OUR TEAM
It all starts here.
Our team is our greatest asset. Neutron Star Systems has been built by a group of passionate people. Our shared past and common objective unite us in pursuing our common goal of enabling the next generation of spaceflight capabilities.
Let's meet the people turning SUPREME into a reality.
Co-founder & CEO
MANUEL LA ROSA BETANCOURT
Manuel boasts a successful engineering, business and marketing career in several multinational companies of over 15 years. In 2009 he founded his own innovation management company taking full-time commitment in 2014 after the completion of his masters’ in business innovation. He led the creation and seed funding of the SUPREME consortium. At NSS, Manuel oversees the operations of the company, leads the strategic planning, leads fundraising activities, and manages customer relationships.
Co-founder & CTO
MARCUS COLLIER-WRIGHT
Marcus is an aerospace engineer with a specialisation in spacecraft electric propulsion systems. He completed his masters’ degree in Spacecraft Engineering at the University of Southampton, where his project received the highest grade in the faculty and was shortlisted for the university’s design excellence award. Marcus moved to Germany in 2018 to work on spacecraft electric propulsion systems at Ariane Group, when he met Manuel and joined the SUPREME project. Seeing the potential of the project to have a significant impact on the future of spaceflight, he committed to cofounding and launching Neutron Star Systems. Marcus is responsible for technology related matters at NSS, where he supervises the technical team, leads the R&D strategy, and manages relationships with suppliers and technical partners.
Co-Founder & CAO
EUDYS GUEVARA
Eudys is an industrial engineer who graduated in Technical College (Instituto Universitario de Tecnología Industrial La Salle) in 1997 in Venezuela. Since 1998 she worked in Quality Management for the largest iron manufacturer in Venezuela (Orinoco Iron) and obtained a certification as Internal Auditor of Quality Management Systems according to ISO 9000, until 2013 when she decided to move to Germany and assist Manuel in setting up Pi Integral Solutions. In 2018 she graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering from the European University of Applied Sciences in Brühl where she acquired the necessary knowledge of German languages and economics. She has played a fundamental role in the foundation of Neutron Star Systems and after Manuel, is the employee with longest experience in the team. She is responsible for "Operations Management", personnel hiring, controlling and standardization.
Scientific Advisor
DAVID HINDLEY
David is a Chartered Engineer and BSc (Physics) Hons with over 40 years of industrial experience. A veteran of the British space industry, David had a leading role at QinetiQ in the development of the T5 ion engines used on ESA’s GOCE mission. David spent 12 years at the National Physical Laboratory in London, leading the Time, Security and Space Systems activities and working on space projects in the GNSS and miniature atomic clocks field. David provides a technical advisory role to NSS regarding design and engineering activities on the thruster assembly and integration, together with system engineering, High Temperature Superconducting magnet assembly, thermal engineering, and power electronics.
Lead Engineer, Cryogenics
DR. HANNAH RANA
Hannah is an engineer with a doctorate in Astronautical Engineering from the University of Oxford, specialising in cryogenic technology for space missions, and an M.Eng. degree in Engineering from Loughborough University. Hannah counts on experience working at CERN and ESA, where she focused on thermal control for the Luna-27 Russian-ESA moon mission, as well as working on the Sentinel-3, E-SAIL and Mars Sample Return missions. Hannah leads cryogenics systems development activities for the SUPREME thruster.
Lead Engineer, Digital Twin
KAPISH AGGARWAL
Kapish is an aerospace engineer with a strong background in programming. After completing his Bachelor’s in Aerospace Engineering from India, in less than two years, he obtained a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from TU Delft in the Netherlands. At Neutron Star Systems Kapish is building on his experience with numerous programming languages to lead the digital twin development activities and is responsible for mission analysis to assess SUPREME’s performance for near-Earth and interplanetary mission scenarios.
Operations Support
LOUIS KRALL
Louis is currently in his dual bachelor study “General Management” at EUFH. At the same time, he is part of the NeutronStar Systems Operations Team. He is particularly supporting NSS in terms of administration, operation and controlling. Moreover, he assists for human ressources and standardization.
Systems Engineer & US Business Development
WILLIAM CHASE MCLAUGHLIN
Chase is leading business development of the NeutronStar Systems USA Corp team. With six years of experience in the US Navy as an Interior Communications Electrician, he assists NSS in navigating the unique political and defense spectrums of the US. He is completing his final year of study at The University of The West of England, Bristol for aerospace engineering, focusing on advanced design and manufacturing processes. He brings with him a diverse background of technical expertise with electronic safety, communication, and networking systems on board naval vessels, certification in safety and QA policy, an understanding of military culture, and a mechanical design mindset.
Thermal Engineer
FEROZ KHAN
Feroz is a mechanical engineer specialising in thermal modelling and CFD. He is currently studying for a masters in “Advanced Heat Engineering” at Cranfield University. Feroz is working primarily on cryogenics development and the peripherals encompassing the thermal management system.
Software Engineer
MARIUS MANAFU
Marius is a master's student in his final year in aerospace engineering at TU Delft. He previously completed his bachelor and master's degrees in Particle Physics at the University of Birmingham where he worked on the Feasibility of Quantum Oscillator Applications in Radars for his first thesis. At the TU Delft thesis, he is working on the requirements design of a plasma simulation code for the SUPREME thruster and its integration with the Digital Twin. Thus, he gets to enjoy the physics behind one of the most innovative space technologies with a systems engineering approach, all in a fast-paced start-up environment.
Electromagnetics Engineer
FABIAN KHAN
Fabian is an Italian engineer who completed his master in Advanced Aeronautical Engineering from Imperial College London, where he developed interest from electric propulsion systems and electromagnetism. Upon joining NSS he has been primarily involved with design and development of the applied-field module with particular focus on simulations around superconducting coils.
Project Engineer
ELIAS BÖGEL
Elias is a German Engineer currently studying Aerospace Engineering at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Having worked in software engineering prior to transitioning to aerospace engineering, he has quickly developed an interest for computational methods in science and engineering. During his studies, he has also picked up a strong interest for electric propulsion for spacecraft. Elias joined Neutron Star Systems in 2021 as a Project Engineer, supporting scientific and market publications of the company as well as Social Media activities.
Strategy Advisory Board
MORITZ BRAKE
Moritz focus is on strategic expertise and liaison with government agencies. As a naval officer and PhD student at King's College London, he is also co-founder of the cyber security start-up Sonarlock. In addition, he is a guest lecturer in "Maritime Security and Strategy" at the University of Bonn.