About MIKEY

My name is Mikey Nayak. I’ve been a space shuttle engineer, Flight Director for multiple experimental spacecraft, a skydiving instructor, a planetary scientist at NASA Ames, Research Section Chief for the DoD’s largest telescope, instructor flight test engineer and instructor pilot. I’ve worked flight test for the prototype T-7A trainer jet, flown an X-plane, deployed to the South Pole as a US Antarctic Program Principal Investigator, managed air- and space-based special programs, and was a semi-finalist for the 2021 astronaut class. I’m a USAF Test Pilot School graduate, Rotary National Award for Space Achievement recipient, and have 1,000+ hours of flight time in 40+ aircraft including the F-16, T-38, EA500 and BE-76. 

I hold a doctorate degree in Planetary Science from the University of California at Santa Cruz, where I was a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellow. I hold additional graduate degrees in Earth Science, aerospace engineering and flight test engineering.

One of the hats I wear is as a researcher with a wide set of interest areas. I’m interested in inventive ways to apply techniques from the disciplines of astrophysics and planetary science to problems in Space Situational Awareness, Space Surveillance and Space Control. My research interests include fundamental physics methods to remotely identify characteristic satellite frequencies from multi-modal observations, radically innovative AI solutions for modern optical detection problems, and novel machine-assisted methods to speed progression of low-time pilots. Find out more about my life as a DARPA Program Manager here.

The other hat I wear is as an author. I write science-fiction, horror and commercial thriller short stories and novels. Find out more about my life as an author here.