GOAT Factory Guest Spotlight: John Thornton

Steel City Moonshot

America’s introduction to space happened back in the 1960s with President Kennedy’s famous “Moon Shot” speech to congress that sparked cosmic interest in minds young and old. Many of us grow up dreaming of blasting off into the atmosphere like Buzz Aldrin but very few get to experience anything more than Mission Space at Epcot. Now in 2021, the Kennedy Space Station is slowly turning into a travel hub for more than just career astronauts with help from companies like Johns.

Opportunity to Grow

We had the opportunity to host John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic, on The GOAT Factory Podcast. Under John, the company has booked three lunar missions with its Peregrine, Griffin, and MoonRanger spacecraft and just signed a contract with SpaceX for the launch of its Griffin lunar lander, carrying a NASA lunar rover, on a Falcon Heavy in 2023.

John developed a niche for engineering and leadership during his time as Head Engineer on his Carnegie Mellon buggy team. He explains the basics of the competition: choose the smallest person on campus, engineer a torpedo-shaped “soapbox derby” style buggy, and send them down a steep hill. The gravity-driven buggies reach speeds upwards of 35-40 miles per hour – flying through turns as if they’re in the home stretch at the Monaco Grand Prix. John developed a love for propulsion and speed so he looked for the next big thing upon graduating.

Next Steps

John looked toward pursuing his need for speed within the aerospace industry with either Boeing or Astrobotic but only one would allow him to reach the heights he desired – he took his “Moon Shot” and joined Astrobotic in 2007. His first meeting with Red Whittaker tasked John with leading a development project for a rover that would (potentially) someday reach a pole on the surface of the moon. After a decade, that “someday” finally came in 2020, when NASA contracted that same rover for its maiden atmospheric voyage in 2024.

John’s aspirations have helped him climb the chain of command at Astrobotic and now leads 133 others accomplishing their Moonshot goals – but getting to this point had its lows. John’s career began in 2007, months before the 2008 economic crisis, where investors and funding opportunities for space exploration dried up. At one point, Astrobotic had only three employees – including Red and John. The moon couldn’t be further as they searched for contracts to keep their Moonshot dreams alive. They ground their teeth, relying on hope and small wins that got them afloat once again. Now, Astrobotic is months from takeoff.

Let’s Learn More

In episode 007, we reveal amazing insight into the innovation behind an interplanetary space robotics company from the ground up. John tells us what it was like pursuing his “Moonshot” goal and how it feels to be in the homestretch to launching Astrobotics’ first lunar lander with SpaceX and NASA. Check out the full episode below!