Duane Frist
Title:
Senior Principal Engineer
Education:
BS Aerospace Engineering, Virginia Tech
MS Astronautical Engineering, Naval Postgraduate School
How did you get into space?
Inherited a love of aircraft and flying from my father. Really got interested in space after the first launch of space shuttle Columbia – distinctly remember watching it with my father early that Sunday morning before going to church.
Favorite planet?
I know it’s not a planet but always been partial to the moon.
Hobbies outside of work?
Cycling (road, gravel, MTB), water sports (diving, kayak, SUP), travel, Watching All Blacks rugby with my wife, Autocross, walking our dog Richie
Bio:
After college I decided to follow my dream and joined the Navy on an aviation contract. After much hard work, I earned my coveted wing of gold and ended up being assigned to the world famous Easyriders of HSL-37 based out of Kaneohe Bay, HI flying the SH-60B. About half way through my Naval career I transitioned to the Aerospace Engineering Duty Officer community. This led to an assignment at NPS followed by multiple tours at the NRO supporting communications, SIGINT and GEOINT programs. After retiring from the Navy, I initially worked as a SETA contractor. I joined SSI in 2022 as a Senior Principal Engineer supporting our customer in the areas of verification and validation planning along with payload engineering.
