Peter K. Homer
He is the developer of an innovative new space suit pressure glove design that is strong, easy on
the hands, and gives the operator a higher degree of dexterity while pressurized. Peter designed and then manufactured the best performing glove within competition parameters, winning NASA’s Astronaut Glove Centennial Challenge in 2007. Continued advancements in flexibility of the pressure gloves and protective outer glove (TMG) led to again winning the second NASA Centennial Challenge held in 2009. These gloves incorporated many second generation innovations that increased hand dexterity while decreasing glove stiffness (bending effort) by a factor of two over prior designs–the winning gloves were more than twice as flexible as the NASA Phase VI glove in finger and wrist bending torque tests.
From 2014 through 2019 Peter worked with SpaceX to develop the pressure garment and pressure controls for the Crew Dragon space suit, as part of the NASA Commercial Crew program. Here he developed test plans in accordance with NASA safety standards, participated in Test Readiness Reviews, and conducted unmanned and human-in-the-loop testing of space suits and pressure suit components in the lab and inside altitude chambers. For altitude chamber testing with human-in-the-loop, additional planning and precautions are taken to ensure the utmost safety of the test subjects and supporting crew in the case of loss of suit pressure, medical event or fire.
Homer has also participated as a test subject for unpressurized and pressurized suit testing, and flown zero-gravity parabolic flight profiles on NASA’s C-9 aircraft to test space suit capabilities in simulated microgravity.
He has extended his glove patterning methodology to entire suits, generating a fully customized, bespoke space suit from crew member’s body measurements. These suits were certified to NASA standards and are currently flying astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
Peter’s career in aerospace spans over three decades, most recently developing commercial communications satellites for Lockheed-Martin Space Systems (formerly GE Astro Space) where he led configuration and design of the A2100 spacecraft bus structure which exceeded goals of 50% weight reduction, 50% cost reduction, and 50% cycle time reduction. The A2100 platform now accounts for 38+ satellites and hundreds of years of successful on-orbit operations.
Peter also worked at Grumman Aerospace in their Space Systems Division and Product Development Center (aka “skunk” works), collaborating on satellite thermal control subsystems, launch configurations, payload integration, and structural subsystems for commercial and military satellites. He has twelve issued patents related to flexible joints, space structures, thermal control and deployables. Peter has extensive experience in aerospace industry best practices and safety including developing manufacturing work instructions, test procedures and specification compliance. His experience includes Systems Engineering and Engineering Management for trail blazing software companies SDRC, Netscape, AOL and Sun Microsystems, and organizational leadership in the nonprofit world. Peter has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an M.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering-Advanced Composite Structures from Stanford University, and feels there is always more to learn.
Trent Tresch
Founding Director, University of Arizona’s Center for Human Space Exploration (CHaSE)
Trent Tresch works in bridging the gap between traditional aerospace and new-space innovation. He launched his work at Biosphere 2, serving as Co-Director for the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars habitat. He now imparts his expertise leading CHaSE initiatives in teaching spacesuit operations and spacecraft egress, while actively designing, researching, and testing space exploration technologies.
Piloting both hot air and hydrogen gas balloon systems, Trent has managed crewed and uncrewed high-altitude projects. He has a keen eye set on exploration of near-space environments such as the stratosphere and mesosphere. His further experience ranges from polar to deep ocean submarine exploration, to micro gravity flight, simulations, centrifuge and hypobarics. Working with the UA School of Medicine, APEX aerospace fellowship (APEX), he is currently engineering a two-person pressurized space capsule for rescue simulations and flight. Among many things, Trent additionally has contributed to international diplomatic efforts on the commercialization and economics of outer space, collaborating with organizations such as the Secure World Foundation and the Paris Peace Forum.
Flagsuit signed a collaborative MOU with the University of Arizona’s Center for Human Space Exploration in 2024.