# Balachandar Ramamurthy

> Balachandar (Bala) Ramamurthy is the co-founder and CEO of Critical Loop. A former SpaceX Director of Flight Safety, he led Falcon 9 human-rating and served as launch chief engineer for Crew Demo-2. His work now centers on modular microgrids and controls for industrial customers facing delays or limits in electricity access.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Critical Loop
- **Organizations:** Critical Loop, SpaceX, NASA Ames Research Center, Positron Dynamics, The Karman Project, University of Oxford
- **Education:** Anna University
- **Known for:** Led the human-rating of SpaceX Falcon 9., Served as Crew Demo-2 launch chief engineer., Helped develop the crew escape system.

## Career timeline

- **2003-2007** — Studied at Anna University in India; trained in mechanical engineering.
- **2011** — Joined SpaceX, where he would work for twelve years.
- **2020** — Served as launch chief engineer for Crew Demo-2.
- **2021** — NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal and Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy listed in his biography.
- **2022** — Karman Fellowship and Eagle Manned Mission Award listed in his biography.
- **2023** — Left SpaceX; Oxford executive in residence; co-founded Critical Loop with Lydia Maher and Andrew Grinalds.
- **2026** — Critical Loop announced a $26 million Series A on April 13.

## Achievements

- Led the human-rating of SpaceX Falcon 9.
- Served as Crew Demo-2 launch chief engineer.
- Helped develop the crew escape system.
- Former Director of Flight Safety at SpaceX.
- NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal (2021).
- Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy (2021).
- Eagle Manned Mission Award (2022).
- Karman Fellow (2022).
- Co-founded an antimatter engineering venture and led an open source lunar lander development project.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Appeared on Clean Power Hour to discuss Cygnus, industrial power constraints and modular microgrids.
- **2026-08** — Appeared on Supercool to discuss the transition from SpaceX to electricity infrastructure.
- **2026-05** — Featured on The Dynamo Show about industrial access to power.
- **2026-04** — Critical Loop announced $26 million Series A funding, bringing committed equity and debt to $49 million.

## Links

- Website: https://www.balaramamurthy.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/balachandarramamurthy/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/balachandar-ramamurthy
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-13