Mason Peck

Timeline

1. 1989–2004

   From English to satellites

   He earns a B.A. in English at the University of Texas at Austin in 1989, an M.A. in English language and literature at the University of Chicago in 1990, and a B.S. in aerospace engineering at Texas in 1994. From 1995 to 2001 he works in attitude dynamics and mission operations at Boeing Satellite Systems, the former Hughes Space and Communications, and he completes a UCLA doctorate in aerospace engineering in 2001 as a Howard Hughes Fellow. He serves as a Principal Fellow at Honeywell from 2001 to 2004.

2. 2004–2011

   Space Systems Design Studio at Cornell

   He joins Cornell in 2004, where he creates the Space Systems Design Studio and studies spacecraft system architectures, attitude dynamics and control. His work includes gyroscopic robotics and magnetically controlled spacecraft, and in 2007 NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts awards him $75,000 to study fleets of microchip-size probes propelled by the Lorentz force. In 2011, Cornell students under his direction build three prototype Sprite chip satellites to fly on the MISSE-8 pallet at the International Space Station.

3. 2011–2013

   NASA's chief technologist

   NASA names him chief technologist in November 2011, pointing to his expertise in spacecraft design and robotics, and he becomes the agency's principal technology advisor in January 2012 through an agreement with Cornell. Serving through 2013 as one of NASA's seven highest-ranking officials, he advises the Administrator on technology-investment strategy, partnerships and commercialization and works on new initiatives such as the Asteroid Grand Challenge.

4. 2014–2019

   KickSat and Sprite swarms

   KickSat, a Kickstarter-backed project led by Zac Manchester since his undergraduate research with Peck, carries about 100 Cornell-developed mini satellites called sprites into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in April 2014. At the AIAA SciTech Forum in January 2017, he discusses 1-gram satellites for the Breakthrough Starshot interstellar project, in which he is involved. In March 2019, KickSat-2 deploys 105 four-gram Sprite ChipSats from his lab, whose early development he led with former students Zachary Manchester and Justin Atchison.

5. 2022–2023

   Pathfinder for Autonomous Navigation

   The Pathfinder for Autonomous Navigation, two 3U CubeSats with six-degree-of-freedom attitude and position control and electromagnetic docking mechanisms, launches in January 2022 to demonstrate fundamentals of autonomous in-orbit servicing and assembly. In a NASA webinar in May 2023, he reviews the mission: the pair survive four months, and nearly 200 university students gain spaceflight engineering experience. He also directs the NASA New York Space Grant Consortium.

6. October 2023

   A New York space consortium

   In October 2023, Cornell sets up the New York Consortium for Space Technology Innovation and Development with a $5 million Department of Defense grant and $1.8 million of its own, and he leads it as executive director. Run by Cornell's Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, the consortium unites industry, academic and government partners across New York state to strengthen space-technology research and manufacturing.

7. 2025

   AIAA Fellow and light sails

   The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics elects him to its Class of 2025 Fellows, announced in December 2024. In July 2025, two student experiments from his Space Systems Design Studio, Alpha CubeSat and the Sailing to the Stars light sails, are set to launch to the International Space Station.

8. As of October 2026

   Fujikawa Professor at Cornell

   He is the Stephen J. Fujikawa '77 Professor of Astronautical Engineering in Cornell's Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. NYCST, which he leads as executive director, announces a second round of grants in March 2026, and he is developing a simulator for testing space technologies.