# Neel Kunjur

> Neel Kunjur is the co-founder and chief technology officer of K2 Space, the Torrance, California company he started with his brother Karan in 2022. A former SpaceX Dragon avionics engineer and mission director, he is helping build large, high-power satellite platforms. K2’s Gravitas spacecraft launched in March 2026 and became the company’s first large free-flying test of that approach.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at K2 Space
- **Organizations:** K2 Space, SpaceX, Kittyhawk
- **Education:** Electrical engineering, Northwestern University
- **Known for:** Helped develop and integrate avionics systems for Dragon spacecraft at SpaceX and served as a mission director., Co-founded K2 Space in 2022., Led K2’s engineering approach to large, high-power satellite platforms, including the 20 kW Mega class.

## Career timeline

- **2013** — As a Northwestern electrical engineering student, was profiled as a Tau Beta Pi scholar.
- **2014-2020** — Spent about six years at SpaceX developing and integrating Dragon spacecraft avionics; later served as a mission director.
- **Before 2022** — Worked as a senior electrical systems engineer at Kittyhawk.
- **2022** — Co-founded K2 Space with his brother Karan and became its CTO.
- **2026-03** — K2’s first Mega-class satellite, Gravitas, launched on March 30.
- **2026-04** — K2 declared its second tier of Gravitas mission success after activating customer payloads and Hall thrusters.
- **2026-08** — Published a detailed engineering account of Gravitas after more than 125 days in orbit.

## Achievements

- Helped develop and integrate avionics systems for Dragon spacecraft at SpaceX and served as a mission director.
- Co-founded K2 Space in 2022.
- Led K2’s engineering approach to large, high-power satellite platforms, including the 20 kW Mega class.
- K2’s Gravitas mission launched March 30, 2026, deployed its two 18-meter solar arrays and established two-way communications on its first ground station pass.
- K2 activated Gravitas’s 11 customer payloads and dual-channel Hall thrusters within nine days of launch.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Published an engineering review of Gravitas after more than 125 days of operation, detailing mission milestones, anomalies and plans for further orbit-raising tests.
- **2026-07** — K2 announced a $500 million Series D to expand production of its large satellite platforms.
- **2026-03** — Gravitas launched March 30, 2026, on SpaceX’s Transporter-16 mission.

## Links

- Website: https://www.k2space.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neel-kunjur-74327047/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/neelkunjur

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/neel-kunjur
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-29