The Future Space Leaders Foundation has established a fund in honor of Matthew Isakowitz, who died last week at the age of 29. The organization is still filling in the details, but plans to use donations to further his “legacy in the field of human space exploration.”

Though still in the early years of his career, Matt was already a well known member of the space policy community — a champion especially for commercial space. More than 100 tributes posted on a guest book at Legacy.com illustrate the respect and affection held for him by his friends and colleagues.

Many of the more veteran members of the space policy community first came to know Matt as the son of Steve Isakowitz, who held a number of positions in the government and private sector (including NASA Comptroller when Sean O’Keefe was Administrator and President of Virgin Galactic) before becoming President and CEO of the Aerospace Corporation last year. Steve is himself a highly admired member of the community, but Matt made his own place in the profession.



Matt Isakowitz (center). Photo provided by Clay Mowry (used with permission)

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton, with a master’s degree in international science and technology policy from George Washington University, Matt worked at Astranis, Planetary Resources, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Space Adventures, SpaceX, and the XPRIZE Foundation.

The Future Space Leaders Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt organization “dedicated to the career development of young space and satellite industry professionals.” A link to donate to the fund is on its website.