SpaceVision 26

Rob Kelso is an aerospace executive and former NASA Space Shuttle Flight Director with more than three decades of experience in spaceflight operations, systems engineering, lunar exploration, and commercial space development.

During his NASA career, Rob served as a Space Shuttle Flight Director in Mission Control at Johnson Space Center, call sign: FALCON Flight, directing 25 Shuttle missions, including the highly classified STS-36 national security mission. He subsequently held senior leadership positions in flight safety, mission assurance, and lunar commercial services.

In the commercial space sector, Rob has served in executive and program leadership roles supporting commercial lunar landers, advanced lunar architectures, and planetary surface systems. As Program Manager for a commercial lunar lander effort at ORBITBeyond, he led technical, cost, and schedule activities through Preliminary Design Review and contributed to multiple NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) proposals. His broader lunar exploration experience includes developing advanced lunar surface architectures and supporting the integration of mission requirements, system reliability, and operational considerations into exploration program design.

Rob currently serves as a Senior Advisor to Ad Astra Rocket Company, providing leadership and technical insight in support of advanced electric propulsion development. His career brings together the perspectives of mission operations, lunar lander systems engineering, program management, and the long-term development of sustainable lunar exploration capabilities.