Payload Pioneers 2023: Léa Duthil
Léa Duthil considers herself a professional stargazer.
Payload Pioneers 2023
Meet this diverse group of 30 rising stars in the space community under 30 years old who were contributing fresh issues to the industry.
We received 130+ nominations, which we whittled down to our 30 winners with the help of our three judges: Rob Meyerson, founder and CEO of Delalune Space; Kim Crider, founding partner of Elara Nova; and Justin Johnson, head of strategy at Metrea.
The judges evaluated candidates against the principles of innovation, promotion, and transformation.
Please join us in congratulating our first group of Payload Pioneers!
Payload Pioneers 2023: Makena Fetzer
Makena Fetzer’s journey to the space industry began at her high school’s telescope observatory in Arizona, where she spent her time gazing up at the stars.
Payload Pioneers 2023: Mirko Viviano
Mirko Viviano, the 27-year-old founder and CEO of Louno Space, is trying to make sure the next generation of space explorers represents the diversity of humankind.
Payload Pioneers 2023: Sergio Gallucci
In 2017, a satellite Sergio Gallucci had worked on failed in orbit. Without real-time tracking and assessment tools, he never understood what went wrong.
Payload Pioneers 2023: Halen Mattison
Halen Mattison is helping the space industry gas up—both on Earth and in space—in a greener way.
Payload Pioneers 2023: Brendan Rosseau
Brendan Rosseau believes even Earth-bound businesses need to be prepared for the space economy to take off.
Payload Pioneers 2023: Apoorva Nori
Data collected in orbit is only as good as the systems to quickly downlink the information to Earth. That’s where Apoorva Nori comes in as a technical product manager at Microsoft’s Azure Space, working to connect satellite operators to the cloud.
Payload Pioneers 2023: Neil Buchanan
Neil Buchanan wasted no time after completing his Master’s thesis on in-space manufacturing to jump in and get hands-on.
Payload Pioneers 2023: Sahith Reddy Madara
Sahith Reddy Madara can spot what technology will succeed in the commercial market from a mile away.
Payload Pioneers 2023: Josh Ingersoll
If there’s anyone who understands that the space industry is more than *just one thing,* it’s Josh Ingersoll.
Payload Pioneers 2023: Jennifer Horowitz
Mapping the Earth from space provides obvious benefits for defense and navigation, but Jennifer Horowitz, Maxar’s senior technical strategic partnerships lead, believes the technology has much broader implications.
Payload Pioneers 2023: Thao Nguyen
Thao Nguyen’s work at ICON could allow people to essentially build the Moon version of mud huts.