Elon Musk Clarifies Astra’s Chris Thompson Was Not SpaceX’s Co-Founder, Despite Being an Early Employee

Elon Musk has clarified that Astra's Chris Thompson, the famed chief engineer for advanced technologies, was not a co-founder at SpaceX. He was one of the early employees in the space company of Musk but was not a pioneer with regards to starting SpaceX, which he soon left for Virgin Galactic and Astra Space, Inc.

Elon Musk Clarifies Chris Thompson's Role at SpaceX

On Twitter, Michael Sheetz has tweeted about Chris Thompson's departure from Astra, which he announced via a post, and here, the reporter said something about his past employments. First, Sheetz has mentioned that he initially worked for Virgin Galactic, as well as SpaceX, saying that Thompson was a co-founder at the latter.

Here, the SpaceX CEO (@elonmusk) clarified by saying that Chris Thompson was not a co-founder at the space company but was only an "early employee." Yes, sometimes it can be mistaken that people with big jobs or roles such as being an engineer at a space company means that they have a massive responsibility, as much as being co-founders.

However, it does not apply to all, and it is also evident with Thompson's stand with SpaceX, to which he initially served and became a part.

This was when SpaceX was starting, something which the billionaire CEO remembered and has clarified.

Who is Chris Thompson?

Christopher Thompson was a former employee for three massive private space companies, including that of SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and Astra Space, Inc. With the last company, Thompson has recently announced his departure, something which he does with great joy, as he moves on to his personal preferences or decisions.

Thompson was a former chief engineer for Astra Space, and while his role for SpaceX or Virgin Galactic was not as massive as the former, he still served as an engineer. His profile on the company is now unavailable.

Being an engineer for a space company is massive, particularly because the basics of a spacecraft rely on them: on how it would fly, plot a course, be constructed, prevent from exploding or self-destructing, and other responsibilities.

Astra Space, Inc.

Astra Space, Inc., is an American launch vehicle space company from California that came from Chris Kemp and Adam London that started in 2016. The company is a massive one, and it has a reported team of 100 employees from 2020, where it has initially made a trial run to orbit, which ultimately failed.

This is a fairly new company in the market, and it challenges the likes of SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic, which are known to be space tycoons that have proven themselves to orbit.

That being said, Astra is still going for the skies and aiming to launch their spacecraft to orbit, soon becoming a private space company that would offer its services to the public.

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Written by Isaiah Richard