Matthew Travis

About Matthew Travis

I have over two decades of experience in tech and the aerospace industry as a software engineer, aerospace engineer and entrepreneur. My experience ranges from software and propulsion engineering, to launch vehicle design, and startup business operations. I am currently CTO leading a highly driven team at Aphelion Aerospace to achieve the goal of bringing to market innovative new technologies supporting the satellite launch service and spacecraft systems industries.Previously, I studied Computer Science and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. I started my career as a software engineer employed by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. I transitioned to the private sector, working at CDW and The Systems House. In I relocated to Florida and continued my career as a contract engineer at Kennedy Space Center, where I worked for NASA, Boeing, USAF, and other organizations.Following the retirement of the space shuttle and widespread layoffs at NASA, I took a full-time position at Eckler Industries in Titusville, FL, where I architected data-driven real-time solutions and API integrations to support the marketing and sales operations (both brick and mortar and online).In 2016, I and 4 engineers founded Aphelion Orbitals, Inc, which was incorporated in 2017. For three years, I served as Chief Operating Officer leading a team working to design and operate a dedicated nanosatellite launch system for cubesat payloads. Our work focused on the propulsion system, which utilized a unique non-cryogenic, hypergolic, and non-toxic propellant formulation that I developed. In 2019, the venture was re-organized and incorporated as Aphelion Aerospace to continue maturing the propulsion system design and operating envelope, commercialize the propulsion technology and extend it to the field of in-space propulsion.I have a strong belief in the importance of stimulating the interest of students in STEM fields and in 2003, I founded the Aerospace Research & Engineering Systems Institute. The purpose of the organization is to conduct leading-edge research into advanced technologies enabling space exploration, sustainable energy, climate change mitigation and other future-looking focus areas. The flagship project at the institute includes SphereLab, a proposed a proposed plasma and fusion research laboratory with the goal of developing advanced applications of nuclear and plasma technologies and move them to the commercial sector. Schedule a meeting here: https://calendly.com/matthewtravis

Experience

1. Founder and CTO

   Aphelion Aerospace

   Jan 2019 — Present · Littleton, CO, US

   I am a Co-Founder and CTO of Aphelion Aerospace, a spacecraft propulsion systems and launch services company. Aphelion Aerospace formed after a re-organization and relocation of Aphelion Orbitals. I built and currently lead the engineering team performing critical R&D to commercialize our proprietary environmentally-friendly rocket propulsion technology, spacecraft propulsion systems, and our partially-reusable small satellite launch service. I am also a Director and member of the Executive team guiding the company’s vision, strategy, and plans.I am responsible for leading the development of new technologies and implementing them in products and services. I coordinate the engineering development, the team, and act as the interface between the engineering workforce and executive management. Our business involves both hardware and software and a high level of integration between systems so a primary role is leading all software development projects. This includes software for safety, control systems, ground control stations, simulation, and internet applications. In that capacity, I am the software engineering technical lead and senior software architect for the company. Finally, I lead the planning and scheduling for R&D, product development, and marketing in cooperation with the Executive team.In 2023 I was the Principal Investigator for a NASA Phase I SBIR contract to develop new AI-enabled technologies for autonomous ground process and space launch operations.I filed two provisional patents relating to our inventions in 2023.Activities I have participated in or sponsored:• NewSpace Ignitor Accelerator, 2024• Starburst Aerospace Accelerator, 2023• Creative Destruction Lab, 2022• Space Force “Assured Access To Space” Industry Days panelist, 2022• Space Symposium Exhibitor, 2021, 2022• Space Entrepreneur Summit, 2021• Rockies Venture Club HyperAccelerator, 2021• U.S. Air Force AFWERX EngageSpace, 2020• NewSpace Business Plan Competition, 2019

Education

• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Computer Science

  1993 — 1997

• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  Bachelor of Science, Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering

  1988 — 1990

Skills

• Leadership
• Technical Writing
• Research
• Integrated Marketing
• Project Management
• Propulsion
• Spacecraft
• Strategy
• Marketing
• Proposal Writing
• Strategic Planning
• Systems Engineering
• Government
• Astronomy
• Defense
• Engineering
• Aerospace
• Science
• Program Management