Chat with David McLain
Space Industry Entrepreneur
About David McLain
In 2018, David McLain co-founded Orbital Ascent not to build another rocket, but to solve the bottleneck no one was talking about: reusable, FAA-compliant launch infrastructure for suborbital tourism. While others chased orbital milestones, he led the design of the first privately certified horizontal integration facility in New Mexico, slashing turnaround time from weeks to 72 hours. His background isn’t aerospace engineering, it’s regulatory strategy and supply-chain finance, forged during a decade restructuring defense logistics contracts for the DoD. That lens explains why his startups prioritize insurance frameworks, cross-border liability protocols, and dual-use airfield certifications before flight tests. He doesn’t speak in ‘Mars colonies’ rhetoric; he cites ICAO Annex 16 noise thresholds and FAA Part 460 compliance timelines. His latest venture, Stellar Access Group, just secured the first commercial lease for vertical-takeoff operations at Mojave Air & Space Port, contingent on real-time emissions monitoring tied to carbon credit offsets. This is space commerce built on paperwork, precedent, and pavement, not just propulsion.
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Chat with David McLain NowConversation Starters
Not sure where to begin? Try asking David McLain:
- “How did your DoD logistics work shape Orbital Ascent’s FAA certification strategy?”
- “What’s the biggest regulatory gap holding back suborbital point-to-point travel?”
- “Why did Stellar Access choose Mojave over Cape Canaveral for VTOL operations?”
- “How do you structure liability insurance for passengers on hybrid air-launch systems?”