Pete Swan

Senior Vice President

Dr. Peter A. “Pete” Swan is the Senior Vice President for Galactic Harbour Associates, Inc.  He is creating the capability to develop and test space elevators.  He is also President of the International Space Elevator Consortium.  As such, he leads a team who furthered the concept with incremental studies and yearly conferences.  

Over the last 18 years he has published many books on the topic as author, co-author, and/or co-editor. He is a full Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics and contributes often to their Cosmic Studies. He is also the Chief Operating Officer of Zodiac Planetary Services, a small start-up looking at commercial lunar mining.  He teaches for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (ASU) in the area of Moving Off-Planet and Living in Space.  

He graduated from the US Military Academy in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science degree and served 20 years in the Air Force with a variety of research and development positions in the space arena. During his career he conducted research, tracked satellites, developed satellite systems for SecAF office, and taught at the AF Academy.  Upon retirement in 1988, he joined Motorola on the Iridium satellite program. He lead the team responsible for the development of the Iridium spacecraft bus.  

In 1998, he helped develop Teaching Science and Technology, Inc. a company that teaches space systems engineering.  His classes emphasize engineering know-how and management techniques to successfully develop space systems of national importance.  He is a Fellow of both the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the British Interplanetary Society.  Pete received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles in Mechanical Engineering with a specialty in space systems.  

A few of his books (ISEC reports are on www.isec.org free pdf) are:

• Space Elevators are the Green Road to Space (Apr 2021)
• Space Elevators are the Transportation Story of the 21st Century [2020]
• Today’s Space Elevator (a status as of Fall 2019)
• Today’s Space Elevator Assured Survivability Approach for Space Debris [2020]
• Road to the Space Elevator Era, IAA Study Report (for purchase on iaaspace.org)[2019]
• Space Elevators: An Assessment of the Technological Feasibility and the Way Forward, IAA Study Report (for purchase on iaaspace.org) [2014], 
• Design Considerations for Space Elevator Tether Climbers [2013], 
• Space Elevator Concept of Operations [2012], 
• Space Elevator Survivability – Space Debris Mitigation [2010],  
• Space Elevator Architecture and Roadmaps [2014], 
• Design Considerations of a Space Elevator Earth Port [2015],  
• Birth of Air Force Satellite Reconnaissance: Facts, Recollections and Reflections (for purchase on lulu.com)[2015]
• National Security Space Strategy Considerations [2010] 
• Space Elevators Systems Architecture [2005],  and  
• Step Zero: Getting Started on a SCUBA Trip [2008]