Mr. Dennis Poulos

Mr Poulos is an affiliate and technical advisor to SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc. (SEI). He has over thirty five years experience in military air operations, National Security Space, and Civil Space programs. Since Retiring from the Navy, he has worked with both small high tech aerospace firms and large aerospace prime contractors with a primary focus on the development and advocacy for advanced concepts and programs.

Mr Poulos worked at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems from 2003 to 2010 in the Advanced Concepts group where he was responsible for military space business development and program management. He captured, and managed, the Air Force Research Lab Future (reusable) Access to Space Technology and Reusable Access to Space Technology programs; the Air Force Space and Missile Center Hybrid Launch Vehicle Studies and Analysis program; and the DARPA Force Application and Launch from CONUS (FALCON) contract. He worked with the Northrop Grumman Technology Development group to capture technology development programs including the Adaptive Guidance Navigation and Control for Reusable Launch Vehicle Ascent, Integrated Flight Control Actuator Health Management, Advanced Development of Integrated Warm Structure, Full Envelope Adaptive Guidance Navigation and Control for Reusable Launch Vehicles, and Rapid Mission Planning technology development contracts. Additionally, Mr Poulos served as the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle IPT Lead on the NASA Concept Exploration and Refinement (CER) Contract where he was responsible for system level trades and analyses, working with NASA to refine system requirements, and developing a Preferred System Concept.

Mr Poulos was the General Manager of the Schafer Corporation Colorado Springs Office from 1996 to 2003. As the GM, he provided technical support to Air Force Space Command and Air Force Research Lab on Military Spaceplane, Common Aero Vehicle, Prompt Global Strike, and Operationally Responsive Spacelift programs; as well as various command and control system, directed energy, and defensive counterspace programs. He represented the Military Spaceplane program office as a participant in three Global Engagement wargames.

Mr Poulos served in both the US Marine Corps and US Navy as a combat pilot where he accumulated more than 3,500 flight hours in the F-14, F-5, A-4 and A-6, as well as several other fixed and rotary wing aircraft. His last tour, before retiring from the Navy, was in Cheyenne Mountain as a Space Defense Operations Center (SPADOC) Commander for US Space Command. Shortly after retiring from the Navy, he joined General Atomics as a Predator and GNAT UAV Deployment Team leader.

Mr Poulos earned a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering as part of the Space Systems Engineering curriculum at the US Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, California, in 1986. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Physics at the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, in 1975. He has also completed upper level graduate courses at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs between 1995 and 1997 as a Controls Engineer in Electrical and Computer Engineering.