Alli Taylor is a New Hampshire native who was inspired by the legacy of
Christa McAuliffe from a young age. She is interested in all aspects of space including human spaceflight, scientific missions, planetology, operations, and policy. Since joining
Lockheed Martin and moving to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in 2008, Alli has learned about constellation planning and collision avoidance analysis of satellite systems. Currently, she is working on her Master of Science degree in
Space Studies through the distance program at
University of North Dakota.
Alli gained valuable experience in the commercial space industry while employed at
Bigelow Aerospace in Las Vegas, NV as a systems engineer and satellite controller. Alli spent over two years developing a variety of payloads for the
Genesis I prototype inflatable module as well as leading mission control operations for both
Genesis I and
II vehicles. During her time in Las Vegas, Alli became a certified "Coach" for
Zero Gravity Corporation and had the opportunity to fly on two zero gravity flights.
Alli graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in
Space Science in the spring of 2005 from the
Florida Institute of Technology. At Florida Tech, Alli was a member of the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (
SEDS) and was inducted to the
Sigma Pi Sigma physics honor society. During her senior year, she participated in the Lunar In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) team competition, where the Florida Tech design team was selected as a finalist. During and after undergraduate school, Alli had two internships that were major influences to her career direction. At
Ball Aerospace Alli learned firsthand about satellite systems integration and environmental testing. There she had the chance to work on the
Ralph instrument, currently flying aboard NASA’s
New Horizons mission to Pluto. Alli also interned at Florida Space Research Institute (
FSRI), where she worked with
Dr. Samuel Durrance on the Station High-performance Ocean Research Experiment (SHORE), a proposed ISS camera payload.
In the near future Alli plans to apply for a Mars analog mission to gain EVA experience. Alli and her husband are currently decorating their new home and often enjoy mountain biking together. Her hobbies include routing for the Boston Red Sox, drawing, volleyball, roller derby, and snowboarding.
