About Alpha Space

Unparalleled Commercial On-Orbit Testing and Data Collection Services

Alpha Space Test and Research Alliance, LLC (Alpha Space) is a minority-woman-owned commercial space company serving the space R&D and testing markets.  It is also an ISS National Laboratory Implementation Partner and Commercialization Partner.  Alpha Space provides turnkey on-orbit technology testing services utilizing its unique, external flight facility, MISSE.  Alpha Space makes it easy to get your science or technology to orbit and into the actual space environment, providing confidential testing and data collection for both passive and active tests and experiments for about 6 months at a time.  When the test period is over, Alpha Space returns your hardware to you. 

The Alpha Space team has the experience and skills needed to provide its customers with services that include:

Credentials:

The Alpha Space headquarters is conveniently located in Houston, Texas only two miles from NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The 5,000 square-foot facility includes a Class 10k clean room, a fully-functional payload operations control center (POCC) for MISSE command and control, and a thermal vacuum chamber. The in-house thermal vac can generate a pressure as low as 10-8 torr, a temperature range of -20°C to +85°C, a sunlight source, and a UV lamp.

Meet Our Team

Stephanie Murphy
Owner/Board Chairman

Stephanie Murphy is the principal Owner and Board Chairman of Alpha Space. She also currently serves as the Executive Chairman of the Board of MEI Technologies, Inc. (MEIT), an advanced technology company. She currently serves on the Board of Managers for a biotech aptamer company, AM Biotechnologies, LLC; serves on the Board of Directors for Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership; and is a Founder and Manager on the Board for Diosa Procurement, LLC.  Ms. Murphy is also a member of the NASA Johnson Space Center Joint Leadership Team; she is an Ambassador to Leadership Texas, a woman-based professional growth organization; and  most recently, she accepted a Council Position for the non-profit GirlStart, whose vision is to inspire girls to transform the world through STEM education.

Ms. Murphy holds an Executive Masters of Business Administration degree from Texas A&M University.

Mark Gittleman
President and CEO

Mark Gittleman is the President & CEO of Alpha Space. Prior to joining Alpha Space, Mr. Gittleman was the Executive Vice President of Intuitive Machines, LLC, a product development think tank, and before that a long time executive with Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE: OII). He was the division VP & GM of Oceaneering Space Systems (OSS) and was instrumental in that division’s long-term success, starting with its founding, and he later led OII’s world wide subsea controls business. Mr. Gittleman serves on several advisory boards, including the Subsea Valley Technology Cluster in Oslo, Norway; the University of Houston, Clear Lake College of Engineering and Computer Science; and the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership (BAHEP). 

Mr. Gittleman holds a BS in Ocean Engineering, a BA in Political Science, and is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas.

Edelmiro Muñiz
Board of Advisors

Edelmiro (Ed) Muñiz was born from humble beginnings in Harlingen, Texas. He is a proud 1967 Texas A&M graduate, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering. Mr. Muñiz went on to earn his Masters and then served a twenty-year career in the Air Force, retiring as a Lt. Colonel. In 1992, he founded his own advanced technology company known today as MEI Technologies, Inc. (MEIT). MEIT serves the aerospace, defense, and biotechnology markets worldwide.  

He currently serves as MEIT’s Executive Chairman of the Board. Mr. Muñiz is committed to the community, development of new technologies and continuing our exploration of space.

Gerald D. Griffin
Board of Advisors

Mr. Griffin is the former Director of the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston. In prior positions at NASA he served as the Deputy Director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Hugh F. Dryden Flight Research Center in California. Mr. Griffin also held the posts of Associate Administrator for External Relations and Assistant Administrator for Legislative Affairs at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC. 

During NASA's Apollo Program, Mr. Griffin was a Flight Director in Mission Control and served in this capacity for all of the Apollo manned missions. He was Lead Flight Director for three lunar landing missions: Apollo's 12, 15 and 17.