What We Do

John Thornton co-founded Astrobotic in 2007 with the mission to make space accessible to the world. Under his tenure as CEO, Astrobotic has become a world-leading lunar logistics company delivering cargo to the Moon for companies, governments, universities, non-profits, and individuals. The organization has secured more than $600M in NASA contracts to deliver instruments to the lunar surface, and launched America’s first commercial lunar lander in 2024. Additionally, the company has expanded its lunar rovers, space robotics, and lunar power infrastructure offerings with more than 70 commercial technology contracts. John founded and is the Chairman of the Board for the Moonshot Museum, a Pittsburgh-based non-profit dedicated to career development and access to the burgeoning space industry.

At Carnegie Mellon University, Thornton led the build of Scarab, a NASA concept rover for lunar drilling, and the first rover to carry a prototype of the NASA RESOLVE payload. Thornton also founded the Carnegie Mellon University Advanced Composites Lab, a research, training, design, and manufacturing program specializing in high performance, lightweight composites for robotics.

Dan Hendrickson leads Astrobotic’s business development efforts and payload sales. Prior to Astrobotic, Hendrickson served as the Director of Civil and Commercial Space Systems at the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). During his time at AIA, Hendrickson was a consensus builder among a council of 50 U.S. space companies to provide the U.S. Government guidance on key space industry interests. Before transitioning to AIA, Hendrickson served as a civilian mission assurance engineer at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on five successful Atlas V launch campaigns.

Leslie Quealy is a seasoned Human Resources executive leader who brings her extensive experience in the manufacturing and engineering sectors to the role of Director of People at Astrobotic. Over a 30-year career, Quealy has been instrumental in driving organizational growth and aligning HR strategies with business objectives. Renowned for a forward-thinking approach, she excels in talent development, workforce planning, and fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration.

With a proven track record of designing and implementing people-focused strategies, Quealy has successfully led initiatives in leadership development, HR technology and emerging systems, and employee engagement, contributing to sustained business success. Leveraging deep industry knowledge, Quealy partners with executive leadership to navigate change, optimize workforce performance, and support long-term strategic goals.

Quealy’s expertise lies in bridging the gap between operational needs and human capital, ensuring that HR functions as a strategic driver of organizational excellence. She has a B.S. from Penn State in Business Logistics and an M.S. from Duquesne University in Leadership and Business Ethics. Quealy and her husband Tom live in North Huntingdon and love spending time with their adult children Tommy, Courtney and Trey.

Cal Walsh is an accomplished aerospace professional with over a decade of experience leading multidisciplinary teams across program management, financial strategy, systems engineering, and operational excellence. He currently serves as the Director of Business Office at Astrobotic, where he oversees the financial and strategic execution of high-value spaceflight projects. In this role, he directs all aspects of project budgeting, cost control, earned value analysis, business intelligence, and contract compliance, ensuring each initiative aligns with performance goals and profitability targets.

Cal began his aerospace journey as a powerplant engineer with American Airlines, followed by hands-on roles in field service and jet engine health management at GE Aviation. His career advanced into leadership as a project manager for GE’s Business & General Aviation Services, where he pioneered innovative digital service development. In his final role at GE as Senior Program Manager, Cal drove aftermarket strategies for a global team supporting a diverse profile of corporate airline, private aircraft, and military fleet customers.

Cal is known for his ability to unify technical execution with financial discipline, enabling companies to deliver complex aerospace solutions with clarity and control. He holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.

Outside of work, Cal is an Ironman triathlete and Appalachian Trail hiker who enjoys hunting for cool rocks, interesting bugs, and amazing stargazing spots with his wife, Amy, and boys, Dax and Ben.

Andrew Grzebieniak leads the Finance and Accounting functions at Astrobotic, where he is responsible for financial reporting, compliance, and operations. He brings deep experience in manufacturing environments and government contracting, with expertise in long-term contract accounting, cost control, and regulatory compliance.

Prior to joining Astrobotic, Andrew held key controllership and compliance roles, where he developed and implemented processes and procedures to support complex, compliance-driven operations and reporting. He has extensive knowledge of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), and has led initiatives to improve audit readiness, internal controls, and reporting efficiency.

Andrew is known for building strong cross-functional relationships and aligning financial operations with broader business goals. His work enables high-growth, mission-driven organizations to maintain financial discipline while scaling effectively.

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Grove City College and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

At Astrobotic, Andrew plays a key role in supporting the company’s mission to make space accessible by providing the financial stewardship needed to drive innovation in lunar delivery, spacecraft integration, and advanced space systems.

Nick Newell is the Director of Space Programs at Astrobotic, where he leads the company’s full portfolio of spacecraft and lunar infrastructure programs. With over two decades of experience in high-reliability spaceflight systems, he brings systems thinking, operational discipline, and a track record of building high-performing, trust-based teams that deliver safe, reliable, flight-ready systems. Nick shapes Astrobotic’s program strategy, product development approach, technical standards, and operational maturity.

Nick joined Astrobotic in 2023. He previously led engineering organizations and integrated product teams at Boeing, including Certification of Flight Readiness authority on the Space Shuttle Program across 21 missions and integrated product team leadership on the Artemis Space Launch System development.

Nick is known for bringing structured program management discipline to fast-paced development environments—instilling the execution frameworks, cost controls, and performance visibility that Astrobotic now applies across its full portfolio. He holds a U.S. patent for spaceflight hardware flying on NASA’s SLS Artemis missions and has been recognized with NASA Spaceflight Awareness Awards for human spaceflight mission assurance.

Dylan serves as the Deputy Director of Engineering and is responsible for developing and implementing technical strategy to align with business objectives. With a decade of engineering management experience, Dylan guides engineering teams through full lifecycles of complex technology products by setting a clear shared technical vision. He focuses on workforce staffing direction and technology innovation to position the company as an industry leader in lunar delivery and power infrastructure.

Dylan started his career serving in the United States Marine Corps. There, he was responsible for the maintenance of flight radar and communication equipment used in various military aircraft. After his service, Dylan joined the commercial sector working in multiple critical electrical design engineering and management roles across the automotive, aerospace, and space industries. In these roles, Dylan played a key part in product and technology development, disciplined project execution, quality and regulatory compliance, and the application of engineering best practices.

Prior to his leadership position at Astrobotic, Dylan served as the electrical engineering manager for five years. He is known for mentoring and fostering emerging engineering leaders and guiding development to ensure long-term technical sustainability.