zSPACE
Aerospace engineering consultancy rooted in two decades of crewed-vehicle avionics, launch system integration, and planetary science leadership.
GET IN TOUCHWhat We Do
Deep technical expertise across the disciplines shaping humanity's next chapter.
Aerospace Engineering
Avionics architecture, electrical system design, and launch control tooling for crew-rated and heavy-lift vehicles. We draw on direct experience leading subsystem engineering across multiple flagship vehicle programs — from launch pad to orbit insertion.
On-Orbit Integration & Satellite Development
Multi-vehicle electrical integration, payload accommodation, and agency-level rideshare strategy for missions spanning LEO to deep space. We have directed interface engineering across four major launch vehicle families and shaped national policy for small-satellite access to orbit.
AI & Future Technology
AI foundation models, neural-network diagnostic tools, and autonomous data pipelines purpose-built for space science and mission operations. We architect intelligent systems that turn decades of flight data into actionable discovery — from launch-day decision support to planetary-scale scientific insight.
Our Work
Select engagements and what our partners have to say.
Crew Vehicle Avionics & Launch Control Tooling
Led development of a neural-network diagnostic tool adopted by a national launch control center for real-time subsystem health assessment, and architected a comprehensive geometry database spanning the thermal protection systems of an entire crew vehicle fleet — reducing pre-launch analysis turnaround from days to hours.
National Rideshare Strategy & Multi-Vehicle Integration
Directed electrical mission integration across four launch vehicle families for a major aerospace prime, then shaped an agency-wide rideshare strategy that expanded small-satellite and CubeSat access to orbit on national science and exploration missions. Managed cross-program interfaces, payload accommodation, and manifest optimization at the portfolio level.
AI-Driven Planetary Science & Dual-Spacecraft Operations
Architected AI foundation models for a national heliophysics research program, transforming decades of solar and space-weather observations into machine-ready datasets for system-science discovery. Concurrently directed the first coordinated dual-spacecraft planetary science mission — from procurement through launch on a next-generation commercial vehicle, with orbital arrival at a neighboring planet on the horizon.
We brought zSPACE in to lead our avionics architecture review for a crew-rated vehicle, and they immediately operated at the principal-engineer level. Their command of redundancy management, fault isolation, and launch-control-system interfaces saved us months of redesign. This is not a consultancy — it is direct access to flagship-program leadership.
zSPACE didn't just integrate our payloads — they restructured how we think about manifest strategy across an entire vehicle family. Their background directing electrical mission integration and national rideshare policy gave us a level of programmatic authority we could not replicate internally. Decisions that used to take weeks now take a single review.
What sets zSPACE apart in the AI space is that their models are built by people who have actually operated spacecraft and managed flight programs. The foundation model they developed for our heliophysics data pipeline didn't just perform — it revealed correlations our science team had missed for a decade. That only happens when deep space-domain knowledge meets genuine machine-learning rigor.
About zSPACE
zSPACE is a boutique consultancy built on a simple premise: the highest-stakes aerospace programs deserve leadership that has already done it at the highest level. Our principals have led avionics engineering on crewed vehicle fleets, directed electrical integration across every major U.S. expendable launch vehicle family, shaped national rideshare policy, and are now pioneering AI-driven discovery for planetary science — a career arc that spans the full breadth of modern spaceflight.
Our size is intentional. Every engagement is led personally by program executives and licensed professional engineers who have held technical authority on flagship programs — not managed from a distance by account leads. The result is judgment born from launch consoles and flight-hardware review boards, applied directly to your program's most consequential decisions.
Lead Technologist
Alan Zide
Program Executive — NASA Heliophysics DivisionAlan Zide brings more than two decades of aerospace engineering leadership to zSPACE. As Program Executive in NASA's Heliophysics Division, he oversees ESCAPADE — the first coordinated dual-spacecraft mission to orbit Mars, launched November 2025 aboard Blue Origin's New Glenn — and MUSE, the Multi-slit Solar Explorer. He led the IMAP rideshare implementation, directed the international team that launched Solar Orbiter, and served as Program Executive for Parker Solar Probe during its operational phase. A member of NASA's SMD Rideshare Office, he has shaped agency-wide policy for secondary payload access to national science missions.
Zide's career began at Rockwell Satellite Systems and Boeing, designing spacecraft computer command and data handling systems before creating the only neural-network expert system used in the Space Shuttle firing room — monitoring Auxiliary Power Unit health through launch countdown. He went on to lead electrical mission integration across the Atlas V and Delta II, III, and IV vehicle families, then served in the NASA Headquarters Chief Technologist Office leading cross-agency teams that developed the Strategic Technology Implementation Plan and national Technology Roadmaps. A licensed Professional Engineer (Electrical #49186), International Space University graduate, and recipient of NASA's Silver Snoopy Award for his leadership in the commercialization of Kennedy Space Center as a multi-user spaceport, Alan now architects AI foundation models for NASA Heliophysics system-science discovery.
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