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Masten Space: from start-up to serious player [The Bakersfield Californian](Bakersfield Californian, The (CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 14--MOJAVE AIR AND SPACE PORT -- The CEO of this center of commercial aerospace in eastern Kern County once referred to resident rocket scientist Dave Masten as "one of the new Einsteins" of the commercial space race. The romance of the airless, zero-gravity environment of outer space has been on Masten's personal radar since he was a schoolboy, thanks to Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and the original cast of "Star Wars." "My fourth-grade teacher pretty much figured I was going to either be an aerospace engineer," Masten recalled, "or a total loser." Fortunately he chose the former path. The native Ohioan, who gave his age as "40-something," is the founder and chief technologist of Masten Space Systems, located in a modest metal building at this rural desert facility. The company, which began as a start-up in 2004, is surrounded by other aerospace firms, some with deep pockets, billionaire backers and huge, gleaming facilities. Masten's shop, in contrast, could be mistaken for your dad's garage -- if it weren't for the three rockets inside, being worked on by young engineers eager to be part of what they believe is a revolution in commercial space research and transportation. Though still small and agile, Masten seems to be firing on all rocket engines. Earlier this summer, the company was awarded a $3 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, to develop the XS-1 experimental spaceplane. DARPA is the Defense Department agency responsible for the development of new technologies for use by the military. The contract was a major coup for Masten, a company with fewer than 20 employees. And it could lead to much more lucrative deals. But there's a hitch. Not unlike the biblical David, Masten is competing against such aerospace goliaths as Northrop Grumman and Boeing, and it's going to take more than a slingshot to beat them. Still, being a little guy among the behemoths has its advantages. "Masten's strength is in being small and agile," said Stu Witt, the CEO and general manager of the spaceport. "They have a laser focus on testing and proving out their projects," Witt said. "Their guys are really very talented and they're not as focused on fast cars and bright lights." That may be an understatement. Masten's mechanical, electrical and software engineers work at computers lined up on old cafeteria-style tables and metal desks that could almost be antiques from the classroom of Miss Muster, the fourth-grade teacher who provided that crucial early support. But nobody at Masten seems to mind the lack of "fast cars and bright lights." Kyle Nyberg, 25, who has worked at Masten for three years, stood on a ladder as he worked on "plumbing the interior" of one of Masten's rockets. Asked if he likes his job, Nyberg seemed surprised by the question. It was as if the answer should have been self-evident to any thinking person. "Are you kidding? It's awesome," he said, grinning. "It's one of the best jobs in the world." FOURTH-GRADE SCIENCE Growing up not far from Cleveland, Masten developed an early aptitude and interest in science. His parents and teachers provided a lot of encouragement to stay on the science and engineering track. "My parents took me to the library every single week -- whether I wanted to go or not," he remembered. "I realized, as I graduated high school, I was not going to work for NASA," he said. "I was never going to be an astronaut. I just did not have the personality type NASA appreciates." Masten said he "sorta-kinda" went to college -- over about a 10-year period. That's because he was working his way through, with much more time spent working than going to college. It didn't seem to matter. Early on, Masten was doing mechanical engineering work in the automotive industry, transitioning ultimately into information technology and software engineering. "I was doing the engineering work. I just didn't have the degree," he said. Eventually he got involved in information technology and software consulting, which brought him to the Silicon Valley in the early 2000s. "I came out here for the dot.com boom. Unfortunately I came just in time for it to go bust," he said. "But I had made just enough contacts in the Silicon Valley that I ended up knowing somebody who knew somebody who was hiring for this top secret start-up that was on-campus at Cisco Systems." That opportunity gave him the invaluable experience of building and being part of a start-up. When it was eventually acquired by Cisco, Masten found himself with enough money to stop and really think about what should come next. "The startup is acquired by Cisco Systems, I have a little bit of extra money," he recalled. "I don't do well in large organizations, so I basically stayed long enough to get the golden handcuffs removed." Throughout this period, he had been spending his nights and weekends "with a little organization called the Experimental Rocket Propulsion Society -- building liquid rocket engines and flying rockets." The day had come, he realized, to "do rockets full time." In 2004, Masten Space Systems was formed in Santa Clara. Two years later, in search of a location where design and testing could be done at essentially the same site, Masten packed up and moved to Mojave Air and Space Port. Just an hour from Bakersfield, the space port had made history that same year when SpaceShipOne became the first commercial piloted craft to fly to space and return home safely. Mojave was fast becoming a major center of aerospace innovation -- and Masten fit right in. "Moved the whole company," he said. "All four of us." REACHING FOR DREAMS The core mission for Masten Space Systems is threefold: develop reusable rockets, lower the cost of getting to space and, as Masten says without blinking, "provide transportation services throughout the solar system." That's a tall order, but Masten shares the belief of many in the private space industry that space travel shouldn't be limited to a few astronauts and billionaires. Despite the lofty ideals, he had to strive for a business model that pointed toward future profitability. One of Masten's specialties is called VTVL, or vertical takeoff, vertical landing. His company can -- and has -- landed rockets within one inch of target. In October 2009, Masten won $1 million in a NASA- and Northrop Grumman-sponsored Lunar Lander Challenge X Prize. The company has also been tapped by the Flight Opportunities program, part of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which aims to develop and mature new technology payloads by sending them up in rockets and testing and retesting performance. Chris Baker, of NASA's Flight Opportunities program, oversees the testing performed by Masten. Conceivably, some of Masten's hazard-avoidance technology and autonomous landing capabilities could be used on a future mission to Mars, Baker said. It's a big deal if mission managers can land a rover or other payload as close to a target area as possible. Even in high winds or other hazardous conditions, "it will calculate a trajectory to get you as close as you want to be, without running out of fuel," Baker said. But there's more work to be done. Seemingly on a roll, this month NASA selected Masten and three other firms to provide commercial suborbital flight services as part of NASA's continuing effort to foster a viable market for American commercial reusable suborbital platforms that allow testing of new space technologies within Earth's atmosphere. But Masten also has its critics. Commercial space industry analysis firm NewSpace Global, which bills itself as "committed to bringing our customers thorough and current analyses related to the business of NewSpace," said Masten has slipped on its ranking. "Masten has great potential and has pushed the notion of what is possible with reusable launch vehicles," NewSpace Global analysts said in an email. However, Masten's rank has slipped to No. 80 on NSG's top 100 because of recent management shakeups and relying "too heavily on government contracts." NSG suggested Masten explore the small satellite, or SmallSat, market. And despite consistent technological achievements over the past several years, analysts said "the biggest disappointment ... is Masten's "failure to get the next-gen high altitude vehicles flying," preventing it "from sending any vehicle to space and back in one piece." Despite their critique, analysts said Dave Masten has been a resilient leader throughout all the ups and downs. For his part, Masten seems to be in it for the long term. The kid from Ohio turned rocket scientist and entrepreneur says he's still having fun, after all these years. And there are more heights to explore. "We're using software engineering to achieve all the solutions we need out of the mechanical engineering side of it and the electrical engineering side of it," he said. "Right now I'm writing software code to generate the outer mold lines of the SX-1 vehicle." And whether you know what he's talking about or not, the excitement in his voice is unmistakable. Somewhere in the mind of the 40-something rocketeer, a fourth-grader still lives. ___ (c)2014 The Bakersfield Californian (Bakersfield, Calif.) Visit The Bakersfield Californian (Bakersfield, Calif.) at www.bakersfield.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |