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{{Short description|American aerospace engineer and rocket engine designer}} {{Infobox person | image = Tom Mueller.png | caption = | birth_name = Thomas John Mueller | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|3|11 }} | birth_place = [[St. Maries, Idaho]], US | education = {{ubl|[[University of Idaho]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])|[[Loyola Marymount University]] ([[Master of Science|MS]])}} | occupation = Founder, CEO, of [[Impulse Space]] | years_active = | module = {{Infobox engineering career | significant_design = {{Unbulleted list |[[TR-106]] |[[SpaceX Merlin]] |[[SpaceX Draco]] |[[SuperDraco|SpaceX SuperDraco]] }} }} }} '''Thomas John Mueller''' is an American [[aerospace engineer]] and [[Rocket engine|rocket engine designer]]. He was employee No.1 of [[SpaceX]] and is the founder and now CEO of [[Impulse Space]].<ref name="PopMechanics">{{cite news |last=Belfiore |first=Michael |title=Behind the Scenes With the World's Most Ambitious Rocket Makers |work=[[Popular Mechanics]] |date=1 September 2009 |url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/rockets/4328638 |accessdate=18 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204042101/http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/rockets/4328638 |archive-date=4 February 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Mueller is best known for his engineering work on the [[SpaceX Merlin|Merlin]], [[SpaceX Draco|Draco]], [[SpaceX SuperDraco|Super Draco]] and [[TR-106]] rocket engines. He is considered one of the world's leading [[spacecraft propulsion]] experts and holds several United States [[patents]] for propulsion technology.<ref name="SpaceXBookSpringer">{{cite book | last =Seedhouse | first =Erik | title =SpaceX: Making Commercial Spaceflight a Reality | publisher =Springer Praxis Books | year =2013 | isbn =9781461455141 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last =Lord| first =M.G.| title =Rocket Man| newspaper =L.A. Mag| date =1 October 2007| url =http://www.lamag.com/features/2007/10/1/rocket-man/print| accessdate =18 February 2014| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://archive.today/20140221181435/http://www.lamag.com/features/2007/10/1/rocket-man/print| archive-date =21 February 2014}}</ref> ==Early life and education== Mueller was born in [[St. Maries, Idaho]].<ref name="KCETLogger">{{cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Jeremy |date=3 May 2012 |title=Tom Mueller: From Idaho Logger To Space Explorer |url=http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/columns/arrival-stories/tom-mueller-from-idaho-logger-to-la-rocket-engine-designer.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220104147/http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/columns/arrival-stories/tom-mueller-from-idaho-logger-to-la-rocket-engine-designer.html |archive-date=20 February 2014 |accessdate=18 February 2014 |newspaper=[[KCET]]}}</ref> His father was a logger and wanted Mueller to be one as well.<ref name="HWHidaho">{{cite news |last=Cairo |first=Amanda |date=March 2013 |title=Launch Pad For Success |url=http://issuu.com/uidaho/docs/idaho_spring_2013_4-15-13 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407075006/http://issuu.com/uidaho/docs/idaho_spring_2013_4-15-13 |archive-date=7 April 2014 |accessdate=18 February 2014 |newspaper=Here We Have Idaho |publisher=Issuu.com}}</ref> Mueller compares his story to that of [[Homer Hickam]], growing up in a hard-working family and going off to be an engineer instead of following in his father's footsteps.<ref name="KCETLogger" /> As a kid, he would build and fly [[Estes Industries#Estes rockets|Estes]] [[model rocket]]s. He continued to experiment with rockets, even building one out of his father's [[Oxy-fuel welding and cutting|oxy-acetylene welder]] and discovering adding water would produce more thrust.<ref name="KCETLogger" /> Mueller eventually became a logger, working four summers to pay his way through school. He attended the [[University of Idaho]] where in 1985 he earned a bachelor's degree in [[mechanical engineering]].<ref name="HWHidaho" /> He moved to California upon graduating, turning down job offers in Idaho and Oregon.<ref name="KCETLogger" /> He attended a job fair upon his arrival in California and began working in satellite design and moved on to developing liquid rocket engines.<ref name="HWHidaho" /> Mueller went on to attend [[Loyola Marymount University]] where he obtained his master's degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1992 from the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering.<ref name="PatchMueller">{{cite news |last=Jordan |first=Karen |date=3 May 2013 |title=Loyola Marymount University Announces Commencement Speakers |url=http://marinadelrey.patch.com/groups/schools/p/loyola-marymount-university-announces-commencement-speakers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302002002/http://marinadelrey.patch.com/groups/schools/p/loyola-marymount-university-announces-commencement-speakers |archive-date=2 March 2014 |accessdate=18 February 2014 |newspaper=Marinadelrey Patch}}</ref> == Career == [[File:SpX CRS-2 launch - cropped.jpg|thumb|right|Tom Mueller designed the Merlin engines used on the [[Falcon 9]] rocket.|261x261px]] === TRW Inc. === For 15 years, Mueller worked for [[TRW Inc.]], a conglomerate corporation involved in aerospace, automotive, credit reporting, and electronics. He managed the propulsion and combustion products department where he was responsible for liquid rocket engine development.<ref name="PopMechanics" /> He worked as a lead engineer during the development of the [[TR-106]], a {{convert|650000|lbf|kN|abbr=on|lk=out}} thrust, throttled, cost-contained hydrogen engine designed in 2000. During his time at TRW, Mueller felt that his ideas were being lost in a diverse corporation and as a hobby he began to build his own engines. He would attach them to airframes and launch them in the Mojave Desert along with other members of the [[Reaction Research Society]]. In late 2001, Mueller began developing a liquid-fueled rocket engine in his garage and later moved his project to a friend's warehouse in 2002.<ref name="PopMechanics" /> His design was the largest amateur liquid-fuel rocket engine, weighing {{convert|80|lb|kg|abbr=on}} and producing {{convert|13000|lbf|kN|abbr=on}} of thrust.<ref name="PopMechanics" /> His work caught the attention of [[Elon Musk]], [[SpaceX]] founder.<ref name="ElonMuskBiography">{{cite book |last=Vance |first=Ashlee |title=Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-06-230123-9 |place=New York |pages=88β89 |language=en |oclc=1002383226 |author-link=Ashlee Vance}}</ref> === SpaceX === In 2002 Mueller joined Musk as the founding employee of SpaceX.<ref name="SpaceXBookSpringer" /> As Vice President of Propulsion Engineering and subsequently CTO of Propulsion at SpaceX, Mueller led the team that developed the [[Merlin 1A]] and [[Kestrel (rocket engine)|Kestrel]] engines for the [[Falcon 1]], the first liquid fueled orbital rocket launched by a private company; the [[Merlin 1C]], [[Merlin 1D]] and [[Merlin Vacuum (rocket engine)|MVac]] engines for the early iterations of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle; the [[Draco thruster]]s that provide the [[Spacecraft attitude control|attitude control]] thrusters for the [[Dragon spacecraft]] and the [[SuperDraco]] [[storable propellant|storable-propellant]] engines used to power the capsule [[launch escape system]].<ref name="mueller20200619">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=UtDdw26oXEI&feature=emb_logo Amateur Liquid Propellant Rocketry], Tom Meuller in talk for Launch Canada, 19 June 2020, accessed 16 July 2020.</ref> Dragon was the first spacecraft launched by a private company to dock at the International Space Station. In 2014, Mueller transitioned engine development to the SpaceX Propulsion Engineering team and in 2016 he moved into the role of Propulsion CTO. In January 2019 he became Senior Advisor (Part-Time).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-mueller-2094513b/ |title=Thomas Mueller |work=[[LinkedIn]] |accessdate=10 June 2019 |quote=Senior Advisor (part-time) β Dates Employed: Jan 2019 β Present β Focus on new technology developments for SpaceX propulsion, including Mars main propulsion and surface power. |url-access=registration}}</ref> Tom Mueller announced that he retired from SpaceX on November 30, 2020.<ref name="Mueller_retires">{{cite tweet|number=1333537793335693312|user=lrocket|title=I retired from SpaceX today!|author=Tom Mueller}}</ref> === Impulse Space === Tom Mueller founded his own company, [[Impulse Space]] in September of 2021. The company develops chemical rocket engines, [[Space tug|space tugs]] for moving satellites on-orbit, and [[Lander (spacecraft)|planetary landers]] to deliver payloads to Mars.<ref name="Impulse Space"> {{cite web |author=Eric Berger |author-link=Eric Berger (meteorologist) |date=29 March 2022 |title=Impulse Space is betting on a future where launch is cheap |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/03/impulse-space-is-betting-on-a-future-where-launch-is-cheap/ |accessdate=4 April 2022 |publisher=[[Ars Technica]]}}</ref> == Awards == In 2014, Mueller was nominated for the Wyld Award, presented by the [[American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics]] (AIAA) for outstanding achievement in the development or application of rocket propulsion systems.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wyld Propulsion Award Recipients |url=https://www.aiaa.org/HonorsAndAwardsRecipientsList.aspx?awardId=fafe1346-7cb6-41fe-b5f8-4a3abe413059 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031259/https://www.aiaa.org/HonorsAndAwardsRecipientsList.aspx?awardId=fafe1346-7cb6-41fe-b5f8-4a3abe413059 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |accessdate=19 February 2014 |publisher=[[American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics]]}}</ref> He was a commencement speaker for [[Loyola Marymount University]] graduate students in 2013, the year after SpaceX became the first private company to send a cargo payload to the International Space Station.<ref name="PatchMueller" /> ==References== {{reflist|2}} == External links == *{{Twitter|lrocket}} {{SpaceX}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Mueller, Tom}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Loyola Marymount University alumni]] [[Category:People from St. Maries, Idaho]] [[Category:Rocket scientists]] [[Category:SpaceX people]] [[Category:University of Idaho alumni]] [[Category:1961 births]]
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