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Muon Space, the Mission Foundry for high-performance satellite constellations, announced two additions to its leadership team as the company scales production and expands a growing portfolio of commercial and government constellation programs. Jody Kelman has joined Muon as Chief Product Officer, and Emelia Probasco has joined as Head of Strategy and Communications.
The appointments follow a $250 million Series C financing announced in August, and come as Muon ramps production at its new 130,000-square-foot San Jose facility, designed to produce up to 500 satellites annually. Muon is also scaling multiple customer programs from initial deployments to larger constellations and investing in the next generation of its spacecraft and software platforms.
“We are entering a new phase of the company. We know how to build satellites, but now we are scaling that capability to build and deliver products and platforms that can serve many more customers and missions. We’re investing in the leadership and expertise that will help us capitalize on the opportunities ahead,” said Jonny Dyer, CEO of Muon Space. “Jody and Emmy bring deep expertise to the leadership team as we enter our most consequential period of growth yet. Jody knows how to turn powerful technologies into products that solve real customer problems, and how to build the organizations that deliver them at scale. Emmy brings deep experience across national security, emerging technology and policy that will help sharpen our strategy. Both will help shape what Muon becomes as we grow.”
Jody Kelman, Chief Product Officer
Kelman will lead Muon’s product organization, helping define what the company builds as it scales. She will focus on turning Muon’s deep experience delivering complex missions into scalable products and platforms, and on shaping how Muon’s capabilities evolve to serve a growing range of customers and missions.
Kelman brings extensive experience building and scaling complex technology products and businesses. She spent nearly a decade at Lyft, where she served as Executive Vice President of Customers, leading the company’s ridesharing, autonomous, B2B and advertising businesses, and a team of more than 1,000 across product, engineering, design, data science and operations. She previously led the company’s autonomous vehicle and fleet businesses, overseeing product, engineering and operations for its autonomy and electrification efforts, including robotaxi strategy and deployment.
Earlier in her career, Kelman worked at McKinsey & Company, focusing on public-private partnerships and technology-driven infrastructure investments. In 2008, she served on President Obama’s Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform transition team. Kelman is also an advisor with Assembly Ventures, a mobility investment fund, and a board member at Yoto, a children’s audiobook device.
“Muon is at a pivotal moment. Satellite technology can do extraordinary things, but today only a relatively small set of customers know how to take advantage of it. We have the chance to change that,” said Kelman. “I’ve spent my career helping make complex technologies useful and accessible to many more people, from ridesharing to autonomous vehicles, and I’m excited to do that again at Muon.”
Emelia Probasco, Head of Strategy and Communications
Probasco will help guide and communicate Muon’s corporate strategy, advising the leadership team on the national security, policy, budget and technology dynamics shaping the company’s markets while strengthening Muon’s external voice and engagement.
Probasco joins Muon from Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), where she served as a Senior Fellow leading research on the international military applications of artificial intelligence. Her work has focused on AI-enabled decision support, defense applications of AI, the role of commercial technology companies in modern conflicts, and the responsible adoption of emerging technologies in national security.
Previously, Probasco served as Chief Communications Officer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), where she was a member of the Laboratory’s executive leadership and led strategic communications supporting its national security and space exploration missions. Earlier in her career, she served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy, completing two deployments to the Indo-Pacific region, and later served at the Pentagon as an advisor and speechwriter to the Chief of Naval Operations.
Probasco is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and continues as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at CSET. She is a Rhodes Scholar and currently serves as Vice President of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars.
“Space sits at the intersection of national security, economic competitiveness and some of the most consequential technological changes underway today,” said Probasco. “Muon has built an extraordinary combination of technology, talent and mission focus. I’m excited to help shape the company’s strategy and tell the story of what Muon is building and why it matters.”
The leadership additions follow a year of significant expansion for Muon as it scales its Mission Foundry model for designing, building and operating mission-optimized constellations. The company recently launched its 12th satellite and is actively managing multiple constellations on orbit, with more than 50 additional satellites in development across its customer programs and more than a dozen already manifested for launch over the next year.
