Opening Astronaut Panel
Andy Sadhwani, Karsen Kitchen, & Irving Pergament
Andy Sadhwani was born in Houston, Texas, and his fascination with space began at age 5 after a tour of the Saturn V rocket at NASA. As a kid, he enjoyed watching the interplanetary travel portrayed on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Wars. This budding passion for space was encouraged by his parents who enrolled him in aviation and space camp programs and bought him materials to design and build model airplanes and rockets. After becoming an Eagle Scout, Andy taught the Space Exploration and Astronomy merit badge at numerous scout camps.
In 2004, while watching the NASA channel in his graduate school dormitory, Andy witnessed SpaceShipOne become the first privately crewed spacecraft to reach space – and saw it ultimately win the Ansari X Prize and launch what is now Virgin Galactic. “SpaceShipOne was pivotal in shaping my current career as a propulsion engineer,” he says. “This event encouraged me to save my money for the opportunity to take that same journey as well as earn my education.”
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, he went on to complete dual master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University, where he developed hybrid rocket motor technology and contributed to numerous science publications.
Andy currently serves as a principal propulsion engineer at SpaceX. His previous roles include academic researcher at both NASA and Stanford University. Driven by a passion for advancing humanity, Andy works in his spare time as an educator, facilitating technical and soft skills courses and reaching more than 100,000 people to date.
Andy’s spacesuit from ‘Galactic 007’ displays the USA and India flags. The USA flag represents Andy’s country of birth and where he was given opportunities to live out his dreams, and the India flag represents his parent’s country of origin. What started as a trip to NASA when Andy was a child culminated in his dream of going to space. His parents taught him that any altitude is attainable with the right attitude.
Karsen Kitchen made history as the youngest woman ever to cross the Kármán line. In 2024, she founded Orbitelle, an initiative to encourage women to pursue careers in the space industry. She is a highly driven, analytical, and enthusiastic leader, and recent graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelors degree in communications and astronomy. She’s passionate about advancing space sciences and innovation through problem solving, hands on experience, and outreach. Karsten is eager to bring a collaborative spirit and unique interdisciplinary background to forward-thinking space initiatives that inspire, inform, and innovate.
Irving Pergament kept his eyes on the skies when growing up in Israel. He can’t remember a time when he didn’t dream of flying and one day traveling to space. Now, as an astronaut aboard ‘Galactic 007,’ he has reached his lifelong goal. “My life is a blend of my love for my family, my professional success and philanthropy, and a continual chase after the thrill of flight, now reaching for the stars,” Irving says.
After moving to New York as a young man and becoming a real estate developer, Irving pursued his passion for aviation and became a certified airline transport pilot. He has been flying Learjets for more than 20 years and donates his time and aircraft to the northeast U.S. region of the Angel Flight organization, which provides free air transportation for children in need of life-saving medical care. Irving is also the benefactor of an educational program for underprivileged children at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, helping youth get accepted to top colleges and compete in the workforce.
Traveling to space aboard VSS Unity has been nothing short of amazing for Irving. “Flying has always been my passion,” he says, “and when I heard about Virgin Galactic’s spaceflights, my excitement skyrocketed as my childhood dream seemed within reach.” His spacesuit displays the Israel and USA flags.
