Gary Lai

Interlune • Chief Technology Officer

Gary Lai is an aerospace engineer and entrepreneur, with 27 years of experience developing space systems and growing companies. He is currently Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Interlune, a company developing systems to extract natural resources from the Moon. Previously, he was Chief Architect at Blue Origin, responsible for setting technical direction for space launch vehicle and lunar lander development programs. He joined Blue Origin in 2004 as one of its first 20 employees and filled key leadership roles in growing the company to over 12,000 employees. This included leading the technical team that developed the New Shepard suborbital research and space tourism vehicle from concept to commercial operations. In 2022, he flew New Shepard to space himself on its 20th mission.

Gary has received numerous awards for his work including leading the team that won the 2016 Collier trophy; the 2017 Stellar Award from the RNASA Foundation; the 2019 Founder’s Award from Blue Origin; the 2023 Pathfinder Award from the Museum of Flight; and the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Washington Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, where he serves on the External Advisory Board.

Events

77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2026)

5 - 9 October 2026

Antalya, Türkiye

Participation: