"Mars rover scientist, SpaceX engineer join NASA astronaut corps", "2017 NASA astronaut candidate resigning this month", "Alaskan selected as astronaut candidate for NASA", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robb_Kulin&oldid=982839667, University of California, San Diego alumni, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, None, resigned before completing initial training, This page was last edited on 10 October 2020, at 17:48. "Today we performed a test of the Alpha flight first stage," the startup company said on Twitter Sept. 20. "The four Reaver engines performed 35 seconds of thrust vector control maneuvers, challenging the flame deflectors to constrain all that Reaver power. Space is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Thank you for signing up to Space. Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket struts its stuff in videos of new testing. Robb Kulin COO at Firefly Aerospace United States 500+ connections. In June, the company released a "Happy Birthday" thank-you video to Polyakov, using planned certification testing of its Lightning upper-stage engine to light candles on a birthday cake. Still, Firefly continued to grow amid the pandemic, expanding from 250 employees in January to 310 employees today, largely via funding from company co-founder Max Polyakov. Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offer.

Our image of the day, NASA to announce 'exciting new discovery' about the moon today. The Mobile Launch System (MLS) was completed at Firefly test and fabrication facilities in Briggs, Texas, on July 20, 2020, for shipment to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The impending Alpha launch is a big milestone for a company whose predecessor entity, Firefly Space Systems, entered bankruptcy protection in 2016. Now Alpha is almost ready to get off the ground. Join to Connect.

Receive news and offers from our other brands? Firefly Aerospace is planning later this year for the inaugural flight of its Alpha launch vehicle, which will also serve the small-satellite market. Please refresh the page and try again. Firefly is also "starting to turn up the heat on the development of Beta vehicle," which is a launcher designed for medium-sized missions, Kulin said. Receive mail from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors? New York, Firefly isn't alone is this ambition. He worked as a commercial fisherman in Chignik, Alaska, and was previously an ice driller in Antarctica on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and Taylor Glacier. "Over the last few months, there have been even more challenges than we usually have in this industry," Robb Kulin, Firefly's chief operating officer, told Space.com. Report this profile; Activity. Firefly Aerospace representatives said that step was taken because an early investor needed to pull out due to Brexit, the gradual withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. NY 10036. There was a problem. Work continues, however, with masks, physical distancing and protocols to let ill employees stay home. The MLS arrives at Firefly's launch complex at Vandenberg Air Force Base as the company targets a fall 2020 launch. According to Robb Kulin, Firefly's chief operating officer, the company has faced a … COO Robb Kulin says despite the pandemic, the timeline is on track, and the first and second stages are well into integration.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. ", Related: Firefly Aerospace uses rocket engine to light birthday candles in epic cake video. Firefly Aerospace's advanced rocket for small satellites should be ready to launch for the first time this fall, company representatives said. On July 20, masked employees proudly posed in front of the Firefly mobile launch stand as they prepared to ship it from Texas. In February, for instance, Firefly inked a deal with Satlantis to launch a constellation of small satellites around 2022. Some suppliers had to delay shipments, and work slowed due to necessary physical distancing measures. Though the upcoming Alpha mission is a test flight, the rocket will be carrying satellites — numerous small payloads that are part of Firefly's Dedicated Research and Education Accelerator Mission. The Cape Canaveral site will be activated fairly soon, allowing the company to aim, eventually, for interplanetary launches and moon missions, since the Cape's low-latitude location provides a boost for rockets headed toward such distant destinations.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace.

Robb Michael Kulin (born December 7, 1983) is an American aerospace engineer, entrepreneur, and former NASA astronaut candidate. [5], At the time of his selection as astronaut candidate in June 2017, Kulin was senior manager for flight reliability at SpaceX, leading the Launch Chief Engineering group in Hawthorne, California, where he had worked since 2011.

Alpha is designed to give small satellites a dedicated ride into space. NY 10036.

Polyakov loved the video, they said, adding that he admired the team's innovation even more than the cake. Firefly is targeting a launch sometime in late October or early November from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, provided final testing and certification go as planned. Thank you for signing up to Space. We do know about some payloads that will fly in the more-distant future, however.

Water on the moon is more common than we thought, studies reveal. “Over the last few months, there have been even more challenges than we usually have in this industry,” Robb Kulin, Firefly’s chief operating officer, told Space.com. And other companies, such as California outfit Astra, are working to do so as well. Alpha's customers for the second and third flights have not yet been determined.

Traditionally, such satellites have needed to piggyback alongside larger ones on "rideshare" missions aboard big rockets. One of those dozen candidates was Robb Kulin, whom was working as a SpaceX senior manager at the time that he was selected. The company eventually aims to achieve a rapid launch cadence, with an Alpha lifting off roughly every two weeks. Kulin joined Firefly Aerospace in April 2019 as Director of Engineering for its Alpha small satellite launch vehicle. Firefly Aerospace. [4] Prior to starting the doctoral program, Kulin was a Fulbright Fellow for one year at the Politecnico di Milano.

The company is also working on a larger rocket, called Beta, and a robotic moon lander in support of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.

Alpha is designed to send 1.1 tons (1 metric ton) to low-Earth orbit, a popular destination for short-lived satellites that will be used in constellations for a few months or years.

The two-stage Alpha rocket was supposed to make its debut earlier in 2020, but physical distancing and shipping delays related to the novel coronavirus pandemic delayed that timeline, company representatives told Space.com in August. Customers for the second and third flights have yet to be announced, but Firefly has said it expects to run those missions in 2021. California-based company Rocket Lab already delivers small satellites to orbit with its Electron rocket, for example. Get breaking space news and the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! Space calendar 2020: Rocket launches, sky events, missions & more! According to recent reports, Kulin … On July 27, another tweet showed the stand had arrived safely in California. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! The 1.1-ton Alpha rocket is expected to launch missions for roughly $15 million apiece, compared to the larger SpaceX Falcon 9 booster that generally launches for $62 million. The pandemic added to the normal pressures Firefly was expecting in 2020, including certifying a new rocket in Briggs, Texas; certifying Firefly's first launch facility at Vandenberg; receiving the needed launch certificates allowing the rocket to fly; and the normal work with suppliers and contractors. Educator-astronaut talks to 'kids at heart' for online talk Tuesday.