Timothy Buzza

Chris Thompson, a one-time Marine who had managed the production of the Delta and Titan rockets at Boeing, joined as the vice president of operations.

Tim Buzza also came from Boeing, where he'd earned a reputation as one of the world's leading rocket testers.

Steve Johnson, who had worked at JPL at two commercial space companies, was tapped as the senior mechanical engineer.

The aerospace engineer, Hon Konigsman, came on to develop the avionics guidance and control systems.