Hans-Jörg Königsmann (born 1963) is a German

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

who was ''Vice President of Flight Reliability'' for

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...

until his retirement in 2021.

Education and career

Hans Königsmann obtained his

aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

diploma at

Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...

in 1989, followed by a PhD in Aerospace Engineering and Production Technology at the

University of Bremen The University of Bremen () is a public university in Bremen, Germany, with approximately 18,400 students from 117 countries. Its 12 faculties offer more than 100 degree programs. The University of Bremen has been among the top 50 European rese ...

in 1995. He began working at the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity at the

, where he was in charge of

avionics Avionics (a portmanteau of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the ...

and later management of the ''BremSat'' satellite. After successful launch and the end of the project one year later, he emigrated to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to work for the satellite manufacturer ''Microcosm Inc''. He met

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...

at a rocket launch in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

. In 2002 Königsmann became the fourth technical employee for the newly-founded

. He was part of the launch team starting as VP of Avionics, then from the third Falcon 1 flight forward was the Launch Chief Engineer. SpaceX promoted him to Vice President of Flight Reliability in 2011 making him responsible for the safe completion of

missions. Koenigsmann announced his retirement from SpaceX in January 2021. Königsmann has been a member of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

based space and technology company

OHB SE OHB SE, headquartered in Bremen, is a European space and technology group specializing in the development and implementation of complete space systems, the production of components for various launcher programs as well as the operation of satell ...

's Supervisory Board since June 24, 2022. Königsmann is also operating as an advisor for the Seattle based rocket company startup Stoke Space.

Honors

* Hans Königsmann was awarded the

NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal The NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal is an award similar to the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, but awarded to non-government personnel. This is the highest honor NASA awards to anyone who was not a government employee when the service ...

in 2014. It is the highest form of recognition by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

for non-Government individuals.

Published works

References

External links

''Hans Koenigsmann. Interviewed by Rebecca Hackler''
NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. Commercial Crew & Cargo Program Office. Edited Oral History Transcript. Hawthorne, California on January 15, 2013
''Pre-launch conference for SpaceX CRS-4''
Video of Hans Koenigsmann talking about the mission during 14:30–20:19 and 22:04–36:39 {{DEFAULTSORT:Koenigsmann, Hans Living people German aerospace engineers German emigrants to the United States SpaceX people Technische Universität Berlin alumni University of Bremen alumni Engineers from Bremen (state) 1963 births