Will Pomerantz

Last updated
Will Pomerantz
Will Pomerantz at TEDxPCC.jpg
Pomerantz speaks on space travel at TEDxPCC in 2013
Alma mater Harvard University
International Space University
NASA Academy
Employer(s) X Prize Foundation
Virgin Galactic
Virgin Orbit
Organization Brooke Owens Fellowship
Spouse
(m. 2009)
Children2

William Pomerantz is Vice President of Special Projects at Virgin Orbit. He was part of the team that created Virgin Orbit while working at Virgin Galactic. He is the co-founder of the Brooke Owens Fellowship and a trustee of the United States Students for the Exploration and Development of Space organisation.

Contents

Early life and education

Pomerantz was born in 1980 in Buffalo, New York. His parents are Sandra Pomerantz, a social worker and lawyer, and James Pomerantz, a cognitive psychologist. [1] [2] His step-mother is Mary McIntire, Dean of Continuing Studies at Rice University. [1] Pomerantz studied Earth and planetary sciences at Harvard University. During his undergraduate degree he studied at the NASA Academy. [3] He completed a master's degree at the International Space University, working in the Information, Communication and Space Technology group at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. [1] Pomerantz co-founded the website SpaceAlumni with Nicholas Skytland in 2004, a social media platform for young space professionals, acting as chief editor until 2007. [3] [4] He worked at Brown University as a planetary scientist, identifying surface features on Mars. [5]

Career

After graduate school Pomerantz joined Futron, an aerospace consultancy that eventually became acquired by Avascent. [6]

In 2005 Pomerantz joined X Prize Foundation, acting as Director of Space Prizes. [3] He was promoted to Senior Director of Space Projects and helped to create both the Google Lunar X Prize and Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. [7]

In 2010, Pomerantz contributed a chapter to the textbook Space Commerce. [8] He joined Virgin Galactic in 2011 and was appointed vice president. [9] [10] He was determined to use the SpaceShipTwo to support educational and research payloads as well as space tourism. [10] [11]

He spoke at the 2013 TED xPCC at the Expanding Horizons of Understanding event, where he discussed why humans explore space. [12] Pomerantz led the effort to launch the LauncherOne, which allows people to launch small satellites from an air-launched system. [13] He was the first employee of Virgin Orbit, which will 3D print rockets and engines for satellite launches. [14]

His wife is the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Diana Trujillo. [3]

Public service and advocacy

He has advised the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and Federal Aviation Administration. [3] [15] He was a judge at the inaugural Mayor of Los Angeles Cup, an entrepreneurship challenge to improve Los Abgeles for citizens. [16] He has written for HuffPost . [17] Pomerantz is the chair of the Board of Advisors for the American organisation Students for the Exploration and Development of Space and on the advisory board for the Waypaver Foundation. [18] He is on the editorial board of Room, the space journal. [19]

In 2016, Pomerantz established the Brooke Owens Fellowship, a mentoring scheme which champions women in aerospace. The fellowships offer undergraduate women positions in the space sector and assigns them a personal mentor working in industry. [20] He co-founded the fellowship with Lori Garver and Cassie Kloberdanz Lee. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space tourism</span> Space travel for recreational purposes

Space tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. There are several different types of space tourism, including orbital, suborbital and lunar space tourism.

Human spaceflight programs have been conducted, started, or planned by multiple countries and companies. The age of manned rocket flight was initiated by Fritz von Opel who piloted the world's first rocket-propelled flight on 30 September 1929. All space flights depend on rocket technology; von Opel was the co-designer and financier of the visionary project. Until the 21st century, human spaceflight programs were sponsored exclusively by governments, through either the military or civilian space agencies. With the launch of the privately funded SpaceShipOne in 2004, a new category of human spaceflight programs – commercial human spaceflight – arrived. By the end of 2022, three countries and one private company (SpaceX) had successfully launched humans to Earth orbit, and two private companies had launched humans on a suborbital trajectory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansari X Prize</span> Award

The Ansari X Prize was a space competition in which the X Prize Foundation offered a US$10,000,000 prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable crewed spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. It was modeled after early 20th-century aviation prizes, and aimed to spur development of low-cost spaceflight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Age</span> Historical period started in 1957

The Space Age is a period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events, beginning with the launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, and continuing to the present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Private spaceflight</span> Spaceflight not paid for by a government agency

Private spaceflight refers to spaceflight developments that are not conducted by a government agency, such as NASA or ESA.

Bigelow Aerospace is an American aeronautics and outer space technology company which manufactures and develops expandable space station modules. Bigelow Aerospace was founded by Robert Bigelow in 1998, and is based in North Las Vegas, Nevada. It is funded in large part by the profit Bigelow gained through his ownership of the hotel chain, Budget Suites of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Galactic</span> Spaceflight company

Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and the Virgin Group conglomerate which retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and operates from New Mexico. The company is developing commercial spacecraft and aims to provide suborbital spaceflights to space tourists. Virgin Galactic's suborbital spacecraft are air launched from beneath a carrier airplane known as White Knight Two. Virgin Galactic's maiden spaceflight occurred in 2018 with its VSS Unity spaceship. Branson had originally hoped to see a maiden spaceflight by 2010, but the date was delayed for several years, and then delayed again, primarily due to the October 2014 crash of VSS Enterprise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Diamandis</span> Greek-American engineer, physician and entrepreneur

Peter H. Diamandis is an American marketer, engineer, physician, and entrepreneur of Greek-American ethnicity. He is best known for being founder and chairman of the X Prize Foundation, cofounder and executive chairman of Singularity University and coauthor of The New York Times bestsellers Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think, The Future is Faster than You Think, How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries, and Our Lives and BOLD: How to Go Big, Create Wealth, and Impact the World. He is former CEO and cofounder of the Zero Gravity Corporation, cofounder and vice chairman of Space Adventures Ltd., founder and chairman of the Rocket Racing League, cofounder of the International Space University, cofounder of Planetary Resources, cofounder of Celularity, founder of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, vice chairman and cofounder of Human Longevity, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air launch</span>

Air launching is the practice of releasing a rocket, missile, parasite aircraft or other aircraft payload from a mother ship or launch aircraft. The payload craft or missile is often tucked under the wing of the larger mother ship and then "dropped" while in flight. It may also be stored within a bomb bay, beneath the main fuselage or even on the back of the carrier aircraft, as in the case of the D-21 drone. Air launching provides several advantages over ground launching, giving the smaller craft an altitude and range boost, while saving it the weight of the fuel and equipment needed to take off on its own.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galactic Suite Design</span> Spanish aerospace design company

Galactic Suite Design is an aerospace design company based in Barcelona, Spain. The company develops concepts and designs for aerospace projects. The company became well known for its announcement of the Galactic Suite Space Resort, a cancelled plan to create an orbital space station.

TeamIndus is a private for-profit aerospace company headquartered in Bangalore, India. It consists of a team of professionals from various backgrounds in science, technology, finance, and media, that came together in 2010 with the aim of winning the Google Lunar X Prize competition announced in 2007. Although the competition ended in 2018 without a winner, TeamIndus is still working towards developing and launching their lunar rover mission sometime in 2020 after partnering with OrbitBeyond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceIL</span> Israeli organization working on landing a spacecraft on the moon

SpaceIL is an Israeli organization, established in 2011, that competed in the Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP) contest to land a spacecraft on the Moon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firefly Aerospace</span> American private aerospace company

Firefly Aerospace is an American private aerospace firm based in Cedar Park, Texas, that develops launch vehicles for commercial launches to orbit. The company completed its $75 million Series A investment round in May 2021, which was led by DADA Holdings. The current company was formed when the assets of the former company Firefly Space Systems were acquired by EOS Launcher in March 2017, which was then renamed Firefly Aerospace. Firefly's purported purpose is to increase access to space, similar to other private spaceflight companies.

<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.

<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.

The Brooke Owens Fellowship is a non-profit program in the United States that provides paid internships and executive mentorship for undergraduate women seeking a career in aviation or space exploration. The fellowship was created to honor the memory of Brooke Owens, a pilot and space policy expert who died of cancer at the age of 36.

Dawn Brooke Owens was an American pilot and space policy expert. She worked with NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and the White House. The Brooke Owens Fellowship was established in 2017 to honour the considerable contributions Owens made to the American space industry.

The Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship is a non-profit program in the United States that provides paid internships and executive mentorship to exceptional undergraduate and graduate students seeking careers in commercial space. The fellowship was created in memory of Matthew Isakowitz, an American aerospace engineer and early contributor to the field of commercial spaceflight who died at the age of 29.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patti Grace Smith Fellowship</span>

The Patti Grace Smith Fellowship is a non-profit program in the United States that provides paid internships, scholarships, and executive mentorship to exceptional Black undergraduate students seeking a career in aerospace. The fellowship is named after Patricia Grace Smith, a United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official whose regulatory work helped lay the foundations for commercial spaceflight. The program was founded in her honor in 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "James R. Pomerantz". Owlnet. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  2. "Miscellaneous pictures, information". Will Pomerantz. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "NewSpace 2010 Space Conference". Space Frontier Foundation. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  4. "SpaceAlumni.com Launches Social Networking Website for Space Industry". spaceref.com. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
    - "William Pomerantz". Science Policy Conference 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2018.[ dead link ]
  5. W J Pomerantz, Data; Head, James (10 July 2018). Thumbprint Terrain and Sinuous Troughs with Medial Ridges in the Northern Lowlands of Mars: Assessment of the Glacial Hypothesis Using New Spacecraft … (Report).
  6. "WILL POMERANTZ - Waypaver Foundation". Waypaver Foundation. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  7. "Will Pomerantz talks Google Lunar X Prize Landing Details". Youtube. Mahalodotcom. 26 August 2008. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
    - "Wikinews interviews William Pomerantz, Senior Director of Space Prizes at the X PRIZE Foundation". Wikinews. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2018.[ unreliable source? ]
  8. Morris, Langdon (2010). "SPACE COMMERCE: The Inside Story" (PDF). Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  9. "A thought about the X PRIZE Foundation as Pomerantz exits". Evadot. 16 February 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
    - "Will Pomerantz: A Final Q&A". Google Lunar XPRIZE. 21 February 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
    - "NewSpace 2011 Space Conference". newspace2011.spacefrontier.org. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  10. 1 2 "How Virgin Galactic Private SpaceShipTwo Will Launch Science Flights". Space.com. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  11. "Will Pomerantz « Dent:Space". space.dentthefuture.com. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  12. "Event: TEDx PCC: "Expanding Horizons of Understanding"". Southern California Public Radio. 23 November 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
    - "Will Pomerantz TEDx Talk: Why We Go to Space". Parabolic Arc. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
    - "TEDxPCC". TED. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
    - "Why We Go -- Leaving Our Beautiful Home and Exploring Outer Space: Will Pomerantz at TEDxPCC". TEDx Talks. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  13. "Meet Will Pomerantz, Virgin Galactic's LauncherOne Point Man". SpaceNews.com. 2015-02-17. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  14. "With a simple and cheap rocket, Virgin Orbit aims for the extraordinary". Ars Technica. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  15. "William Pomerantz – Vice President, Special Projects Virgin Galactic". Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  16. Cup, Mayor Garcetti announces winner of 2016 Mayor’s (9 December 2016). "Mayor Garcetti announces winner of 2016 Mayor's Cup". Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti . Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  17. "William Pomerantz". HuffPost. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  18. "SEDS Space Talks featuring William Pomerantz". Youtube. SEDS USA. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
    - "Advisors". SEDS. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  19. "Board". Room. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  20. "Brooke Owens Fellowships will boost women in aerospace (and we're helping)". GeekWire. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  21. "Cassie Kloberdanz Lee". World Science Festival. Retrieved 10 July 2018.