Rob Meyerson

Originally from Southfield, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit,^[4] Meyerson earned a B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in engineering management from the University of Houston.^{[citation needed]}

Meyerson is the founder and CEO of Delalune Space, a management consulting firm providing advisory services to the aerospace, mobility, technology, and financial sectors.^[5] He is a board director or advisor to numerous organizations.^[6][7][8][9]

In 2021, it was announced that Meyerson, former Blue Origin president, would be joining Axiom's board of directors and that Axiom Space had raised $130m in a new round of funding.^[10]

Meyerson stated that Axiom Space is a force in the space sector, and it would enhance the vision for a secure global future.^[10]

Meyerson joined Blue Origin^[11] in 2003 as program manager later becoming the first company president. Working with company founder Jeff Bezos, Meyerson grew the company from 10 to 1500 people.^[3][2] Under Meyerson's leadership, Blue Origin developed the New Shepard^[12] system for suborbital human and research flights, and the New Glenn^[13] system for orbital human and research flights, as well as the manufacturing and test capabilities that enable these programs.^[14] He also developed Blue Origin into a liquid rocket engine supplier, creating and selling the BE-3 LOX/LH2 rocket engine and the BE-4 LOX/LNG rocket engine to other companies.^[15]

From January to November 2018, Meyerson was the senior vice-president in charge of the Advanced Development Programs business unit.^[2]

Before joining Blue Origin Meyerson was a senior manager at Kistler Aerospace Corporation responsible for the development of the K-1 reusable launch vehicle, the landing, and thermal protection systems of a two-stage reusable launch vehicle, as well as all technical activities related to Kistler's Space Launch Initiative contract with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.^[16]

Meyerson launched his career as an aerospace engineer at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) from 1985 to 1997 working ^[17] on human spaceflight systems, including the aerodynamic design of the Space Shuttle orbiter drag parachute,^[18] as well as the overall design, integration, and flight test of a gliding parachute for the X-38 Crew Rescue Vehicle,^[19] a crew return vehicle designed to return astronauts to earth from the International Space Station. Meyerson began with NASA in 1985 as a cooperative education student at JSC.^[15]

Meyerson has been a long-time advocate for outreach programs that provide work experience and sponsors Blue's internship program, which has inspired and encouraged many university-level students to pursue careers in the aerospace industry. In December 2016, Meyerson gave the commencement speech at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.^[20]

He is a trustee at the Museum of Flight in Seattle,^[21] a former member of the board of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation,^[22] and is a member of the Leadership Advisory Board for the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan^[23] and a member of the Visiting Committee for the Aeronautics & Astronautics Department at the University of Washington.^[24]

He is an AIAA Fellow,^[25] and a former member of the Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems Technical Committee.^[26] He was awarded the Space Flight Award by the American Astronautical Society in 2016. This award is given annually and is the highest award bestowed by the AAS.^[27]

Meyerson was inspired by the Apollo program and also by launching model rockets as a child. For his 5th birthday, he received a cardboard mock-up of the Apollo Lunar Module and remembers playing inside of it. He later found the ingredients for rocket fuel in a cigar box that had been placed in the rafters of his childhood home by his two older brothers.^[28][29]