SPACE ENTREPRENEUR MASTERCLASS

​Dr. Andrew "Andy" Aldrin serves as the Director of the Buzz Aldrin Space Institute (BASI) and is an Associate Professor at Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). BASI is a multidisciplinary institute created to advance space exploration and development toward the goal of establishing and maintaining a permanent human presence on Mars. Prior to FIT, Dr. Aldrin was President of Moon Express, responsible for day to day operations for the company. Prior to coming to Moon Express, Dr. Aldrin was Director of Business Development and Advanced Programs at United Launch Alliance where he oversaw development of corporate strategies, business capture, senior customer relations and advanced program development for civil space markets. Before ULA, Dr. Aldrin headed Business Development and Advanced Programs for Boeing’s NASA Systems, and Launch Services business units. He has also served as a Resident Consultant at the RAND Corporation and Professional Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses. Dr. Aldrin holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from UCLA, an MBA from TRIUM, a MA in Science Technology and Public Policy from The George Washington University, and a MA in International Relations from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He is an Adjunct Faculty member at International Space University and has been Adjunct Faculty at the University of Houston and California State University at Long Beach.

​Don Koulaouzos brings a wealth of international experience in business and technology across the telecommunications, technology, and aerospace sectors. He has held executive management and consultancy roles, including serving as a Non-Executive Director on the boards of two global satellite telecommunications companies - Inmarsat and Satellite Aircom. He was engaged as a subject matter expert and strategic advisor to the UK Ministry of Defence on the Skynet 5 and Skynet 6 global military geostationary satellite communications constellations. His contributions included advising on space, control, and user terminal segments; conducting business case research and authoring reports; performing supplier and market analyses; eliciting user requirements; managing suppliers; and supporting contract negotiations. At Inmarsat, he was elected by the board to chair two strategic planning committees for the company’s second and third-generation satellite constellations. Don now leads a business & technology consultancy in the UK and Europe. He is a serial entrepreneur and shares his knowledge and expertise by helping startups and scaleups with training and support as an ESA, CASSINI and NASA Hackathon mentor including ESA Technology Evaluation Board judge. Don is a regular guest lecturer on space topics at several universities, and a Research Fellow at the Institute of Aerospace and Telecommunications Law, Ludovika University of Public Service. Don has an MBA from the University of Sydney as well as Australian and US commercial pilots’ licenses.