Thoughts for the Community
Front Row: Michael Barrucco, Joel Palmtag
Middle Row: Yang Li, Laura Crabtree, John Couluris, Holly Ridings, Paul Tompkins, Marco Villa
Back Row: Phil Lundeen, Max Comess
Last week a close friend of mine passed away too soon. Paul Tompkins has been a member of this community for many years and, through his many accomplishments, has touched many lives. I would like to take this opportunity to celebrate his achievements, both personally and professionally.
To those who worked with Paul, knew Paul, or worked for Paul: You were blessed. He had a love for life and our industry that is unparalleled.
I would love to tell you stories all day about Paul but one thing strikes me above all else that made him stand out from the crowd. He had a good heart. He always gave people the benefit of the doubt, and always rose above any challenge put before him. He brought together communities that, at times, seemed impossible. Putting aside our differences for a common goal is something that I’ll always treasure as a lesson Paul gave to me.
I’ll remember so much about his life and we have many shared experiences, but there is one in particular I’d like to share.
On our first SpaceX Dragon mission (C1) 2010, Paul had only been with SpaceX for about a year. He and I were assigned to be the Dragon recovery coordinator and Falcon 9 recovery coordinator in mission control. He was assigned to Dragon, so after F9 broke up on entry (at that point we sent out a recovery boat to gather data on entry to learn about how we could land F9, remember this was F9-2) I supported him during Dragon re-entry. The poise and execution he exuded under pressure in those moments and the look in his eye when we both realized that Dragon was HOME, and she wasn’t sinking, is an excitement that I’ll never forget.
Paul was so invigorated by where the industry was headed and was looking forward to seeing all the things that are in-work come to life. I would love to ask for one thing from all of you who are reading this. This weekend (or any other weekend in the future), take time to go outside; enjoy the mountains, go for a hike, climb a mountain, ski or go for a dive in Paul’s honor. He would love to know that the people who cared about him were living their lives to the fullest and remembering all the wonderful things he brought to this community.
I’ll miss you my friend. Ad Astra per Aspera.
