Tuesday, January 6, 2026

The Spark That Ignited A Space Revolution

First seen in Forbes:

In the desolate expanse of Los Angeles, a chance encounter would spark a revolution. Elon Musk, a man driven by an unyielding vision, walked into a warehouse, where Thomas Mueller, an engineer at TRW, was bolting an 80-pound engine into a rocket's lower thrust structure. The year was 2002, and Musk had come to sell Mueller and his fellow amateur rocket enthusiasts on his dream of colonizing Mars. Mueller, a man of unassuming demeanor, was taken aback by Musk's fervor. As Musk fired question after question, Mueller hesitantly revealed his experience working on a 650,000-pound engine for TRW. The spark of optimism and naivety that Mueller displayed would prove to be the catalyst for a partnership that would change the face of space exploration.

Fast-forward to the present, and the ripple effects of that encounter are being felt. SpaceX alumni, armed with the knowledge and expertise gained from working alongside Musk, have gone on to found 141 startups worth a staggering $10. 6 billion. These ventures, spanning space tech, AI, energy, mobility, and other verticals, have created over 7,000 new jobs and raised a significant amount of capital in the last ← →

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In January 2002, Elon Musk strolled into a warehouse in Los Angeles, where he spotted Thomas Mueller hoisting an 80-pound engine over his shoulder ...
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