K2 Space Corporation

A lot of people associate space with their childhood - at K2 Space Corporation we hope to help make those childhood dreams a reality. We're excited to introduce the next member of our team, Akshay Finney, our Team Lead, Security and Compliance Engineer, who comes to us from Zoom, Text IQ, and Collective Health. Tell us about yourself Akshay I’ve been doing Cyber security work for almost a decade and was fortunate enough to build and iterate on exciting security programs at companies of all sizes. Most recently, leading a Security GRC Engineering program at Zoom. When I learned about K2 and their mission, I was in. This is my first voyage into the space industry and I couldn't be more excited! How often are you lucky enough to say say, “I get to work with some amazing people and put satellites in space” Outside of work, you can find me on a mat somewhere doing jiu jitsu and hanging out with my wife and our dog, Benji! What was your first memory of space? My first visit to JSC in Houston where I now live. Since then I’ve kept pace with a lot of space news such as Starship and Starliner launches - we live in exciting times! What space application are you most excited for moving forward? I'm being ambitious but, data centers an AI in space! The idea of a space based data center is compelling and exciting. I'm hoping we can overcome a lot of the technical and logistical challenges in the next few years.

A lot of people associate space with their childhood - at K2 Space Corporation we hope to help make those childhood dreams a reality. We're excited to introduce the next member of our team, Hector Delgado Marquez, our Satellite Mechanical Engineer, who comes to us from SpaceX. Tell us about yourself Hector I grew up in a small farm town in California's Central Valley with my parents, younger brother, and two younger sisters. My family is originally from Mexico, but settled in the small cow-dense town of Tulare, CA. Naturally, with a heritage of farming and being raised on a farm, I expected to follow in my father's footsteps and become a farmer. However, working hands-on at the farm sparked my interest in engineering. I attended Cal Poly where I studied astronautical engineering and concentrated on orbital mechanics. My experience at the Cal Poly CubeSat Lab enabled me to intern at places like Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Air Force Research Laboratory, and eventually SpaceX. As an intern on SpaceX's Sensors Development team, I worked on pressure and temperature sensor development for the Falcon 9 and Starship. I eventually transitioned to the Ship Avionics team, where I designed hardware to support reentry telemetry via Starlink (enabling those cool reentry shots you saw during Flights 3 & 4) as well as designed robust thermal sensors used throughout Starship and Superheavy. Following Starship’s Flight-3, I embarked on my new chapter at K2 Space! In my free time, I enjoy trail running and camping as much as I possibly can! What was your first memory of space? In 7th grade science class we had the opportunity to design, build, and launch soda bottle rockets for a class experiment. I enjoyed the workshop so much that I spent my entire summer building and launching rockets on the farm using old sprinkler equipment and compressor parts we had lying around. Getting to quickly launch my prototypes and tweak my design is what ultimately sparked my interest and pointed me towards working on rockets and satellites (and maybe even riding on one someday!). What space application are you most excited for moving forward? I was a senior in college when the James Webb Space Telescope was launched and deployed, and having done some analysis on data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, I’m excited to see what scientific payloads our Mega and Giga class buses will enable!

A lot of people associate space with their childhood - at K2 Space Corporation we hope to help make those childhood dreams a reality. We're excited to introduce the next member of our team, Jasmine Hornbeck, our Satellite Mechanical Engineer, who comes to us from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Tell us about yourself Jasmine I was born in Twentynine Palms, California, spent summers in Japan, and grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. After college, I returned to California, now pursuing my passion for space exploration. I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech and started my career at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. I love learning and collecting hobbies, aiming to be the ultimate renaissance woman. This means staying active, painting, writing, and connecting with people through fleeting interactions that enrich my life. I believe in trying everything once, which led me to sign up for a 10K in 2021 and eventually run my first marathon this year! What was your first memory of space? My dad, who passed away in 2018, loved asking us at dinner: “What are the three brightest objects in the solar system?” As a chronic overthinker, I’d hesitate before answering, “Sun, moon, Venus?” My mom would have me stare at the night sky on late drives home, saying it was good for the eyes. So I’d look up, trying to find the Sun, moon, and Venus. What space application are you most excited about moving forward? It’s an exciting time in the space industry with the development of Starship and more frequent launches. Efforts to make space greener, more accessible, and affordable are thrilling. I’m excited about innovative EDL and propulsion systems that could revolutionize landing on other planets. The idea of normal people like me being able to see the Earth from space, or complete a moonwalk also sounds really cool!

We're excited to see the successful Starship orbital launch and re-entry. The satellite we're building today, the Mega class satellite, is made to package 10 inside of a Falcon 9. It will fit 50 inside of a Starship. This is the mass abundant future we're moving towards - and today was an important step forward.

A lot of people associate space with their childhood - at K2 Space Corporation we hope to help make those childhood dreams a reality. We're excited to introduce the next member of our team, Morgan Locandro, our Senior Satellite Mechanical Engineer, who comes to us from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Tell us about yourself Morgan Growing up, my family ran a home improvement business, so I have always felt at home with tools in hand. As a high school student, I began pursuing engineering as a founding member of my high school’s FIRST robotics team and discovered a passion for space while working as an intern at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where I continued to work after graduating from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. During my time at the Lab, I had the opportunity to work on several Earth-orbiting satellites (Sentinel-6, SWOT, and NISAR), the EMIT Instrument (currently operating on the International Space Station), and the Mars Sample Return mission. When I am not working on engineering projects, I love anything outdoors: running marathons or trails, climbing, cycling, skiing, and off-roading with my dog Apollo. You’ll also find me volunteering at FIRST Robotics competitions and working on BattleBots with the Valkyrie team. I hope that through whatever I do, I can inspire others in engineering. What was your first memory of space? As an elementary school student, my class tasked us to create a journal to track the moon phases, and I remember being fascinated by how far away it was. At the time, I did not think it was possible that my future self would send hardware into space. My most exciting space memory was visiting VAFB to see the first project I worked on as an intern, Sentinel-6, launch on a Falcon 9. What space application are you most excited about moving forward? There are so many amazing developments in space happening that it’s impossible to pick just one (or even a few), but I am particularly excited about exoplanet study and discovery, Mars Sample Return, and asteroid mining. The work in these areas paves the way for us to learn more about the history of the universe and eventually to get astronauts to other planets. One of my favorite aspects of working in space is the opportunity to contribute to caring for and understanding Earth through crucial Earth science missions, while also contributing to the exploration and understanding of celestial bodies beyond our own.

Thanks to Jeff Foust and SpaceNews for sharing the latest on K2. We're excited to share details on our first in-space mission, first thruster hot fire, DoD traction and much more. https://lnkd.in/gejHZtRq

A lot of people associate space with their childhood - at K2 Space Corporation we hope to help make those childhood dreams a reality. We're excited to introduce the next member of our team, Maximilian Kolhof, our GNC Engineer, who comes to us from Launcher and VAST. Tell us about yourself Max I was born in Germany and grew up in Northern Virginia, where I enjoyed my time after school playing soccer and tinkering with various electronics and carpentry projects. I attended college at Georgia Tech where I studied Aerospace Engineering and spent every waking moment on the Ultimate Frisbee pitch or in the CubeSat lab. I moved to LA and joined the space industry right out of school, first at Launcher and then Vast. In my free time, I backpack, climb, and snowboard! I’ve also recently gotten back into reading (mostly science fiction novels). What was your first memory of space? My first memory of space was visiting Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in Mojave when I was about 5. I remember looking up at these massive satellite dishes, having no clue how they worked but imagining who or what they were talking to. I haven't been back since then despite living in California for over 2 years, so the antennas (while still being undoubtedly massive) live in my head as structures that can almost reach the stars. What space application are you most excited about moving forward? I’m most excited about the development of small spacecraft swarms that have combined capabilities that vastly exceed even the largest spacecraft today. The relative navigation problem between the vehicles is fascinating, but I also like the idea of the reduced consequence of a single vehicle failure, unblocking rapid technological advancements, and the ability to take on riskier missions.

A lot of people associate space with their childhood - at K2 Space Corporation we hope to help make those childhood dreams a reality. We're excited to introduce the next member of our team, Jared Kizer, our Avionics Test Engineer, who comes to us from Parallel Systems, Universal Hydrogen and Rocket Lab. Tell us about yourself Jared I’m originally from Texas but moved to California to start my aerospace career at Rocket Lab after graduating from Texas A&M. I started as a quality engineer but quickly transitioned into test engineer roles. I spent several years working at other aerospace and tech startups like Universal Hydrogen and Parallel Systems before deciding to return to my roots with K2 Space. Outside of work, I enjoy traveling with my wife, running, hiking, and playing guitar. What was your first memory of space? As early as I can remember, I was always fascinated with space. I had dozens of space books as a little kid and watched all the documentaries. I would insist on watching as many of the space shuttle launches on TV as I could. One of my favorite memories is seeing the last space shuttle peeking through the morning fog as it sat on the launch pad in Florida. I wasn’t able to stay and watch that launch, but I am so grateful to have seen that piece of history before it was retired. What space application are you most excited for moving forward? I am most looking forward to the continued pursuit of scientific research opportunities that space offers. As we develop better tools, we improve our technology down here on Earth and also learn more about our place in the universe.

A lot of people associate space with their childhood - at K2 Space Corporation we hope to help make those childhood dreams a reality. We're excited to introduce the next member of our team, Andrew Fann, our Senior Loads & Dynamics Engineer, who comes to us from SpaceX. Tell us about yourself Andrew I grew up in southern California and attended the University of California, San Diego studying structural engineering. At UCSD, I was involved in researching lunar soil composites, nondestructive evaluation of composite aerospace structures, and structural dynamics. Upon graduation, I transitioned from academia to SpaceX, where I worked on a variety of programs including Starlink, Starship, and Starshield. Throughout my tenure at SpaceX, I acquired a passion for solving challenging problems alongside a tight-knit team while working toward a meaningful mission. This guided me to K2 Space. After work, I enjoy training in mixed martial arts, and on weekends, you can find me enjoying the outdoors while backpacking in the mountains or diving in the ocean. What was your first memory of space? My first memory of space was hearing the sonic boom of the shuttle landing outside my third-grade classroom. It was a calm afternoon, and the teacher ushered us all outside. I stood beside my classmates in silence, shifting my gaze between my friends and at the blue sky overhead, uncertain of what to expect. A few minutes passed, then suddenly a deep pop thundered from the sky, and everyone’s sleepy post-lunch eyes widened with curiosity. The shuttle Atlantis had just landed 90 miles away at Edwards Air Force Base, CA. Hearing this sonic boom for the first time inspired my curiosity and interest in all things spaceflight. What space application are you most excited for moving forward? I am most excited for space technology that advances space exploration capabilities in the search of extraterrestrial life. I am also immensely excited for new space-based defense technology that facilitates peacekeeping, thereby allowing everyone to enjoy earth for all that it offers.

A lot of people associate space with their childhood - at K2 Space Corporation we hope to help make those childhood dreams a reality. We're excited to introduce the next member of our team, Christopher Inghilterra, our Electrical Engineering Supply Chain Lead who comes to us from Epirus and Aerojet Rocketdyne. Tell us about yourself Chris I am a SoCal native and grew up spending most of my time outdoors. There was always something to do, but I seemed to spend most of the time playing soccer with my brothers and friends. I went to college at CSUN (go Matadors!) where I studied Global Supply Chain Management. I have been working in the Aerospace and Defense Industry since then, first at Aerojet Rocketdyne and more recently at Epirus. I still enjoy spending time outdoors; outside of work I enjoy camping, going to music festivals, snowboarding, and playing soccer. What was your first memory of space? My first memory of space was learning about the next generation of the Space Shuttle, the X-33. As a child, I had a toy model of the X-33 and played with it all the time. I remember watching shuttle launches and landings and thinking about how excited I was for the next generation of vehicles to come to life, and for that toy model to become a reality. Even though that program was later canceled, it's amazing to see how much the space industry has evolved since then. What space application are you most excited for moving forward? The space application that I am most excited for is space hotels! I can't wait for the day that I can take a weekend trip up to space and hit some sort of 0 gravity spa while looking down on my home planet.