# Halen Mattison

> Halen Mattison is the co-founder and CEO of General Galactic, an El Segundo space-propulsion company building Genesis, a water-fueled engine that aims to combine hydrazine-level thrust with xenon-level efficiency. A former SpaceX engineer who worked on propellant generation for Starship, he left after being told his Mars-fuel vision was too long-term, studied at Stanford, and started the company to build the propulsion and propellant infrastructure he believes will become a railroad to Mars. The company raised roughly $9.9M across pre-seed and seed rounds and first emerged converting CO2 into methane on Earth before sharpening its focus on high-agility spacecraft and water-based propulsion.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-Founder at General Galactic
- **Organizations:** General Galactic, SpaceX (former), Stanford University
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Graduate studies, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded General Galactic and raised roughly $9.9M across pre-seed and seed rounds, Built a pilot system producing approximately 2,000 liters of methane per day from CO2, Developed Genesis, a water-electrolysis propulsion platform demonstrating both high-thrust chemical and high-efficiency electric engine prototypes

## Career timeline

- **pre-2022** — Engineer at SpaceX, working on a team focused on propellant generation for Starship
- **2022** — Graduated from Stanford University, where he met co-founder Luke Neise
- **2023** — Co-founded General Galactic in El Segundo, California
- **2023** — Raised $1.9M pre-seed round (BoxGroup, Refactor)
- **2024** — Emerged from stealth with CO2-to-methane reactor technology
- **2024** — Raised $8M seed round co-led by Harpoon Ventures and Refactor Capital
- **2025-2026** — Sharpened focus toward Genesis water-based propulsion and high-agility spacecraft for space logistics and defense

## Achievements

- Co-founded General Galactic and raised roughly $9.9M across pre-seed and seed rounds
- Built a pilot system producing approximately 2,000 liters of methane per day from CO2
- Developed Genesis, a water-electrolysis propulsion platform demonstrating both high-thrust chemical and high-efficiency electric engine prototypes
- Contributed to space initiatives for both the Department of Defense and NASA
- Selected speaker at SmallSat Symposium 2026 and CERAWeek

## Latest updates

- **2024-11** — Raised $8M seed round; pilot reactor producing ~2,000 liters of methane daily with first commercial modules planned for 2025
- **2026-02** — Featured speaker at SmallSat Symposium 2026, presenting high-agility satellite work to reduce space logistics and defense costs

## Links

- Website: https://gengalactic.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/hgm
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/HalenMattison

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/halen-mattison
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-24