Bradley Cheetham

BS '09

Bradley Cheetham.

Bradley Cheetham '09, majored in both Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering while at UB. He was a Goldwater Scholar recipient and worked for NASA Academy at Goddard Space Flight Center. Bradley is also the founder of the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS).

After earning his bachelor’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering at UB, Cheetham went on to earn his master’s and PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

As a National Science Foundation Fellow and National Defense Science and Engineering Fellow, Bradley is now the President and CEO at Advanced Space, where he has developed numerous technologies that enable space flight to the moon and beyond.

Under Cheetham’s leadership, Advanced Space successfully developed, and is currently operating, the first privately owned commercial satellite to operate on the moon, known as CAPSTONE.

The satellite became an integral part of NASA’s Artemis program and is a demonstrator for several technologies, including assessment of the planned orbit for NASA’s Luna Gateway space station and the CAPS navigation system. CAPSTONE successfully completed its initial mission to provide valuable data and insight for future lunar operations.

He is also passionate about supporting future generations of engineers. Cheetham holds a position as the chairman of the Future Space Leaders Foundation and serves on the Board of Directors for the International Astronautical Federation, Bridge Entrepreneurs Network and on the Board of Advisors for Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS). As a student, Cheetham founded the UB chapter of SEDS that remains active on campus today.

Over the course of his career Cheetham has received numerous awards, including the 2022 AIAA Small Satellite Mission of the Year Award for his work with CAPSTONE and the 2019 AIAA Rochy Mountain Young Professional Engineer of the Year Award. Cheetham also owns a patent in leveraging multi-body methods to develop fuel efficient transfer orbits.