Ad Astra Rocket Company Employee Directory
Aviation and Aerospace Component ManufacturingTexas, United States11-50 Employees
Ad Astra Rocket Company is a technology-focused firm applying decades of NASA plasma propulsion research to develop its flagship concept, the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket. Based in Webster, Texas, near NASA's Johnson Space Center, the company operates a specialized facility with a machine shop and a vacuum chamber used for space-environment testing. Its international subsidiary in Liberia, Costa Rica pursues turnkey distributed renewable-energy solutions, including hydrogen energy cycles for production, storage, and use. The company is led by Dr. Franklin R. Chang Díaz, a seven-time NASA astronaut who conceived the VASIMR concept and has guided its development since 1979. In 2024, Ad Astra announced a collaboration with Space Nuclear Power Corp to advance technology for long-duration space missions.