Thomas John Mueller is an American aerospace engineer and rocket engine designer.
22 Facts About Tom Mueller
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Tom Mueller was employee No 1 of SpaceX and is the founder and now CEO of Impulse Space.
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Tom Mueller is best known for his engineering work on the Merlin, Draco, Super Draco and TR-106 rocket engines.
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Tom Mueller is considered one of the world's leading spacecraft propulsion experts and holds several United States patents for propulsion technology.
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Tom Mueller's father was a logger and wanted Mueller to be one as well.
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Tom Mueller compares his story to that of Homer Hickam, growing up in a hard-working family and going off to be an engineer instead of following in his father's footsteps.
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Tom Mueller continued to experiment with rockets, even building one out of his father's oxy-acetylene welder and discovering adding water would produce more thrust.
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Tom Mueller eventually became a logger, working four summers to pay his way through school.
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Tom Mueller attended the University of Idaho where in 1985 he earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.
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Tom Mueller moved to California upon graduating, turning down job offers in Idaho and Oregon.
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Tom Mueller attended a job fair upon his arrival in California and began working in satellite design and moved on to developing liquid rocket engines.
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Tom Mueller managed the propulsion and combustion products department where he was responsible for liquid rocket engine development.
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Tom Mueller would attach them to airframes and launch them in the Mojave Desert along with other members of the Reaction Research Society.
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In late 2001, Tom Mueller began developing a liquid-fueled rocket engine in his garage and later moved his project to a friend's warehouse in 2002.
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Tom Mueller's work caught the attention of Elon Musk, SpaceX founder.
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In 2002 Tom Mueller joined Musk as the founding employee of SpaceX.
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In 2014, Tom Mueller transitioned engine development to the SpaceX Propulsion Engineering team and in 2016 he moved into the role of Propulsion CTO.
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Tom Mueller announced that he retired from SpaceX on November 30,2020.
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Tom Mueller founded his own company, Impulse Space in September of 2021.
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Tom Mueller develops chemical rocket engines, space tugs for moving satellites on-orbit, and planetary landers to deliver payloads to Mars.
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In 2014, Tom Mueller was nominated for the Wyld Award, presented by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for outstanding achievement in the development or application of rocket propulsion systems.
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Tom Mueller was a commencement speaker for Loyola Marymount University graduate students in 2013, the year after SpaceX became the first private company to send a cargo payload to the International Space Station.