Rick Tumlinson

Rick Tumlinson is recognized as one of the founding architects of the commercial space industry. Tumlinson helped coin the term "NewSpace" and contributed to the creation of the commercial space sector, which includes companies led by Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Early in his career, Tumlinson worked with Dr. Gerard K. O'Neill and Dr. Freeman Dyson at the Space Studies Institute at Princeton, both influential figures in the human space settlement movement. He was also involved in initiating the Lunar Prospector project, which discovered indications of water on the Moon.

Tumlinson's career features a series of commercial space milestones. He led the team that transformed the Mir Space Station into the first commercial space facility and co-founded the space firm MirCorp, which was profiled in the documentary film "Orphans of Apollo." Tumlinson personally signed Dennis Tito as the first paying space traveler, arranging for his flight to the International Space Station. His achievements include helping launch the first mission to detect water on the Moon, starting one of the first asteroid mining companies, and founding the first private spacesuit company. Tumlinson also signed the first commercial space data purchase agreement and contributed to the establishment of NASA's Lunar Exploration Analysis Group. He is a co-founder of the Space Frontier Foundation, which coined the term "NewSpace," and served on the founding board of the XPrize.

Throughout his career spanning more than three decades, Tumlinson has held leadership roles in numerous space organizations. He founded SpaceFund, a venture capital firm investing in space startups, and co-founded entities such as Deep Space Industries, Orbital Outfitters, and the New Worlds Institute. Tumlinson also created the New Worlds Conference and the Space Cowboy Ball, produced by his nonprofit EarthLight Foundation. He hosts "The Space Revolution" on iRoc Space Radio/iHeartMedia and serves as a member of the U.S. Space Force Doctrine Organization Group.

Tumlinson's influence extends into space policy and public discourse. He has testified in six congressional hearings on the future of NASA, the U.S. space program, and space tourism. Tumlinson was among a select group invited by the White House to hear a presidential announcement regarding lunar and Mars exploration. He received the World Technology Award and the Future of Humanity Lifetime Achievement Award. Tumlinson's writings and commentary have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Houston Chronicle, Washington Post, and other global publications.

In addition to his entrepreneurial and policy work, Tumlinson is an author and educator. He is the editor of "Return to the Moon," a collection of papers by space industry professionals on the future of space exploration and privatization. His book, "Why Space? The Purpose of People," explores how space can help humanity find meaning both beyond Earth and on it. Tumlinson's educational outreach includes the Permission to Dream project, which distributed telescopes and lesson plans to schools and educational groups worldwide, fostering interest in space exploration in countries such as Chile, Iran, Zimbabwe, Russia, and India. Tumlinson is a frequent speaker on commercial space, space policy, and the future of human space exploration.