Col. Pamela Melroy (left) and Dava Newman (right). Photo: Gilmour Space Technologies

Australia and Singapore rocket company Gilmour Space Technologies has appointed two high profile women to its advisory board. Col. Pamela Melroy and Dava Newman will join its advisory board, as it prepares to the enter the global small launch market in 2020.

Pamela Melroy is a retired colonel of the U.S. Air Force, a test pilot, an ex-NASA astronaut and Space Shuttle commander, and has held senior roles in the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Dava Newman is the former NASA Deputy Administrator and current Apollo Program Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“Dava and Pamela have both had incredible careers in space. Their deep knowledge and experience across civil, defense, and commercial space activities — and their openness to new technologies and innovation — will be invaluable to the team as we grow our launch capabilities and develop frontier technologies in space,” said Gilmour Space Technologies Chief Executive Officer and Founder Adam Gilmour.