistler Aerospace's patents for its payload systems. [5]

In 2004, Lai joined Blue Origin, an American aerospace manufacturer founded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, as one of its first 20 employees. The roles he held at Blue Origin include Senior Director of Design Engineering, System Architect, Crew Capsule Element Lead, NASA Commercial Crew Development Program Manager, Lead Systems Engineer, and Pathfinding Lead with responsibility for advanced research and development. In addition to New Shepard, Lai was involved in product development, strategic planning, and business development for other Blue Origin programs including the New Glenn orbital launch vehicle, rocket engine programs, and the Blue Moon lunar lander. [6]

On April 14, 2021, Lai participated in NS-15, the 15th test flight of New Shepard, a rehearsal for a human spaceflight. He, along with another company employee, Audrey Powers, entered the capsule after the booster was fueled and strapped into the seats. After a few minutes, they exited the capsule and left the launch pad before the vehicle took off. [7]

NS-15 was the last rehearsal before New Shepard's first human spaceflight, NS-16, carrying Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, pilot and Mercury 13 member Wally Funk, and Dutch student Oliver Daemen to suborbital space. Before NS-16, Lai was a company spokesperson on the safety systems of New Shepard, interviewed by Bloomberg Technology, [8] CNN, [9] the Washington Post, [10] and other outlets. Lai co-hosted the Blue Origin live webcast of NS-16 with Ariane Cornell. [11]

Lai subsequently flew on New Shepard himself on the NS-20 flight on March 31, 2022. The seat was originally going to be occupied by comedian Pete Davidson, but the company announced he would no longer fly and announced Lai as his replacement. [12] Lai, unlike the other passengers, did not pay for the flight. [13] [14] In advance of NS-20, Blue Origin published a video on his contributions to New Shepard and his thoughts on his upcoming spaceflight, describing him as “the architect of New Shepard.” [15]

Lai is a member of the University of Washington Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics External Advisory Board. [16] He received a Stellar award from the RNASA Foundation in 2017 for, “Outstanding leadership of the New Shepard technical team, which performed five launches and landings of the same booster in one year.” [17] He is credited by Blue Origin for leading the technical team that won the 2016 Collier Trophy. [18] He received a Pathfinder Award from the Museum of Flight in 2023, given to individuals "with ties to the Pacific Northwest who have made significant contributions to the development of the aerospace industry." [19]

During the ceremony at the Museum of Flight where he received the Pathfinder award, Lai revealed that he had co-founded a company called Interlune. Lai said the other founders include Rob Meyerson, who was Blue Origin’s president from 2003 to 2018; and Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt, a geologist who set foot on the Moon in 1972 and served in the U.S. Senate from 1977 to 1983. Lai said, "We aim to be the first company that harvests natural resources from the moon to use here on Earth. We’re building a completely novel approach to extract those resources, efficiently, cost-effectively and also responsibly. The goal is really to create a sustainable in-space economy.” [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Origin</span> American aerospace company

Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P., commonly referred to as Blue Origin is an American aerospace manufacturer, defense contractor, launch service provider and space technologies company headquartered in Kent, Washington, United States. The company makes rocket engines for United Launch Alliance (ULA)'s Vulcan rocket and manufactures their own rockets, spacecraft, satellites, and heavy-lift launch vehicles. The company is the second provider of lunar lander services for NASA's Artemis program and was awarded a $3.4 billion contract. The company has four rocket engines in production including the BE-3U, BE-3PM, BE-4 and the BE-7.

New Shepard is a fully reusable sub-orbital launch vehicle developed for space tourism by Blue Origin. The vehicle is named after Alan Shepard, who became the first American to travel into space and the fifth person to walk on the Moon. The vehicle is capable of vertical takeoff and landings. Additionally, it is also capable of carrying humans and customer payloads into a sub-orbital trajectory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial astronaut</span> Astronaut employed by a company instead of a government

A commercial astronaut is a person who has commanded, piloted, or served as an active crew member of a privately funded spacecraft. This is distinct from an otherwise non-government astronaut, for example Charlie Walker, who flies while representing a non-government corporation but with funding or training or both coming from government sources.

Corn Ranch, commonly referred to as Launch Site One (LSO), is a spaceport owned and operated by Blue Origin which is located approximately 30 miles north of the town of Van Horn, Texas, United States.

The BE-3 is a LH2/LOX rocket engine developed by Blue Origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of private spaceflight</span>

The following is a timeline of important events in the history of private spaceflight, including important technical as well as legislative and political advances. Though the industry has its origins in the early 1960s, soon after the beginning of the Space Age, private companies did not begin conducting launches into space until the 1980s, and it was not until the 21st century that multiple companies began privately developing and operating launch vehicles and spacecraft in earnest.

New Glenn is a heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle in development by Blue Origin, named after NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit Earth. Design work on the vehicle began in 2012; illustrations of the vehicle, and the high-level specifications, were initially publicly unveiled in September 2016. New Glenn is a two-stage rocket with a diameter of 7 m (23 ft). Its first stage will be powered by seven BE-4 engines that are also being designed and manufactured by Blue Origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billionaire space race</span> Billionaire space rivalry

The billionaire space race is the rivalry among entrepreneurs who have entered the space industry from other industries - particularly computing. This private spaceflight race involves sending privately developed rockets and vehicles to various destinations in space, often in response to government programs or to develop the space tourism sector.

Rocketplane Global Inc. is a reusable rocketplane aerospace design and development company incorporated in Delaware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Meyerson</span> American aerospace engineer

Robert E. "Rob" Meyerson is an American aerospace engineer and executive known for his role in the development of reusable rocket launch systems.

The private aerospace company Blue Origin has a number of development, manufacturing, and test facilities in four US states: Washington, Texas, Florida, and Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Origin NS-16</span> First crewed flight of New Shepard (2021)

Blue Origin NS-16 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission operated by Blue Origin which flew on 20 July 2021. The mission was the sixteenth flight of the company's New Shepard integrated launch vehicle and spacecraft, and its first crewed flight. It carried into space American billionaire and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, pilot and Mercury 13 member Wally Funk, and Dutch student Oliver Daemen. The flight commenced from Blue Origin's Corn Ranch sub-orbital launch site in West Texas aboard the third flight of New Shepard booster NS4 and the spacecraft RSS First Step, both having previously flown on NS-14 and NS-15 earlier in the year.

Virgin Galactic <i>Unity</i> 22 2021 American crewed sub-orbital spaceflight

Virgin Galactic Unity 22 was a sub-orbital spaceflight of the SpaceShipTwo-class VSS Unity which launched on 11 July 2021. The crew consisted of pilots David Mackay and Michael Masucci as well as passengers Sirisha Bandla, Colin Bennett, Beth Moses, and Richard Branson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Daemen</span> Dutch space tourist

Oliver Daemen is a Dutch space tourist who flew as part of the 20 July 2021, sub-orbital Blue Origin NS-16 spaceflight. At the time of his flight he was 18 years old, and became the youngest person, first teenager, and first person born in the 21st century to travel to space using the United States definition of the boundary of space. Daemen is a licensed pilot.

RSS First Step is a New Shepard space capsule, built and operated by American spaceflight company Blue Origin. It is the third New Shepard capsule to fly to space, and the first to fly passengers. Its first flight was the NS-14 mission, which reached an altitude of 107 km (66 mi) on 14 January 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Origin NS-18</span> 2021 American crewed sub-orbital spaceflight

Blue Origin NS-18 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission operated by Blue Origin that launched on 13 October 2021. The mission was the eighteenth flight of the company's New Shepard integrated launch vehicle and spacecraft. It was the second crewed New Shepard launch. The flight, carrying four people including actor William Shatner, launched from Blue Origin's sub-orbital launch site in West Texas aboard the fourth flight of New Shepard booster NS4 and the spacecraft RSS First Step, both having previously flown on NS-14, NS-15, and NS-16 earlier in the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Origin NS-20</span> 2022 American crewed sub-orbital spaceflight

Blue Origin NS-20 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission operated by Blue Origin, which launched on 31 March 2022 using the New Shepard rocket. With six people on board, it was Blue Origin's fourth crewed flight, and twentieth flight overall to reach space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Origin NS-21</span> 2022 American crewed sub-orbital spaceflight

Blue Origin NS-21 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission, operated by Blue Origin, which launched on 4 June 2022 using the New Shepard rocket. It was Blue Origin's fifth crewed flight, and twenty-first overall to reach space.

Blue Origin NS-23 was an uncrewed sub-orbital spaceflight mission of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, which launched on 12 September 2022. The booster failed during max q about a minute after launch, triggering the launch escape system which removed the capsule from the booster. The capsule landed successfully, while the booster was destroyed upon impact with the ground.

Blue Origin NS-17 was an uncrewed sub-orbital spaceflight mission of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, which launched on 26 August 2021. It was New Shepards 4th flight in 2021. It was also Blue Origin's 17th overall flight to go into space.

References

  1. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (31 March 2022). “Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launches first New Shepard space crew of 2022”. CNBC. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Boyle, Alan (29 October 2023). “Blue Origin’s chief architect lifts the veil on stealth moon startup at Pathfinder Awards”. Geekwire. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  3. ↑ Wilensky, Joe (29 June 2022). “Blue Origin’s Gary Lai ’95 Rockets to (Suborbital) Space”. Cornellians. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  4. ↑ “William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics: Visiting Committee”. University of Washington. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  5. ↑ “Patents Assigned to Kistler Aerospace Corporation”. Justia Patents. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  6. ↑ “Blue Origin’s 20th Mission to Space”. Blue Origin. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  7. ↑ Clark, Stephen (14 April 2021). “Blue Origin practices crew operations on suborbital test flight”. Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  8. ↑ “How Blue Origin Will Keep Jeff Bezos and Team Safe”. youtube.com. Bloomberg Technology. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  9. ↑ Sangal, Aditi and Crane, Rachel (20 July 2021). “How Safe Is the Blue Origin Rocket?”. CNN. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  10. ↑ Davenport, Christian (18 July 2021). “Quiet and secretive Blue Origin hopes to start new chapter with Jeff Bezos’s space flight”. Washington Post. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  11. ↑ “First Human Flight”. IMDb.com. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  12. ↑ Pasquini, Marla (22 March 2022). “Blue Origin Is Replacing Pete Davidson with Company's Rocket Architect on Next Space Flight”. People. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  13. ↑ Wall, Mike (28 March 2022). “Pete Davidson's spaceflight replacement is Blue Origin's Gary Lai”. Space.com. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  14. ↑ Thorbecke, Catherine and Wattles, Jackie (28 March 2022) “Here’s who’s flying on Thursday’s Blue Origin space launch”. CNN Business. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  15. ↑ “The Architect of New Shepard”. youtube.com. Blue Origin. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  16. ↑ "External Advisory Board". Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  17. ↑ “2017 Stellar Award Winners”. RNASA. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  18. ↑ “Blue Origin’s 20th Mission to Space”. Blue Origin. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  19. ↑ "2023 Pathfinder Award Recipients". Aloft Magazine September-October 2023, pg. 25. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.