Garrett Reisman Keynote Speaker

A NASA veteran who flew on all three Space Shuttles, Garrett Reisman was selected by NASA as a mission specialist astronaut in 1998. His first mission in 2008 was aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour which dropped him off for a 95 day stay aboard the International Space Station after which he returned to Earth aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. His second mission in 2010 was aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. During these missions, Garrett performed 3 spacewalks, operated the Space Station Robot Arm and was a flight engineer aboard the Space Shuttle.  Not only was he an astronaut, but Garrett was also an aquanaut serving as a crewmember on NEEMO V, living on the bottom of the sea in the Aquarius deep underwater habitat for 2 weeks.

After leaving NASA in early 2011, he joined Elon Musk at SpaceX where he served in multiple capacities most recently as the Director of Space Operations.  In this job, he worked with NASA to prepare SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to carry astronauts. Thus, he is a major player in both the American space program’s past and future.

Garrett stepped down from his full-time position at SpaceX in May of 2018 and in June 2018 he became a Professor of Astronautical Engineering in the Viterbi School at USC.  He also continues to support SpaceX as a Senior Advisor.

Garrett gives an insider’s view and describes what it was like to launch into space, see the Earth from orbit, do a spacewalk, live and work in space, and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. Keynotes can also address innovation, leadership, inspiration, determination, risk management, and other lessons learned. To wrap up, Garrett gives you a behind the scenes look at what is coming up next in human spaceflight: a whole new golden age of exploration!

Garrett attended the University of Pennsylvania and Caltech where he received his Ph.D in 1997.