Robb Michael Kulin (born December 7, 1983) is an American aerospace engineer, entrepreneur, and former
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
astronaut candidate. He was a member of
NASA Astronaut Group 22
NASA Astronaut Group 22 (nicknamed "The Turtles") is a group of twelve NASA astronauts selected in June 2017. They were joined by two Canadian Space Agency astronauts for training.
History
NASA announced the creation of this astronaut group in ...
but resigned before completing astronaut training.
Personal life
Robb Kulin was born and grew up in Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...
.[
]
Education
He studied mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...
as an undergraduate at the University of Denver
The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...
, earned a master's degree in materials science, and Ph.D. in engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
, both at the University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
. For his doctorate studies, he focused on dynamic bone fracture.
Career
He worked as a commercial fisherman in Chignik, Alaska
Chignik (Alutiiq language, Alutiiq: ) is a city in Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. It is two hundred and fifty miles southwest of Kodiak, Alaska, Kodiak. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 97, up ...
, and was previously an ice driller in Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and Taylor Glacier.[
]
At the time of his selection as astronaut candidate in June 2017, Kulin was senior manager for flight reliability at SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...
, leading the Launch Chief Engineering group in Hawthorne, California, where he had worked since 2011.[
In August 2018, Kulin became the first NASA Astronaut Candidate in fifty years to resign prior to completing the initial training program. He cited "personal reasons" for resigning from the program.][
Kulin joined Firefly Aerospace in April 2019 as Director of Engineering for its Alpha small satellite launch vehicle and later served as COO.
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulin, Robb Michael
1983 births
Living people
American astronauts
People from Anchorage, Alaska
SpaceX people
University of California, San Diego alumni
University of Denver alumni