013: Jonny Dyer - Delivering Earth Intelligence With Muon Space

Jonny Dyer is the Co-Founder and CEO of Muon Space, an end-to-end space systems provider that designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations that deliver mission-critical data. Prior to Muon, Jonny held technical leadership roles at Google Maps and Lyft, and was the Chief Engineer at Skybox Imaging. 

On this episode of the Defense Tech Underground, Jonny discusses his background at Skybox Imaging and his experience building Muon Space. He describes Muon’s approach to building satellite constellations end to end, and highlights the role of the FireSat constellation to provide operational guidance on the mitigation of wildfires. Jonny shares lessons learned from leading Muon, and explains how he has thought through pivotal moments in Muon’s journey, such as their recent acquisition of Starlight Engines. 

This episode is hosted by Helen Phillips and Bryan Harvey. 

Full Bio: 

Jonny Dyer is Co-Founder & CEO of Muon Space, with a remarkable career spanning aerospace, geospatial technology, and complex systems engineering across industry-shaping companies. As Chief Engineer at Skybox Imaging, he led development of the largest high-resolution satellite constellation ever deployed before the company's $500M acquisition by Google in 2014. At Google, he headed Maps' data collection team developing Street View cars and aircraft platforms, then served as Senior Director at Lyft's Level 5 Autonomous Vehicle group leading vehicle platform design and deployment. Currently an Operating Partner at Space Capital and advisor to Ubiquity.vc, Jonny also serves as a founding member of EDF's MethaneSat Technical Advisory Group and has served on multiple National Academies studies and committees. He holds MS and BS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and has authored widely-cited research spanning thermodynamics, radiation effects, and imaging systems.