TEAM & PARTNERS

Our Core Team in Our El Segundo Lab in Los Angeles

We are driven by big ideas and we’re in the lab every day testing and improving our technology. This has been our way from our formative years at Princeton’s acclaimed Electric Propulsion Lab to our leading-edge work at the Aerospace Corporation, just down the road from us. We’ve brought that approach to Viridian, which is setting out to change the game, forever. Putting our theories and ideas to the test every day is what we do. (We are not a PowerPoint company.) We can’t show you most of what’s in our lab but as breakthroughs come, we’ll share them with you!

The Team

Rostislav Spektor

Rostislav Spektor

CEO

Slava previously managed the electric propulsion laboratory at the Aerospace Corporation and and developed its contract portfolio. He also served on the ERPS Board of Directors (Electric Rocket Propulsion Society) and has led AIAA Electric Propulsion Technical Committee. Slava earned his PhD at Princeton.

Matthew Feldman

Matthew Feldman

CTO

Previously Matthew led development of the Aerospace Corporation’s
state-of-the-art plasma/RF simulation tool, developed novel electric propulsion technologies, and designed new laboratory diagnostics for satellite system failures. Matthew also earned his PhD at Princeton.

Sean Clark

Sean Clark

Electro-mechanical Engineer

Sean is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. He also has experience in various manufacturing environments and with aerospace startups.

Reece Krantz

Reece Krantz

Spacecraft Systems Engineer

5 Years of experience as a space systems engineer, conducting mod/sim analysis, system architecture analysis, and RMF. Before Viridian, Reece worked for MITRE. Reece has experience in DoD acquisitions, supporting classified SSC programs. Reece holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

The Advisors

Leon Alkalai

Leon Alkalai

Dr. Alkalai, the founder of Mandala Space Ventures, is a recently retired Technical Fellow of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, of Caltech, where he spent 32 years after getting his PhD at UCLA in 1989. He was responsible for the leadership of both the GRAIL mission to the Moon (2007) and the INSIGHT lander on Mars (2012). Leon created Mandala to support new start-ups in the new space economy.

Severin Blenkush

Severin Blenkush

Colonel Severin Blenkush (retired) is a 27-year USAF veteran whose career in acquisition culminated as Director of Contracting for Air Mobility Command’s $1.6B contract portfolio. He was a three-time Commander, deployed to Iraq twice and Qatar, and served in the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen. Severin’s space experience includes 3 years working classified space systems at L.A. Air Force Base (now Space Force), among others.

Eric Steller

Eric Steller

Eric has substantial experience as a President, GM, and CRO for early-stage software startups and offers a unique go-to-market playbook for product-centric founders and VCs. Eric has built and led business functions, including Sales, Marketing, and Operations.

Robert Zitz

Robert Zitz

Robert has over 40 years of experience in government and industry and has the expertise to turn concepts into reality. He is the founder of the intellectual discipline now called GEOINT and was the driving force behind the commercial imaging satellite market. Robert was also the first intelligence veteran to rise from entry-level analyst to SES-6 and Deputy Under Secretary, with senior leadership roles in Army, CIA, NSA, DHS, Secret Service, NGA and NRO.

The Team

Rostislav Spektor

Rostislav Spektor

CEO

Slava previously managed the electric propulsion laboratory at the Aerospace Corporation and and developed its contract portfolio. He also served on the ERPS Board of Directors (Electric Rocket Propulsion Society) and has led AIAA Electric Propulsion Technical Committee. Slava earned his PhD at Princeton.

Matthew Feldman

Matthew Feldman

CTO

Previously Matthew led development of the Aerospace Corporation’s
state-of-the-art plasma/RF simulation tool, developed novel electric propulsion technologies, and designed new laboratory diagnostics for satellite system failures. Matthew also earned his PhD at Princeton.

Sean Clark

Sean Clark

Electro-mechanical Engineer

Sean is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. He also has experience in various manufacturing environments and with aerospace startups.

The Advisors

Leon Alkalai

Leon Alkalai

Dr. Alkalai, the founder of Mandala Space Ventures, is a recently retired Technical Fellow of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, of Caltech, where he spent 32 years after getting his PhD at UCLA in 1989. He was responsible for the leadership of both the GRAIL mission to the Moon (2007) and the INSIGHT lander on Mars (2012). Leon created Mandala to support new start-ups in the new space economy.

Severin Blenkush

Severin Blenkush

Colonel Severin Blenkush (retired) is a 27-year USAF veteran whose career in acquisition culminated as Director of Contracting for Air Mobility Command’s $1.6B contract portfolio. He was a three-time Commander, deployed to Iraq twice and Qatar, and served in the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen. Severin’s space experience includes 3 years working classified space systems at L.A. Air Force Base (now Space Force), among others.

Eric Steller

Eric Steller

Eric has substantial experience as a President, GM, and CRO for early-stage software startups and offers a unique go-to-market playbook for product-centric founders and VCs. Eric has built and led business functions, including Sales, Marketing, and Operations.

Robert Zitz

Robert Zitz

Robert has over 40 years of experience in government and industry and has the expertise to turn concepts into reality. He is the founder of the intellectual discipline now called GEOINT and was the driving force behind the commercial imaging satellite market. Robert was also the first intelligence veteran to rise from entry-level analyst to SES-6 and Deputy Under Secretary, with senior leadership roles in Army, CIA, NSA, DHS, Secret Service, NGA and NRO.

Our Story

We want to share a bit about our origin story because our life’s work has been focused on the immense possibilities that electric propulsion offers to space exploration, sustainability, and the world. This perpetual drive has led us from the renowned electric propulsion laboratory at Princeton to our work on cutting-edge technologies at The Aerospace Corporation. This extensive experience has shown us that now is the time to launch Viridian and to develop the technology that can transform air in the upper atmosphere – via our patent-pending ASET technology – into an infinite supply of propellant (fuel). This will enable the first air-breathing and refuelable satellite ever. It’s a big promise that’s been over a half-century in the making. And, we believe that we are the ones to make it happen. We’ll soon create a video to share more about how our experiences position us to bring this to life!

Our Story

We want to share a bit about our origin story because our life’s work has been focused on the immense possibilities that electric propulsion offers to space exploration, sustainability, and the world. This perpetual drive has led us from the renowned electric propulsion laboratory at Princeton to our work on cutting-edge technologies at The Aerospace Corporation. This extensive experience has shown us that now is the time to launch Viridian and to develop the technology that can transform air in the upper atmosphere – via our patent-pending ASET technology – into an infinite supply of propellant (fuel). This will enable the first air-breathing and refuelable satellite ever. It’s a big promise that’s been over a half-century in the making. And, we believe that we are the ones to make it happen. We’ll soon create a video to share more about how our experiences position us to bring this to life!

Our Partners

Here are afew of our key partners that will help us to achieve our mission in the months and years to come.

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