# Jonny Dyer

> Jonny Dyer is the Co-Founder and CEO of Muon Space, a Mountain View-based end-to-end satellite constellation company building mission-optimized spacecraft for Earth intelligence, wildfire detection, and national security. A Stanford mechanical engineer who pitched varsity baseball and co-authored rocket propulsion models, he turned Skybox Imaging into Google's $500M acquisition, ran Google Maps' data collection fleet, led Lyft's autonomous vehicle platform, and then founded Muon in 2021. The company has raised $146M in Series B funding and operates a growing constellation including FireSat - a 50-satellite wildfire-monitoring system developed with Earth Fire Alliance.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Muon Space
- **Organizations:** Muon Space, Space Capital, Ubiquity.vc, EDF MethaneSat Technical Advisory Group, National Academies APOSS Study Committee
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Master of Science, Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Led development of SkySats constellation at Skybox Imaging - the largest high-resolution imaging satellite constellation ever deployed, Helped engineer Skybox Imaging's $500M acquisition by Google in 2014, No satellite failures across 65+ combined on-orbit years in the SkySats constellation

## Career timeline

- **2001-2007** — Studied Mechanical Engineering at Stanford, conducted rocket research in the AeroAstro department, taught machining and welding, and pitched for Stanford's Varsity baseball team including two appearances in the 2003 College World Series
- **2007-2009** — Joined Space Propulsion Group, a small Silicon Valley rocket research company, continuing propulsion research and co-developing the Dyer/NHNE flow model for two-phase injector flows
- **2009-2014** — Chief Engineer at Skybox Imaging (2nd or 3rd employee), the first venture-backed SmallSat company; led development of the largest constellation of high-resolution imaging satellites ever deployed
- **2014-2018** — Skybox acquired by Google for $500M; continued at Google leading Google Maps' data collection platform team, overseeing Street View cars and aircraft platforms
- **2018-2020** — Senior Director at Lyft's Level 5 Autonomous Vehicle group, leading vehicle platform design and deployment; grew the team over 18 months
- **2021** — Co-founded Muon Space in Mountain View, CA, as CEO and co-founder, aiming to build end-to-end satellite constellation systems for Earth intelligence
- **2023-2025** — Led Muon Space through significant growth: secured NRO, Space Force, and NASA contracts; launched FireSat protoflight satellite (March 2025); raised $146M total in Series B funding

## Achievements

- Led development of SkySats constellation at Skybox Imaging - the largest high-resolution imaging satellite constellation ever deployed
- Helped engineer Skybox Imaging's $500M acquisition by Google in 2014
- No satellite failures across 65+ combined on-orbit years in the SkySats constellation
- Co-authored the Dyer/NHNE flow model, widely cited in rocket propulsion engineering for two-phase injector flows
- Created pypropep, a widely-used Python interface to the cpropep chemical equilibrium solver for rocket propellant performance
- Pioneered 'Careful COTS' methodology for selecting and radiation-testing commercial parts for small satellites
- Raised $146M Series B for Muon Space (2024-2025), growing company to 210+ employees
- Secured contracts from NRO, Space Force, NASA, and Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit for Muon Space
- Developed FireSat - a planned 50-satellite constellation for wildfire monitoring with Earth Fire Alliance
- Appeared twice in the 2003 College World Series as a pitcher for Stanford's Varsity baseball team
- Founded Muon Space in 2021 and scaled it to 210 employees in under 4 years

## Latest updates

- **2025-06** — Muon Space closes oversubscribed $146M total Series B, with $89.5M in the B1 round led by Congruent Ventures
- **2025-05** — Dyer advocates for orbital data centers in TBPN interview; Muon secures NRO contract for multispectral EO/IR systems validation
- **2025-03** — Muon Space launches third satellite - FireSat protoflight - aboard a SpaceX Transporter rideshare
- **2025-12** — Space Force awards Muon Space $44.6M SBIR contract for a 3-satellite dual-use environmental monitoring mission
- **2024-08** — Muon Space closes initial Series B, expanding production facilities targeting 500 satellites per year capacity

## Links

- Website: https://jonny-dyer.com/
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonny-dyer-1870085
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/jonnydyer

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/jonny-dyer
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-26