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For Peace, Security, & Knowledge

Space Systems, Astrodynamics, & Innovation

Virtual Curriculum Vitae

Two Decades of Aerospace Innovation

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Rapid Space Development

Founding member and senior-most engineer for new high-visibility Space Rapid Capabilities Office

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National Space Strategy & Policy

United States Naval War College

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Autonomous Space Technology

Doctoral Research at MIT

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Nano & Microsatellite Design

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts   Project KitCube (Feb 2015 – Mar 2016) Member of MIT team that designed a 14 kilogram, microsatellite to achieve lunar orbit with CubeSat-class green monopropellant thrusters and demonstrate high data rate …

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Rapid Innovation

Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Space Vehicles Directorate, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico   Program Manager, Center for Rapid Innovation (Mar 2013 – Aug 2014) Led team of 79-members ($35M annual budget) to address 10 urgent warfighter needs and …

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Ballistic Missile Technology

Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Space Vehicles Directorate, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico   Deputy Program Manager, Strategic Systems & Launch Technologies (Apr 2011 – Mar 2013) Led team of 90+ members and a technology portfolio valued at $140M …

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Space Domain Awareness

Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio   Student, Dept. of Aeronautics & Astronautics (Aug 2009 – Mar 2011) Enhanced Orbit Prediction Research Applied Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) Theory to predict the evolution of non-conservative perturbing forces on …

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Human Spaceflight

NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Orion CEV Flight Test Office, Edwards Air Force Base, California   Orion Launch Abort Flight Test Controls & Dynamics Engineer (Jun 2008 – Aug 2009) Supported development and testing of the Orion program’s first flight …

Professional Biography

Building Powerful Teams

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Biography

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

LIEUTENANT COLONEL MAX W. YATES

Lt. Col. Max W. “Rowdy” Yates is the Chief of the Space Dominance Division, Space Rapid Capabilities Office (SpRCO), Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. Lt. Col. Yates leads a 12-person division and executes a program portfolio valued at $2 billion to rapidly acquire space warfighter systems (1x ACAT-1 & 2x ACAT-2 programs). He was recently selected to serve as Commander, 23rd Analysis Squadron, Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, beginning in June 2020.

Lt. Col. Yates was born in Butte, Montana. He received his Dual Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical and mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and was commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 2006 as a distinguished graduate. He went on to earn his doctorate in Space Systems Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2017.

During his career, Lt. Col. Yates has led technology development for both the Air Force and NASA through all stages of maturation from basic and applied research at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to flight testing at the Air Force Test Center and NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center. Recognized for his work in rapid acquisitions, he has led multiple programs at AFRL’s Center for Rapid Innovation and Space RCO to develop and deploy operational capabilities that solve urgent warfighter needs in the air and space domain.

EDUCATION

2006 Dual Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
2006 Distinguished Graduate, Reserve Officer Training Corp, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
2006 Top Performer (no DG program), Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
2011 Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio
2013 Distinguished Graduate, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
2017 Doctor of Philosophy in Space Systems Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA
2018 Distinguished Graduate, College of Naval Command and Staff, U.S. Naval War College, Newport, RI
2018 Master of Arts in Defense and Strategic Studies (Highest Distinction & Honor Graduate), U.S. Naval War College, Newport, RI

ASSIGNMENTS

1. July 2006 – July 2008, Global Hawk Flight Test Engineer (Flight Sciences), 773rd Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, CA.
2. July 2008 – August 2009, Orion Spacecraft Controls and Dynamics Engineer, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, CA.
3. August 2009 – April 2011, Student, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright Patterson AFB, OH.
4. April 2011 – March 2013, Deputy Program Manager, Strategic Systems and Launch Technologies, Space Vehicles Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, NM.
5. March 2013 – August 2014, Program Manager, Center for Rapid Innovation, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, NM.
6. August 2014 – July 2017, Student, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
7. July 2017 – June 2018, Student, College of Naval Command and Staff, Naval War College, Newport, RI.
8. July 2018 – May 2019, Chief Engineer, Space Resiliency Division, Space Rapid Capability Office, Kirtland AFB, NM.
9. May 2019 – pres., Chief, Space Dominance Division, Space Rapid Capabilities Office, Kirtland AFB, NM.

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Meritorious Service Medal
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS

Member, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Member, Society of Flight Test Engineers

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

2019 Gen. George C. Kenney Award for Writing on the Topic of Air Power (2nd Prize), Naval War College
2018 Navy League of the United States’ Adm. William Sowden Sims Award for Top Graduate, Naval War College
2018 Military Officers Association of America Writing Award for Excellence in Joint Warfare (1st Prize), Naval War College
2014 MIT-Lincoln Laboratory Military Fellowship, Lexington, MA
2013 Company Grade Officer of the Year, AFRL
2013 Lance P. Sijan USAF Leadership Award, AFRL
2012 Company Grade Officer of the Year, AFRL/RV (Space Vehicles Directorate)
2011 NASA Group Achievement Award (Orion Abort Flight Test Pad Abort-1 Team)
2011 Top 20 percent graduate, Air Force Institute of Technology
2007 Company Grade Officer of the Year, 412 TW/EN (Test Engineering Group)

MAJOR PUBLICATIONS

Yates, Max, Angles-Only Navigation Technique for Maneuver-Free Spacecraft Proximity Operations, Ph.D. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, September 2017.
Yates, Max, Stochastic Orbit Prediction Using KAM Tori, MS Thesis, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB OH, March 2011.

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION

Second Lieutenant June 11, 2006
First Lieutenant June 11, 2008
Captain June 11, 2010
Major October 1, 2016
Lieutenant Colonel October 1,2019

(Current as of December 2019)

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Small Teaser

Small Teaser

Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond go on a seven-day road trip from Venice, Italy, to Pau, France, in this special episode from the BBC motoring series. Along the way the pair visit the Autodromo Nazionale Monza race track and take to the road in Monaco. The show features a range of cars including a Ford ModelT, a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, a Porsche Cayman S and an Aston Martin Vanquish.

In the year 2154, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Delacourt, a government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in by any means they can.

Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men -- above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.

Albert Einstein