Can’t wait for Dent: Space San Francisco to see our speakers onstage? Never fear. We, along with some of the top experts in commercial space travel are headed to California this week for San Diego Comic-Con. Appearing with us at #SDCC is Bill Pratt who is speaking on our panel “Mars Needs People: Putting Humans on the Red Planet”

Bill Pratt works at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company on Advanced Human Spaceflight Programs. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, with an emphasis on astrophysics, from the University of Colorado in Boulder. William has a systems engineering background with more than 15 years of experience in mission analysis, systems integration, and project management. His technical focus has been on launch vehicle trajectory design and optimization, orbital mechanics, and interplanetary mission architecture and design.

Bill has worked on various programs including the Atlas Heavy Lift launch vehicle, Ikonos imaging satellite, reusable launch vehicles, and Orion. He is currently the NextSTEP Habitation program manager, focused on helping NASA identify, study, and advance the capabilities needed to help astronauts survive in deep space. Bill also serves as a lead in an Independent Research and Development Team where he is responsible for performing mission concept studies that involve deep space elements, including Orion. As a space mission architect, Bill has experience developing concepts for missions to asteroids, the moons of Mars, Earth-Moon halo orbits, and Lunar Distant Retrograde Orbits.