THE COMPANY
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PLATFORM
Built by operators, guided by experience.
Hitchhiker Orbital brings together hands-on engineering leadership, an independent board, and experienced advisors to make orbital logistics dependable, modular, and accessible.
TEAM
The team building the next layer of orbit.
David Palmer
Founder, CTO and Interim CEO
Founded Hitchhiker Orbital after a 38-year career on Wall Street. Works hands-on across strategy, mechanical design, systems engineering, and intellectual property.
Terry Pagan
Chief Operating Officer
25+ years at NASA Ames Research Center, with deep institutional relationships across the agency and the broader space stakeholder community.
Kyle Mamitag
Chief Spacecraft Systems Engineer
Former NASA Visiting Vehicle Engineer who integrated payloads across 10+ ISS cargo and crew flights. Leads mission architecture and spacecraft development.
David Byram
Chief Mechanical Designer
Translates complex structural problems into manufacturable space hardware.
Thomas Key
GNC Engineer
Guidance, navigation and control, with ADCS design and simulation.
Kevin Johnson
Systems
25+ years in real-time software, trading platforms and risk management at Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo.
Justin Schueler
Spacecraft Systems Specialist
Systems engineering across requirements, concept of operations, and mission architecture.
Joshua Kalish
Space Systems Research Intern
Physics student at Columbia University specializing in astrophysics research.
BOARD
Independent oversight, with hardware judgment in the room.
Dana March Palmer, PhD
Chairperson
Chairs the Board and leads its governance and oversight of management.
David Randolph Palmer
Vice Chairperson
Founder continuity, company strategy, and technical direction.
Spencer P. Magleby, PhD
Independent Director
Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering at Brigham Young University and Principal of Magleby Innovation Consulting. Internationally recognized in compliant mechanisms and origami-inspired engineering, with more than 40 patents and 250 publications, and prior aerospace R&D leadership at General Dynamics on the F-16, A-12 and F-22 programs.
ADVISORS
Advisors on capital, Europe, and the customer.
Chris Przybyszewski
Fundraising Advisor
Strategist and operator with more than fifteen years of P&L responsibility and a record of securing over $150 million in dilutive and non-dilutive funding.
Laura Forczyk
Client Engagement Advisor
Founder and Executive Director of Astralytical, a woman-led space-industry consultancy established in 2016.
Michael Hepler
Strategic Advisor, Europe
Brings European space-startup leadership and flight-program management, with a mandate to build the company’s European presence.