Stephen J. Altemus (’87) was just 6 years old when astronaut Neil Armstrong made history on July 20, 1969, by becoming the first human to land and walk on the moon.
Altemus grew up fascinated with space, and now — 50 years later — he is the founder of Intuitive Machines, a company that will help NASA return to and further explore the lunar landscape. Intuitive Machines was recently awarded an estimated $77.2 million contract to develop, launch and land its Nova-C Lunar Lander spacecraft on the Moon with a payload of NASA and private experiments. The multi-million dollar NASA award, announced May 31, 2019, places Intuitive Machines on a path to becoming the first private U.S. company to land a spacecraft on the moon.
"All of us at Intuitive Machines have great passion for space and exploration," said Altemus, president and CEO of Intuitive Machines. “I couldn't be happier for the amazing team at Intuitive Machines for our selection to return NASA to the Moon as the first Artemis Mission.”
As the nation celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing this month, Intuitive Machines is planning to join NASA's new era of lunar exploration with a robotic landing on the Moon in 2021.
“We are very excited about this incredible opportunity to once again put the United States on the surface of the Moon," Altemus adds. “We have worked relentlessly over the past few years and we will continue to do so until we land the Nova-C on the Moon and put boots on the ground shortly thereafter.”
Upon receiving Embry-Riddle's 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Engineering in April, Altemus said his success is due to a lot of hard work and perseverance. An aerospace engineering graduate who attended the Daytona Beach Campus, he is a member of the campus's Industry Advisory Board for the College of Engineering.
"In the early days, I was not a stellar student and I struggled to get through engineering school," Altemus recalled in his acceptance speech at the April 5, 2019, award ceremony. "But by persevering and sticking to it, an engineering degree turned into 30 years of engineering in human spaceflight and the privilege to fly a lunar mission for NASA."
Altemus's career path includes serving as director of engineering, and then deputy director at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
In 2013, he founded Intuitive Machines, as a conduit to apply his space industry and engineering expertise to the commercial space sector. To date, Intuitive Machines has birthed 24 inventions and four ventures. The company is also working to enable space exploration beyond the Moon with its development and implementation of space-storable cryogenic propellants.
“Steve has been a leader and advocate for space exploration and the economic development of the 'final frontier' for many years,” said Maj Mirmirani, dean of the College of Engineering at the Daytona Beach Campus. “We’re proud to claim him as an alumnus of our program, and grateful for his contributions to future students through his participation on the Industry Advisory Board.”
Altemus will speak at the Alumni Speaker Series Live event on October 29 at the Daytona Beach Campus. The program will also be live-streamed.