{"id":"07d81cf4-3268-4c81-9252-43d200060af7","slug":"tom-markusic","name":"Tom Markusic","bioBrief":"Co-founder and former CEO of Firefly Aerospace (2014-2022); now board member and Chief Technical Advisor. PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton. Former senior engineer at NASA, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic. Led development of the Alpha rocket and Blue Ghost lunar lander. Blue Ghost M1 made the first successful commercial soft-landing on the Moon on March 2, 2025.","priorExits":null,"nationality":"American","verificationPosture":"verified","aliases":["Thomas Markusic"],"sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/16/firefly-aerospace-co-founder-tom-markusic-is-out-as-ceo/","title":"Firefly Aerospace co-founder Tom Markusic is out as CEO (TechCrunch, June 16, 2022; founder context)","sourceName":"TechCrunch"}],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","createdAt":"2026-06-06T16:42:27.642Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-06T16:42:27.642Z","educations":[],"companyRoles":[{"id":"1556ac95-43a3-428c-b9aa-e14796301ede","personId":"07d81cf4-3268-4c81-9252-43d200060af7","companyId":"6ac4f3cb-ac6e-498c-bd17-bdc4427a2ebc","role":"founder","roleTitle":"Co-founder, former CEO; Board Member & Chief Technical Advisor","startDate":"2014-03-01T00:00:00.000Z","endDate":null,"currentRole":true,"roleBasis":"verified_secondary","createdAt":"2026-06-06T16:42:27.956Z","company":{"slug":"firefly-aerospace","name":"Firefly Aerospace"}}],"boardRoles":[],"investorRoles":[],"foundings":[{"id":"1e95cee9-6e91-4b28-88c2-72159ec1a5ca","personId":"07d81cf4-3268-4c81-9252-43d200060af7","companyId":"6ac4f3cb-ac6e-498c-bd17-bdc4427a2ebc","foundingDate":"2014-03-01T00:00:00.000Z","cofounderStatus":"cofounder","stillAtCompany":true,"createdAt":"2026-06-06T16:42:28.274Z","company":{"slug":"firefly-aerospace","name":"Firefly Aerospace"}}]}