The Payload Pioneers program has recognized 90 young stars of the space industry. After three years, we wanted to check in on where some of our 30-under-30s are today.
It’s no surprise that our Pioneers have seen their careers continue to skyrocket after being recognized by Payload. From landing new jobs to publishing books to founding companies, this group has kept itself busy. And other organizations have seen the promise first recognized by Payload, with Pioneers being named to other prestigious lists—including Forbes’ 30 under 30.
Here’s a roundup on our past Pioneers.
Print it: At least two of our Pioneers have published books since being named to the list—though the books target very different audiences.
- While he was a teaching fellow and research associate at Harvard Business School, Brendan Rosseau (Pioneers ‘23) published Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier with Matthew Weinzierl. Rosseau also got a job as orbital launch strategy manager at Blue Origin.
- Emma Cain Louden (Pioneers ‘23) published a children’s book, Mia and the Martians, with Tanya Harrison. The story, which prominently features Mars rovers, is intended to encourage curiosity about space exploration. Louden also in 2025 became president of Slooh, a company working to democratize access to space.
Start of something new: Multiple Pioneers left established roles to strike on their own and add “founder” to their resume. For example:
- Payton Barnwell (Pioneers ‘23) left SkyFi to found Broadside in 2025. The company tracks how government decisions and regulations impact different areas of a business.
- Ari Rosner (Pioneers ‘24) left True Anomaly to cofound Airbase, a platform for RF spectrum licensing and cooperation. The startup emerged from stealth in March with a $5M round led by Andreessen Horowitz.
Serving the meatball: A pair of Pioneers, at the least, have entered government, working in roles at NASA:
- Sariah Fischer (Pioneers ‘24) left her role at Interlune to serve as senior advisor to the deputy administrator at NASA.
- Brenden Swanik (Pioneers ‘25) also departed Voyager to become a special advisor at NASA.
Movin’ on up: Here’s a non-exhaustive list of other Pioneers who have made job switches since being recognized. Congratulations!
- Apoorva Nori (Pioneers ‘23) is now head of product at Hubble Network.
- Joanna Hon (Pioneers ‘23) is now an engineer at Starfish Space.
- Shiv Patel (Pioneers ‘23) is now a senior policy advisor at Axiom Space.
- Stephanie DelPozzo (Pioneers ‘23) is now working on in-space systems strategy at Blue Origin.
- Thao Nguyen (Pioneers ‘23) is now a technical program manager at Last Energy.
- Atilla Saadatt (Pioneers ‘24) is now a spacecraft engineer at Varda Space Industries.
- Benjamin Kron (Pioneers ‘24) Is now the senior manager of cyber, space, and national security policy at the US Chamber of Commerce.
- Nicolas Moraitis (Pioneers ‘24) is now the lead legal counsel at Infinite Orbits.
- Robin Dickey (Pioneers ‘24) is now the director of policy and government affairs at Slingshot.
- Roxanna Pakkar (Pioneers ‘24) is now a mission manager at Northwood.
- Annika Rollock (Pioneers ‘25) is now a senior human-centered design engineer at Draper.
- Darren Charrier (Pioneers ‘25) is now the head of commercial BD at AnySignal.
- Victoria Woodburn (Pioneers ‘25) is now a space reporter at Payload (the best job switch, in our unbiased opinion).
What’s next: We’ll have a new class of Pioneers to welcome in October—but we need your help! Nominate your colleagues to be considered for the 2026 list here.
Thomas Santini, Lodestar Space
As the cofounder of Lodestar Space, Santini is building in-space, bodyguard-like technology to protect and defend UK and Western defense assets in orbit.
Roohi Dalal, American Astronomical Society
When Roohi Dalal joined the American Astronomical Society (AAS) as its deputy director of public policy in 2024, she never imagined she’d be leading the fight for space science just one year later as NASA science budgets are in the federal crosshairs.
Anirudh Sharma, Digantara
Unlike many of his peers, Anirudh Sharma didn’t grow up dreaming of working in the space industry. Founding the Indian space surveillance company Digantara—Sanskrit for “space”—at 19 was, in his words, “very accidental.”
Austin Esquerra, Blue Origin
Esquerra has been playing with rocket physics since he was 10 years old.
Outlier Space, a New Zealand-based reentry startup, announced a $7.35M pre-seed round yesterday to fund the development of the company’s microgravity research and return vehicle, which is scheduled to fly its debut mission in 2028.
Global from Day One led the round, which included additional participation from Nova Threshold, Brian Cartmell, Airtree, Icehouse Ventures, Investible, and Side Stage Ventures.
Meet the Outliers: Founded in 2024 by Jamie France, Rocket Lab’s former global director of the Electron launch vehicle, Outlier is developing a reusable Earth-return capsule to offer better mission economics compared with the growing pool of reentry vehicles on the market.
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