LIMITLESS SPACE INSTITUTE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Advisors
Brian Kelly retired from NASA in February 2019 after a career of over 37 years. As Director, Flight Operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) he directed a diverse civil service, military, and contractor workforce of over 2400 employees and a total annual budget of $500m. He was responsible for selecting and assigning NASA astronauts and planning, training, and flying human spaceflight and aviation missions. He directed the Astronaut Office, Mission Control, Aircraft Operations and Aviation Safety at NASA JSC. Over his career he supported 110 shuttle missions, 58 International Space Station Expeditions, 40 shuttle launches, and 35 Soyuz Launches as well as return to flight efforts following the Challenger and Columbia accidents. He selected 12 new astronaut candidates from over 18,000 applicants and selected the first female Chief Flight Director and 11 new Flight Directors for Mission Control Operations. While Director of Flight Operations he was responsible for 35 EVAs (space walks), 15 International Space Station Expeditions, over 2.5 million mission control commands to the International Space Station, and the assignment of 33 astronauts to Expedition and Commercial Crew Flight Test missions. He directed over 13,000 flight hours composed of 18,000 sorties in 32 different aircraft. He personally has flown over 250 flight hours in T-38N super-sonic jet training aircraft and over 63,000 feet in WB-57 high altitude research aircraft.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Advisors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Advisors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Advisors
- Director, Aerospace and Satellite Solutions at Amazon Web Services ( AWS )
Job Titles:
- Member of the LEADERSHIP Team
- Director of Advanced R & D
LSI's Board of Directors consists of Dr. Kam Ghaffarian (Chairman), Claire Haidar (Director), Yunhee Chang (Director), and Navin Ghaffarian (Director). Dr. Kam Ghaffarian is the founder of the award-winning contractor Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies; co-founder of Axiom Space, Intuitive Machines, and X-Energy; and recognized by Ernst & Young as Entrepreneur of the Year. Claire Haidar is the co-founder and executive chairperson for WNDYR, a digital consulting firm focused on employee retention and satisfaction. Yunhee Chang is an executive business advisor for Boryung, a healthcare investment company which is looking forward to the space healthcare industry. Navin Ghaffarian is a STEM and space enthusiast and investor and has supported various space and technology related businesses, with a focus in financial management, branding/marketing, business operations, and IT business systems. Dr. Harold "Sonny" White leads LSI's Advanced R&D, bringing decades of research experience in the advanced power and propulsion domain, most recently serving as the NASA Johnson Space Center Engineering Directorate's Advanced Propulsion Theme Lead.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Advisors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Advisors
Job Titles:
- EXECutiVE DIRECTOR
- Member of the LEADERSHIP Team
Kaci Heins serves as the Executive Director at the Limitless Space Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and educating the upcoming generation about space exploration. With over 20 years in the education sector, her primary focus has been on STEM education intertwined with space exploration concepts.
Throughout her career, Kaci has partaken in a plethora of immersive STEM and space learning experiences that have profoundly shaped her perspective on space exploration. These include participating in two Zero-G flights carrying student experiments, overseeing two student experiments that launched to the International Space Station, and coordinating over ten high-altitude balloon launches, which transported student experiments to the stratosphere.
Deeply rooted in her beliefs, Kaci sees space exploration as an impactful learning tool for both students and educators in the realm of STEM education. She harbors a deep-seated passion for professional development within the STEM education community, particularly through the lens of space exploration. She believes that the foundation of inspiring the future STEM workforce and space explorers lies in nurturing educators who are fervent, well-informed, and confident in their teachings. According to Kaci, the journey of cultivating the next wave of innovators is heavily anchored in providing students with hands-on experiences tied directly to real-world scientific phenomena. She often asserts that the true ignition of a student's passion and curiosity can only be achieved when educators themselves are equipped with the right knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm.
Kaci obtained her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Master of Arts in Secondary Education from Southeast Missouri State University. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award, the AIAA Educator Achievement Award, the ISS National Lab Exceptional Educator Award, and the Air Force Association's National Teacher of the Year Award.
Dr. Kam Ghaffarian is a visionary entrepreneur dedicated to creating companies that focus on operating with the highest integrity, promoting employee well-being, and delivering the best technical solutions to customers. Kam co-founded Axiom Space in 2016 to advance the commercial utilization of space eventually leading to the design, manufacture, launch and operation of a commercial space station. Kam started his entrepreneurial career in 1994 by founding Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc. (SGT), a government services company focusing on Engineering, IT, Science Applications, and Mission Operations. SGT has become NASA's second largest engineering services provider, employing over 2,400 people and generating annual revenues of approximates $500M. Prior to SGT, Kam held numerous technical and management positions at Lockheed Martin, Ford Aerospace, and Loral, among others. Dr. Ghaffarian holds a B.S. in Computer Science, a B.S. in Electronics Engineering, a M.Sc. in Information Management, and a Ph.D in Management Information Systems.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Advisors
Job Titles:
- Director
- Space Enthusiast and Investor