Moderator: Finding a Pathway to On-Orbit Servicing

David Barnhart is currently an active Research Professor in the Department of Astronautical Engineering at USC, and the Director/Co- Founder of the USC Space Engineering Research Center.

At USC he specializes in developing innovative technologies and architectures for 2nd generation space morphologies, rendeszvous and proximity operations technologies/techniques, and inspiration-based engineering missions through hands-on projects with students, faculty and staff amongst the various Schools at USC, with outreach to industry based on the “engineering teaching hospital” construct.

David was most recently a senior space Project Manager at DARPA, pioneering cellular spacecraft morphologies, satbotics, space robotics and low cost high volume manufacturing on the Phoenix and SeeMe projects, and represented the first DARPA space project presentation at the United Nations COPUOS in Vienna Austria addressing new technology pushing space regulations and treaties regarding space servicing.

Prior to USC and DARPA David helped initiate two commercial space companies; co-founding and serving as Vice President and CFO of Millennium Space Systems in Los Angeles CA; and was the youngest elected member of a three-person international Executive Management board for a German space servicing startup in Bremen Germany, Vanguard Space AG.

David has served as an AF civilian for over 13 years and helped birth several notable projects in small satellites and RPO missions during that time. David holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Boston University and a Masters of Engineering from Virginia Tech, and has authored over 38 research publications and has been a keynote speaker at multiple national and international space conferences on 2nd generation space architectures.