CEO Frontera Space & Co-founder Firefly Aerospace

Prior to his current role as the CEO of Frontera Space, he co–founded Firefly and he served in a variety of technical and leadership roles in new-space companies: Vice President of Propulsion at Virgin Galactic, Senior Systems Engineer at Blue Origin, Director of the Texas Test Site and Principal Propulsion Engineer at SpaceX. He holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University.

OPENING KEYNOTE

“Colonizing Mars”

What will it really take to send humans to Mars — and keep them alive once they’re there? Tim Dodd breaks down the immense engineering and logistical challenges that stand between us and a multi-planetary future: the staggering distance, the hostile environment, and the sheer cost of building sustainable infrastructure on another world. With his signature clarity, humor, and excitement for spaceflight, Tim reveals how solving these “impossible” problems will spark innovations that transform life on Earth as well. Looking forward to the next 100 years!

CLOSING KEYNOTE

Nick Theiss - Cryoworks

Ensuring the safe handling and flow of liquid oxygen (LOX) requires meticulous cleaning procedures for rockets and ground support equipment (GSE). This session will cover best practices for removing contaminants, choosing appropriate cleaning agents, and maintaining cleanliness throughout the preparation and fueling processes. Attendees will learn practical tips for minimizing risks associated with LOX’s extreme reactivity, contributing to safe pad operations.

Space Enterprise at Berkeley (SEB)

The Space Enterprise at Berkeley team shares their hard-won lessons from building and sustaining a successful student rocket program. Aimed especially at smaller/newer teams or established teams that want to learn new tricks, they will cover effective governance, distributing technical and non-technical work, and building a reliable funding pipeline. The speakers will also address risk management and safety culture—how to scale ambition responsibly while keeping your team, hardware, and institution on solid ground.

Jessica Kuleshov w/Mark Holthaus

This session provides an overview of the annual FAR-OUT liquid rocket competition, along with key rule updates and entry considerations. Mark will also cover questions and updates on FAR-Mars, FAR Dollar Per Foot (including TCPF), and RRS Regen. Whether you’re planning your first entry or trying to fund your program, this is the best opportunity to clarify requirements, timelines, and criteria. Bring your questions—this session is designed to help teams compete with confidence.

Austin Sennott and Charles Sharp

Presented by the Half Cat Rocketry team, this session provides a practical introduction to nitrous oxide–based rocket systems, from core fundamentals to real-world implementation. The team will explain how and why Tripoli has opened the door to liquid propulsion, what is explicitly permitted under the current ruleset, and how those rules are structured to maintain safety. Attendees will also learn what remains prohibited, how liquid rockets are being integrated into standard launches, and get an introduction to Bobtail, Half Cat’s newest nearly COTS, low-cost liquid rocket design.

Lt. Col. Wyatt Harris, PhD, Deputy Head of USAFA Astronautics Department

Col. Wyatt Harris will examine three core themes:  Space as a Warfighting Domain: How today’s national-security environment has transformed space into a congested, competitive, and contested domain, highlighting current counterspace threats and why assured, resilient access to orbit is central to deterrence. The Role of the U.S. Space Force: An overview of how the U.S. Space Force organizes, trains, and equips forces to secure U.S. and allied interests in space—maintaining space domain awareness, protecting critical space systems, and ensuring freedom of action in an increasingly contested space environment. Why You Matter: How the next generation of aerospace engineers will be crucial to U.S. space operations.

Mark Holthaus – FAR Officer

Mark will lead a foundational discussion on liquid rocket safety, structured around six key phases of rocket operations. Each phase is examined for potential hazards, failure modes, and appropriate mitigations. This session is essential for anyone involved in liquid rocketry and provides a practical framework for building safer systems and teams.

Eric Beckner – FAR Officer

This live cryogenic demonstration walks through the safe loading of Liquid Oxygen (LOX), highlighting best practices for cryogenic handling and operational discipline. Attendees will learn about key process and personal safety considerations when working with LOX systems. The session also includes a compelling demonstration of material flammability to illustrate the unique hazards and risks associated with oxygen-rich environments.

Mark Holthaus – FAR Officer

Mark introduces the fundamentals of liquid rocket pressurization systems, explaining why pressurization is critical for reliable propellant delivery and engine performance. He will cover common system architectures used in both student and professional liquid rocket programs, including regulated, blowdown, and autogenous approaches. The talk will highlight typical failure modes and safety hazards encountered in pressurized systems, drawing lessons from real-world incidents and testing experience. Best practices for pressurization design, testing, and operations will be emphasized to help teams build safer and more robust propulsion systems.

Dr. Florin Mingireanu - European Space Agency

This session offers an inside look at the development of modern hypergolic liquid rocket engines, presented by a researcher from the European Space Agency. The talk covers the design and testing of restartable, throttleable engines and thrusters across a wide range of thrust classes, from attitude-control systems to small main engines. Attendees will also gain insight into what it takes to build and operate a hypergolic rocket engine test facility from the ground up, highlighting practical lessons learned along the way.

Caitlyn Copeland – Firefly Aerospace

Caitlyn shares her personal journey from hands-on student rocketry with the UCI Rocket Team to professional roles at Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace. The talk highlights lessons learned along the way—making the most of unconventional opportunities, navigating a startup environment, and building a career through practical experience, persistence, and curiosity. It’s an honest look at how passion-driven projects can open doors to working on missions that extend beyond Earth.

Eric Beckner – FAR Officer

Experience the dramatic power of live tank bursts and BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) demonstrations. This session will showcase the potential hazards of self-pressurizing tanks and boiling cryogenic liquids. Witness controlled explosions and high-energy releases as Eric explains the science and important safety implications behind these phenomena. 

Preston Brinker – UC San Diego SEDS Halya Rocket Lead

This fundamentals session focuses on the nine phases of end-to-end testing used in Liquid Rocketry programs, progressing from basic tank proof testing, pressure and leak checks, through cold-flow and hot-fire engine testing, to fully integrated vehicle static fire and launch readiness. Each phase is framed around what risk it retires, what data is collected, and what failures are caught early. Preston will show how a structured test lifecycle enables teams to safely transition from components to flight-ready liquid rockets.

University of Southern California – Liquid Propulsion Lab

USC’s Liquid Propulsion Laboratory presents an inside look at the design of a custom Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) flight computer developed specifically for their liquid-propelled lander. This talk will cover system requirements, hardware and software architecture, and the unique challenges of integrating GNC with a liquid propulsion vehicle. USC will share how their teams approach reliability, real-time control, and testing for flight-critical avionics in a lander application.

California Polytechnic University Pomona – Rocket Powered Lander Project

Presented by Cal Poly Pomona, this session explores the Rocket Powered Lander Project and its use of a Liquid Augmented Solid Rocket Motor developed by Exquadrum for the Phoenix 1 Lander. The team will walk through their static fire testing campaigns, highlighting key successes, failures, and the lessons learned along the way. Attendees will gain insight into testing at both FAR and Exquadrum facilities, as well as the iterative lander design process that ties propulsion, testing, and systems engineering together.