John Thornton and Astrobotic: Pittsburgh’s Moonshot
By Jonah Shapiro
The Moment That Sparked the Vision
John Thornton’s guiding vision for Astrobotic has always centered on the Moon as the stepping stone to the stars. “The moon,” Thornton says, “is our launchpad. It’s the gateway to the solar system and ultimately the rest of the universe”. This conviction took root in 2007, when Carnegie Mellon University robotics legend William “Red” Whittaker assembled a team in Pittsburgh to compete for the Google Lunar X Prize. Whittaker tapped Thornton – then a freshly minted CMU mechanical engineering graduate – to serve as chief engineer on a concept lunar lander called Griffin (SB Online). “At the time, I had an offer to intern at a big aerospace company,” Thornton recalls. But he felt a stronger pull toward the audacious startup project. “The alternative was to take my moonshot”. He chose the moonshot, joining Astrobotic at its founding and pouring his energy into making the lunar mission a reality.
Thornton’s decision to forsake a traditional aerospace path for an entrepreneurial lunar venture set the course for Astrobotic’s journey. He would later become president in 2012 and CEO in 2019, shepherding the company through years of hurdles on the way to the Moon. “The first 10 years of the company, we really struggled,” he admits. “We almost went under several times”. Yet that early resolve never wavered. Thornton’s leap of faith – sparked by the vision of opening the solar system via the Moon – laid the foundation for Astrobotic’s mission and culture of perseverance from day one. In his words, the company’s purpose is bigger than any one contract or technology: “This is about making a difference and making history… that’s the thing that unites us here at Astrobotic, where we are space nerds to the core”. That unity of purpose around a bold vision was born in the moment Thornton chose to “shoot for the moon,” and it continues to propel Astrobotic forward.
Building in Pittsburgh’s Space Frontier
John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic, speaks beside the company’s Peregrine lunar lander at Astrobotic’s headquarters in Pittsburgh. Astrobotic’s roots and growth are firmly planted in Pittsburgh – a city with a surprisingly rich space heritage. When Apollo 11 landed humans on the Moon in 1969, Pittsburgh companies played crucial roles: a local division of North American Rockwell built the mission’s Columbia command module, Pittsburgh’s Alcoa forged the shock-absorbing legs for the Eagle lander, and Westinghouse provided the cameras that beamed lunar footage to 600 million viewers (SB Online). Even the flagpole that Neil Armstrong planted on the Moon was designed by a Pittsburgh native. “We’re bringing it back,” Thornton says, affirming that it’s only fitting for a Pittsburgh company to help lead America’s return to the Moon. In many ways, Astrobotic sees itself as carrying forward Pittsburgh’s legacy on the new frontier of space. With that momentum, the area surrounding Astrobotic’s home on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, which is also home to companies such as Gecko Robotics, has been dubbed the “Space District”—now part of the city’s newly established constellation of Innovation Districts. Alongside AI Avenue, Oakland, and Hazelwood Green, the Space District is helping to anchor Pittsburgh’s next-generation economy. These districts are designed to foster startup formation, scale-up growth, and long-term economic development by creating vibrant hubs of research, talent, and commercialization.
From its inception as a Carnegie Mellon spin-off, Astrobotic embraced the Steel City as its home base – even when lured by traditional space hubs. The company received invitations from Houston and Cape Canaveral to relocate to those established aerospace centers, but chose instead to deepen its Pittsburgh roots. In 2020, Astrobotic opened a new headquarters complex on Pittsburgh’s North Side, signaling a firm commitment to stay local (Get PGH). Nicknamed the “Moon Base,” this 47,000-square-foot facility is the largest private lunar logistics center in the world. Astrobotic’s Pittsburgh campus now houses more than 280 employees and serves as a one-stop hub for designing, building, and testing space technology. Over the years, the company has secured upwards of 60 NASA, Department of Defense, and commercial contracts totaling over $600 million. These projects span everything from lunar landers and rovers to Moon-based power grids, planetary rocket test beds, and GPS-like landing systems for airless worlds (SB Online). In short, Astrobotic has methodically built up a full “lunar logistics” capability in Pittsburgh’s own backyard. By leveraging the region’s industrial might and technical expertise, the company transformed an old industrial neighborhood into a springboard to the Moon. Astrobotic’s presence has effectively turned Pittsburgh into an unlikely space frontier – marrying the city’s storied manufacturing past with its spacefaring future.
Where Code Meets Calluses: Pittsburgh’s Industrial Legacy as Strategic Advantage
John Thornton deliberately kept Astrobotic in Pittsburgh, and he emphasizes that this decision is a strategic advantage rather than a limitation. “Pittsburgh is situated in the center of an advanced manufacturing region with tremendous access to robotics talent through its world-class universities,” he explains. In Thornton’s view, the city offers a unique mix of assets critical for a space technology venture: a deep pool of engineering talent (fueled by institutions like Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh), a strong work ethic and culture of innovation, and practical benefits like a low cost of living and high quality of life that help attract and retain employees. Local hires who might be priced out or lost in Silicon Valley’s churn can lay down roots in Pittsburgh (Get PGH). As Thornton puts it, the region’s blend of affordability and innovation infrastructure creates “something nationally unique here in Pittsburgh” for building a company from early stages into fast growth.
Staying in Pittsburgh also means tapping into the city’s industrial DNA. “Pittsburgh has a rich history of being a builder of hardware,” Thornton notes, contrasting it with software-centric tech hubs. When looking at other tech cities, “few of them boast the kind of heritage this city has in developing new materials and new machines,” he says. The upshot is that Pittsburgh’s workforce “is prepared to not just code, but to get their hands dirty with hardware”. This legacy aligns perfectly with Astrobotic’s needs as a builder of complex spacecraft. The company found that many local engineers and technicians who grew up amid Pittsburgh’s factories and labs were eager to apply their skills to space – an opportunity they might not have had without Astrobotic’s presence. By staying local, Thornton tapped into an enthusiastic talent base that might be overlooked in traditional space clusters.
Of course, building a space startup outside the usual hotspots comes with challenges. “We’re the underdog,” Thornton admits, noting that operating in Pittsburgh rather than a long-established space hub like Houston can make it harder to secure funding and attention at first. Yet he firmly believes the underdog status has turned into an edge. Astrobotic’s success has rallied strong support from the community and government. In late 2023, Pennsylvania’s Governor Josh Shapiro announced a state investment of over $4 million to help Astrobotic expand its Pittsburgh campus and create nearly 300 new high-tech jobs (Aerospace Manufacturing and Design). “I saw the Peregrine lunar lander that was built by this incredible team of engineers and scientists right here in Pittsburgh – and I’m proud that lander is now ready to launch,” Gov. Shapiro said, underscoring that the state is keen to “make Pittsburgh a leader in the growing space industry”. Thornton responded that Astrobotic’s growth is “a clear indicator of new high-tech growth in the Commonwealth, particularly in the space industry,” voicing excitement to help make Pennsylvania “a nationally recognized center of space and defense innovation”. This public backing illustrates how staying local can unlock resources that a Silicon Valley company might not easily access.
Thornton also leveraged Pittsburgh’s tight-knit community to Astrobotic’s benefit. In the early years, some local traditional business leaders were skeptical – even giving “quizzical looks” or “derisive laughs” at the idea of a Moon-focused startup in Pittsburgh. However, “At Astrobotic, we use this outside skepticism to drive us forward… We are committed to this community – let’s make it better,” Thornton says. He has become a vocal champion of bridging Pittsburgh’s startup community with its industrial establishment, urging them to “bet on our local innovators to deliver the Moonshots” that will secure the city’s future. The ultimate payoff, in Thornton’s eyes, will be not just Astrobotic’s own success but a sense of civic pride (Get PGH). “If Pittsburgh can grow a company that lands on the Moon, Pittsburgh can do anything,” he says. Staying local has given Astrobotic a supportive ecosystem, a distinctive workforce, and a narrative that sets it apart – proving that a world-class space company can thrive far from the traditional centers of gravity.
The Culture of Space Innovation
Inside Astrobotic, a strong culture of innovation and passion for space drives the team through ups and downs. Thornton likes to say that everyone at the company is united by a higher purpose. “This is about making a difference and making history,” he explains. “That’s the thing that unites us here at Astrobotic, where we are space nerds to the core”. Employees even proudly refer to themselves as “Astrobots” – a nickname that speaks to their identity as robotics and space enthusiasts. Fueled by this zeal, the staff approaches seemingly impossible challenges with enthusiasm (SB Online). They’ve had to endure disappointments and daunting technical hurdles, but they continue the mission to reach the Moon “enthusiastically and undeterred”. This resilient mindset is a deliberate part of Astrobotic’s culture, cultivated by Thornton’s own outlook as a leader who took risks and persisted through adversity.
A key element of Astrobotic’s culture is learning through iteration – what Thornton frames as turning setbacks into stepping stones. For example, when Astrobotic’s first attempt to land on the Moon ran into trouble, the team treated it as an opportunity to improve. The Peregrine Mission One lander, launched in early 2024, encountered a propulsion valve failure that left it without enough fuel to complete a soft lunar landing. Instead of seeing this as a defeat, Astrobotic directed the spacecraft to carry out tests in orbit and then safely disposed of it, gathering valuable data in the process (SB Online). “Sometimes you have to learn the hard way,” Thornton says, acknowledging the setback while keeping focus on the bigger picture. “We have to keep in context what we are trying to do. We are trying to return to the moon at a fraction of the price that it would cost if you knocked on a big player like JPL’s door… That’s the hardest part of the whole thing – figuring out where to spend the money and the focus and where is good enough to get the mission done”. In other words, Astrobotic’s culture prizes resourcefulness and smart risk-taking: the team is attempting something ambitious on lean budgets, so failure is not irredeemable – it’s feedback.
Astrobotic’s mission-driven ethos also fosters a strong sense of purpose among its employees and recruits. Being based in Pittsburgh – a city without a prior commercial space industry – the company discovered an untapped well of passion in the local talent pool. “We have found Pittsburgh to have an impressive and diverse talent pool covering all levels of experience and expertise,” Thornton observes. Many of Astrobotic’s engineers “have been fascinated by space exploration since childhood but hadn’t found an option to pursue it professionally until they became aware of Astrobotic”. The chance to work on lunar landers and rovers in their hometown is a dream they didn’t realize was possible. Thornton notes that regardless of whether a candidate’s background is in software, hardware, or another discipline, they are often deeply inspired by Astrobotic’s mission “to make space accessible to the world,” and they “want to support us however they can”. Astrobotic, for its part, is “excited to give our hometown that opportunity” and is actively building a space community in Pittsburgh. The company’s openness in involving local universities, hosting the public at its Moonshot Museum adjacent to headquarters, and partnering with regional industry groups (like the Keystone Space Collaborative) all contribute to an innovative culture that extends beyond Astrobotic’s walls. By cultivating local enthusiasm and sharing its vision, Astrobotic is seeding a broader culture of space innovation in the Pittsburgh region. This community-centric approach reinforces the team’s morale and creates a virtuous cycle: employees feel they are part of something historic and bigger than themselves, which in turn drives them to tackle problems with creativity and determination. In summary, Astrobotic’s company culture blends passion for exploration, tolerance for failure in the pursuit of progress, and a heartfelt commitment to include its home city in its journey to the Moon.
Expanding into Defense with the U.S. Space Force
Scaling the Moonshot
Transforming Astrobotic from a tiny startup into a leading lunar enterprise was a long, non-linear journey – one that tested Thornton’s leadership and the company’s endurance. In the beginning, funding was sparse and timelines stretched far beyond what the founders imagined. “A company like Astrobotic cannot survive without government funding,” Thornton has noted, reflecting on the lean early years.
The company’s major break came in 2018, when NASA launched its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, opening the door for private companies to deliver science experiments to the Moon. Astrobotic was ready. In May 2019, NASA awarded the company a $79.5 million contract to deliver 28 payloads using its Peregrine lander (SB Online). “And we’re off to the races,” Thornton said. The contract marked a turning point, allowing Astrobotic to expand its team and begin full-scale spacecraft production. By 2020, Astrobotic’s modest North Side lab had transformed into a growing campus in the heart of the Space District, producing real flight hardware.
Momentum continued with the development of Griffin, a larger lander for heavier payloads. In 2020, NASA awarded Astrobotic another milestone: a $199.5 million contract to deliver the VIPER rover to the Moon’s south pole. This mission, expected in 2025, will search for water ice—essential to future lunar habitation (We Report Space). By 2023, Astrobotic had a backlog of missions, a team of over 280 employees, and multiple buildings under renovation to support lunar operations (Aerospace Manufacturing and Design). What began as a moonshot had scaled into a robust space enterprise. Astrobotic also expanded beyond landers. In partnership with Carnegie Mellon, the company developed the MoonRanger rover, a 13-kg autonomous explorer capable of venturing into shadowed craters and mapping terrain using onboard vision (Astrobotic).
Through it all, Astrobotic has stayed rooted in Pittsburgh. Thornton credits the city’s robotics talent and manufacturing heritage as key advantages: “What I really like about Pittsburgh is the advantage that we have in the robotics industry… [It] helps us have an edge in space.” By choosing to grow in the Steel City’s Space District rather than Silicon Valley, the company has proven that space innovation can thrive in the heartland.
Astrobotic’s journey is both a literal and symbolic moonshot—one that has brought global attention to Pittsburgh’s tech ecosystem and shown that with vision, grit, and the right partnerships, a startup from a former steel town can shape the future of space exploration. In Thornton’s own words, they are “persevering and pushing through,” turning a once-in-a-generation vision into a lasting reality. The next stop may be the lunar surface, but the journey — and its impact on Pittsburgh — has only just begun.
Sources: John Thornton quotes and company information from Smart Business Magazine (Nov. 2024) sbnonline.comsbnonline.comsbnonline.comsbnonline.comsbnonline.comsbnonline.comsbnonline.comsbnonline.comsbnonline.comsbnonline.com, Get Pittsburgh interview (Nov. 2020) getpgh.comgetpgh.comgetpgh.comgetpgh.comgetpgh.comgetpgh.com, Astrobotic press releases and media (2019–2023) astrobotic.comastrobotic.comwereportspace.comastrobotic.com, Pennsylvania news (Dec. 2023) aerospacemanufacturinganddesign.comaerospacemanufacturinganddesign.com, and other cited sources as indicated throughout the text.
