Jeffrey Manber is the first American to ever have had an official role within the Russian space industry. His improbable journey began during the Reagan administration where as an advisor to the Department of Commerce he helped engineer the first commercial research contract between a Boston company called Payload Systems, and the Soviet space station Mir. In 1991 he was asked by Yuri Semenov, the General Director of the Soviet space organization NPO Energia to open and run an American office. As Managing Director of Energia Ltd, Manber helped bridge the gap between NASA and the Russian space programs. From his unique vantage point, Manber bore witness to the paradox of a commercial Russian space industry battling American space contractors intent on preserving their monopoly on space operations.
In 1999 Manber became CEO of MirCorp, the Dutch startup that electrified the world by leasing the Russian space station Mir over the vehement objections of NASA. MirCorp accomplishments include the MirCorp mission, which privately supported two cosmonauts to the space station for over 70 days. MirCorp also launched the first privately funded cargo ship, signed NBC to a game show where the winner would fly to space, signed space tourist Dennis Tito to his historic flight contract and inspired the current generation of American space entrepreneurs to launch their own non-government space ventures.
Today, Manber is CEO of SEFSpaceworks. He is also the co-author of Lincoln's Wrath from Sourcebooks.
