David A. Barnhart

David Barnhart is CEO and Co-Founder of Arkisys Inc, a Research Professor Appointment in the Department of Astronautical Engineering at USC, and the Director/Co-Founder of the USC Space Engineering Research Center.   At Arkisys he is leading a team to break through to true commercial operations in space with a unique scalable business platform called The Port.  The Port provides operational realization for commercial companies to build their business on assembly, manufacturing, new concept test in such things as power/propulsion/pharmaceuticals/biologics etc. all with the goal to accelerate Global innovation into Space. 

At USC David has specialized in developing innovative technologies and architectures for 2nd generation space morphologies, rendezvous and proximity operations technologies/techniques, and hands-on projects with students, faculty and staff through an “engineering teaching hospital” construct.  David has served as a senior space Project Manager at DARPA, pioneering cellular spacecraft morphologies, satbotics, space robotics and low cost high volume manufacturing on the Phoenix and SeeMe projects. 

He represented the first DARPA space project at the United Nations COPUOS in Vienna Austria addressing new technology pushing the need for updates to space regulations and policy issues for next generation missions.  

David’s entrepreneurial ventures helped initiate two commercial space companies; co-founding and serving as Vice President and CFO for Millennium Space Systems in Los Angeles CA (now a Boeing Co subsidiary); and was the youngest elected member of a three-person international Executive Management board for a German startup in Bremen, Vanguard Space, one of the first companies working commercial spacecraft servicing.  He has published over 75 research papers and articles and speaks on 2nd generation space technologies nationally and internationally.”