# Jeff Thornburg

> Jeff Thornburg is an aerospace engineer, former U.S. Air Force officer, and co-founder and CEO of Portal Space Systems. After working on liquid rocket engines at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Aerojet, NASA, SpaceX, Stratolaunch, Amazon Project Kuiper, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, and Agility Robotics, he started Portal to build maneuverable, reconfigurable spacecraft powered by solar thermal propulsion.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Portal Space Systems
- **Organizations:** Portal Space Systems, U.S. Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory, Aerojet, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, SpaceX, Stratolaunch, Amazon Project Kuiper, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Agility Robotics, Interstellar Technologies, Creative Destruction Lab
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri University of Science and Technology), M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering, U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Contributed to the Integrated Powerhead Demonstration, described as the first hydrogen full-flow staged-combustion engine demonstration., Served as SpaceX's second head of propulsion engineering and led early development of the methane-fueled Raptor engine., Supported Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Crew Dragon propulsion and launch work at SpaceX.

## Career timeline

- **1996** — Earned a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla and entered the U.S. Air Force through ROTC.
- **Late 1990s-2000s** — Served as a U.S. Air Force officer and worked at the Air Force Research Laboratory on liquid-engine technology, including the Integrated Powerhead Demonstration.
- **2000s** — Worked at Aerojet on liquid rocket engine technology and turbomachinery, then supported the J-2X program at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.
- **2011-2016** — Joined SpaceX, became its second head of propulsion, and led early Raptor engine development while supporting Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Crew Dragon work.
- **2015** — Testified before a U.S. House Armed Services subcommittee as SpaceX's senior director of propulsion engineering.
- **2016-2021** — Held leadership roles at Stratolaunch, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Agility Robotics, and Amazon Project Kuiper.
- **2021** — Co-founded Portal Space Systems with Ian Vorbach and Prashaanth Ravindran in Bothell, Washington.
- **2024** — Portal emerged from stealth with more than $3 million in U.S. Department of Defense and Space Force funding.
- **2025** — Portal announced a $17.5 million seed round and opened an 8,000-square-foot Bothell development lab and headquarters.
- **2026** — Portal raised a $50 million Series A, expanded its Bothell manufacturing plans, and signed a contract with SpaceX for a Falcon 9 launch in 2028.

## Achievements

- Contributed to the Integrated Powerhead Demonstration, described as the first hydrogen full-flow staged-combustion engine demonstration.
- Served as SpaceX's second head of propulsion engineering and led early development of the methane-fueled Raptor engine.
- Supported Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Crew Dragon propulsion and launch work at SpaceX.
- Received NASA Space Flight Awareness and NASA Made It Happen awards.
- Received a NASA Stennis Space Center Propulsion Test Director's Leadership Award.
- Was named Air Force Research Laboratory Technical Program Manager of the Year.
- Co-founded Portal Space Systems and led it through a $17.5 million seed round and a $50 million Series A.
- Was named a 2025 GeekWire Uncommon Thinker and received a MistyWest HardTech Award.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Portal Space Systems announced a contract with SpaceX for a dedicated Falcon 9 launch in 2028.
- **2026-06** — Portal announced expansion into a second roughly 50,000-square-foot facility in Bothell and continued preparations for a 2026 spacecraft launch.
- **2026-05** — Portal and Paladin Space publicized plans for a repeatable debris-removal service using Starburst and Paladin's Triton payload.
- **2026-04** — Portal raised a $50 million Series A led by Geodesic Capital and Mach33, with participation from Booz Allen Ventures, ARK Invest, AlleyCorp, and FUSE.
- **2026-03** — Portal flew its Mini-Nova payload on SpaceX's Transporter-16 mission to test subsystems for future spacecraft.

## Links

- Website: https://www.portalsystems.space/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffthornburg/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/JeffThornburg

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jeff-thornburg
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-26