Foundations of Aerospace at NASA (APPEL-vFOU)

Dr. Bruce Chesley is an experienced space program manager and industry executive. He served as the Chief Strategist for a space system portfolio spanning human spaceflight, commercial satellites, and government space systems and he led the early development of a global broadband satellite constellation. He has also delivered advanced space systems and prototypes while serving in a variety of roles in program management, business development and engineering. His Air Force assignments included Air Force Space Command, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the USAF Academy where he was an Assistant Professor of Astronautics. He was elected to the International Academy of Astronautics in 2020 and serves as a Vice President on the Bureau of the International Astronautical Federation. He has published more than 20 technical papers and book chapters on satellite design and space systems engineering. He is also an adjunct professor at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Dr. Peter Van Wirt is a former Deputy Department Head for Labs and Research of the Department of Astronautics at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has been a visiting lecturer for the Technical University of Delft’s SpaceTech Masters Degree in Space Systems Engineering and is an Adjunct Professor for the Space Systems Engineering Master’s program at the Stevens Institute of Technology. He also instructs at the National Security Space Institute in Colorado Springs, CO. He has served as a systems engineer/program manager for a variety of US Air Force engineering developments. Peter has over 30 years of aerospace engineering experience and over 20 years teaching experience. He earned his doctorate at the Utah State University.

Dr. Brian Tom served over 24 years in the US Air Force, retiring as a Colonel in 2015. He primarily served as a navigator on B-52 and B-1 aircraft, is a graduate of the US Air Force Test Pilot School, and has flown more than 2500 hours and over 30 different aircraft types. He currently works as a civilian test director and B-52 test navigator at Edwards Air Force Base. Brian has earned degrees from UC San Diego, The George Washington University, the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), and The University of Illinois. He taught at the Air Force Academy and served as the Associate Dean of the Graduate School at AFIT. Brian is also a private pilot who loves spending time in the skies over Southern California in his 1968 Piper Cherokee.

Dr. Jerry Jon Sellers is author of Understanding Space: An Introduction to Astronautics, and is a contributing author and editor of Applied Space Systems Engineering, author of the new chapter in ASSE on Applied Model-based Systems Engineering, as well as a contributing author of Human Spaceflight Analysis and Design. He has over 30 years of space systems experience including Guidance & On-board Navigation Officer in Space Shuttle Mission Control; Assistant Professor of Astronautics at the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA); and Chief of Astronautics for the USAF European Office of Aerospace Research & Development. He is an Associate Fellow at AIAA and the former Chairman of the AIAA Space Systems Technical Committee. He is an elected member of the International Academy of Astronautics and is a Certified Scaled-Agile Program Consultant. He is also an adjunct professor at Stevens Institute of Technology and certified Scaled-Agile Framework (SAFe) Program Consultant (SPC5). Jerry is an elected member of the International Academy of Astronautics.

John Wissler is a retired USAF Colonel. John's 30-year Air Force career included being the Deputy Director of Engineering at Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom AFB, MA and Director of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Air Vehicles Directorate and Chief of AFRL’s Battlespace Environments Division. He taught fluid mechanics and thermodynamics analysis and design at the US Air Force Academy and directed the Academy’s Aeronautics Laboratory. John also served as a flight test engineer at Kirtland AFB, NM. After the Air Force, he worked at Aurora Flight Sciences for almost 11 years winning and managing ground-breaking aviation and autonomy programs, retiring in 2022 as Aurora’s Director of Business Development.

John has a PhD in Aeronautics from Caltech, an MS in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, a Master’s of Strategic Studies from the Army War College, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of Sigma Xi, the Air Force Association, the Military Officers Association of America, and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He has earned numerous awards for leadership, including Company Grade Officer of the Year in 1993 for Kirtland AFB, and especially enjoys mentoring and teaching. He is an FAA-licensed private pilot with an instrument rating, and flies out of Hanscom Field outside Boston.