Roid Rage 29 Years and a Two Week Break
Apr 2, 2026
Alexander Ermenko (Sasha), Principal Mechanical Engineer at AstroForge and former 29-year JPL engineer. He recounts why he left JPL and how private teams move faster. Conversations cover building spacecraft with no rulebook, designing for asteroid missions, balancing proven tech with novel mining systems, and managing risk and institutional knowledge in high-stakes projects.
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Sasha's 29 Year JPL Career And Key Missions
- Alexander Ermenko (Sasha) spent 29 years at JPL across roles from support engineer to chief engineer.
- He worked on missions including Rosalind Franklin Rover (ROSA), Mars Sample Return, Europa Clipper, SMAP, Curiosity, and instrument Aquarius, illustrating broad hands-on mission experience.
Why Early Russian Spacecraft Favored Autonomy
- The Russians designed early spacecraft to be autonomous because pilots lacked reference cues in space and human inputs could degrade control.
- Sasha relays that Russian engineers prioritized autonomy and sometimes opposed pilot demands to retain automation.
Principal Mechanical Engineer Is Architect Problem Solver And Mentor
- The principal mechanical engineer role blends architecture, problem solving during detailed design, and mentoring of engineers.
- Sasha emphasizes mentoring to preserve institutional knowledge and accelerate on-the-job learning that colleges can't provide.