Our Executive Mentors

Christie Iacomini

Dr. Christie Iacomini is currently at Lockheed Martin developing infrastructure for, and growing commercial business in, cis-lunar space. Prior to Lockheed Martin, Dr. Iacomini served as Vice President of Engineering at Prime Movers Lab, a hard tech venture capital firm that invests in breakthrough scientific startups.

Dr. Iacomini started her career at NASA Johnson Space Center where she served as an X-38 Parafoil Principle Investigator, Lead Parafoil Pilot and a mission commander for X-38 drop testing. Dr. Iacomini then moved to commercial space, helping to grow a small business called Paragon Space Development Corporation. Christie served many roles including Director of R&D, leading technology development efforts in the areas of life support, thermal control, spacesuit systems, in situ resource utilization, and fuel cells. Christie earned a patent, wrote almost 50 peer-reviewed publications, led the development of the spacesuit that protected Alan Eustace on his world record space dive from the stratosphere, and led the development and delivery of Boeing's Starliner humidity control system.

In 2016, Dr. Iacomini joined Blue Origin and managed their fluids organization, overseeing their engineering efforts to develop and operate the New Shepard suborbital system. In 2018, she started Advanced Systems, growing that organization and leading the development of the Blue Moon lunar lander from concept through preliminary design for NASA’s Artemis Program.

Dr. Iacomini earned a B.S. in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering from Purdue, a M.S. in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas with a focus on orbital mechanics, and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Arizona with a focus in thermal science and solid oxide electrolysis applied to Martian resource utilization.