Video timeline: 0:00 - Introductions to Cup of Joe 0:57 - Introductions to the various participants on the call 3:05 - Introduction to engineer Tom Mueller 4:54 - What influenced Tom to become an engineer 5:48 - How Gary (Tom's teacher) encouraged him to become an engineer and the impact of teachers 8:19 - Tom's first time on campus and car crash story 10:02 - Tom's favourite teachers and professors 10:58 - Any specific projects that influenced Tom's career? Including. Lawnmower story 12:55 - Tom's first job out of college 14:33 - Moving onto SpaceX and first meeting Elon Musk 15:58 - Could Tom envision where they'd be today? 16:47 - Where does Tom's inspiration for innovation come from? And how does he organise it? 19:04 - Question time 19:45 - How will Starlink affect internet access to rural America? Incl. Tom's Starlink story 21:45 - What are your views on the Aerospike engine and why it hasn't gained traction against other designs? 23:25 - With the new propulsion drives beyond XIPS, what will take us beyond Mars? 25:04 - What inspired your recent move to retirement? 27:29 - How and where Tom found the fountain of youth and his inspirational humility? 27:50 - How does SpaceX innovate so rapidly? What can others learn? 28:42 - How did the Merlin rocket engine become such an innovative machine with great performance? 30:49 - Favourite memory from the early days of SpaceX? 31:38 - What was it like working with Elon in the early days? 33:00 - Advice for current engineering students? /Interrupted but repeated at 35:10 36:37 - What is your view on the jump from the Merlin to the full-flow Raptor engine? 37:40 - Do you ever feel that your degree from your university put you at a disadvantage to other universities? 38:29 - Have you ever visited Russia and seen the engineering they've done there? 38:53 - Any advice for early space engineers? 39:20 - What risks are you taking to pursue your new life goals? New race car 40:18 - What changes happened to the engine design in the era of reusable rockets? 42:54 - Any advice for motivating teams to reach for the stars? 42:42 - Do you see a future where Starship provides inter-continental travel as well as inter-planetary? How soon? 44:44 - How did you stay in the R&D side of engineering and not manufacturing and other processes? 46:24 - What advice do you have to help change someone's mindset to think big? 47:05 - Do you think being a late-starter student will matter if you want to work at SpaceX? 47:55 - Experimental question on eliminating sensors in calculating theoretical thrust? 49:04 - Do you think SpaceX will utilise AI in their research? 49:41 - How did you stay technically savvy after finishing school? 51:31 - What do you think about Starlink producing too much light pollution? 52:29 - When will Starlink be available to the general public? 53:42 - Does the space industry belong to the private industry, or will there be collaborations with public partners? 55:43 - Closing comments from Tom Great interview with Tom, thanks for uploading it! Definitely a fan of Tom's wall of rocket engines
Video timeline:
0:00 - Introductions to Cup of Joe
0:57 - Introductions to the various participants on the call
3:05 - Introduction to engineer Tom Mueller
4:54 - What influenced Tom to become an engineer
5:48 - How Gary (Tom's teacher) encouraged him to become an engineer and the impact of teachers
8:19 - Tom's first time on campus and car crash story
10:02 - Tom's favourite teachers and professors
10:58 - Any specific projects that influenced Tom's career? Including. Lawnmower story
12:55 - Tom's first job out of college
14:33 - Moving onto SpaceX and first meeting Elon Musk
15:58 - Could Tom envision where they'd be today?
16:47 - Where does Tom's inspiration for innovation come from? And how does he organise it?
19:04 - Question time
19:45 - How will Starlink affect internet access to rural America? Incl. Tom's Starlink story
21:45 - What are your views on the Aerospike engine and why it hasn't gained traction against other designs?
23:25 - With the new propulsion drives beyond XIPS, what will take us beyond Mars?
25:04 - What inspired your recent move to retirement?
27:29 - How and where Tom found the fountain of youth and his inspirational humility?
27:50 - How does SpaceX innovate so rapidly? What can others learn?
28:42 - How did the Merlin rocket engine become such an innovative machine with great performance?
30:49 - Favourite memory from the early days of SpaceX?
31:38 - What was it like working with Elon in the early days?
33:00 - Advice for current engineering students? /Interrupted but repeated at 35:10
36:37 - What is your view on the jump from the Merlin to the full-flow Raptor engine?
37:40 - Do you ever feel that your degree from your university put you at a disadvantage to other universities?
38:29 - Have you ever visited Russia and seen the engineering they've done there?
38:53 - Any advice for early space engineers?
39:20 - What risks are you taking to pursue your new life goals? New race car
40:18 - What changes happened to the engine design in the era of reusable rockets?
42:54 - Any advice for motivating teams to reach for the stars?
42:42 - Do you see a future where Starship provides inter-continental travel as well as inter-planetary? How soon?
44:44 - How did you stay in the R&D side of engineering and not manufacturing and other processes?
46:24 - What advice do you have to help change someone's mindset to think big?
47:05 - Do you think being a late-starter student will matter if you want to work at SpaceX?
47:55 - Experimental question on eliminating sensors in calculating theoretical thrust?
49:04 - Do you think SpaceX will utilise AI in their research?
49:41 - How did you stay technically savvy after finishing school?
51:31 - What do you think about Starlink producing too much light pollution?
52:29 - When will Starlink be available to the general public?
53:42 - Does the space industry belong to the private industry, or will there be collaborations with public partners?
55:43 - Closing comments from Tom
Great interview with Tom, thanks for uploading it! Definitely a fan of Tom's wall of rocket engines
MVP
OMFG UR A COMMENT SECTION GOD SEND thank you so much must’ve taken you some time
Thank you kind sire
This is such a great get for an interview and such important lessons for engineers everywhere - too bad so few views…
Well done. Informative. As a retired engineer who worked at innovative small team startups, I loved every minute.
Great to hear!
"I don't want to waste a single minute..."
33:12 The vacuum cleaner is really bad. But it gets fixed at 34:54.