Matt Harasymczuk¶

CEO, Director of Human Spaceflight Training

Matt Harasymczuk Photo

Contact¶

Bio¶

Director of Human Spaceflight Training at the Analog Astronaut Training Center. Director of the project OTTER (Orbital Technologies and Tools for Extravehicular Research) for the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences. Lead instructor for "Fundamentals of Underwater Analog EVA", "Engineering for Underwater Environments" and "Scientific Diving" at IIAS. A former engineer at the European Space Agency, Project Manager with the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, and Process Architecture Main Specialist at the Center for Information Technology with the Polish Ministry of Interior. Additionally, a former Software Engineer at Allegro. Holds an M.Sc. in Aerospace and Astronautics from the Polish Air Force Academy and a B.Sc. in Software Engineering. Received the Copernicus Medal for creating foundations for a human spaceflight in Poland and won the first prize for Best Educational Initiative in the Global Space Balloon Challenge 2019.

Certifications include hypoxic trimix instructor, technical diving instructor, Closed Circuit Rebreather (CCR) diver, PADI IDC Staff Instructor, NAUI Instructor, and Scientific Diver in accordance with the standards of Florida International University and the American Academy of Underwater Sciences. Awarded the PADI Certificate of Excellence, and the PADI Elite Instructor Award. Additionally, a glider pilot, trained in combat medicine (TCCC, ACLS), and SERE levels A and B. An investor and co-founder of the AATC habitat and Analog Astronaut Training Center.

Involved in developing HabitatOS, a proof of concept operating system for Moon and Mars habitats. Three times an analog astronaut in roles such as Crew Medical Officer, ECLSS Engineer, and Executive Officer. Supported 71 analog missions as MCC, Principal Investigator, and Capcom. PoSSUM Scientist-Astronaut with advanced courses in 'Spaceflight Physiology,' 'Spacecraft Egress, Sea Survival, and Rescue Operations,' 'Advanced Egress and Post-Landing Space Suit Evaluation,' and 'Lunar and Martian Atmospheric and Geological Science and EVA Tools Development.' Flown parabolic flights at ESA/Novespace. Collaborated with the European Space Agency on a Subjective Time Perception experiment for analog astronauts and participated in Moon Village concept workshops. Co-designed two pressurized training surface exploration spacesuits (LEM), two underwater training suits, and a pressurized visor-down underwater suit. Consulted over 100 organizations in project management and software engineering. Trained over 28.8k people in software engineering during more than 8.5k hours of workshops and public events.

Led the project management transformation for the Center of Information Technology at the Polish Ministry of Interior. Holds postgraduate diplomas in Extreme Medicine, Analytical Chemistry, Applied Geophysics, Air Traffic Control, and a European Master in Radiation Biology from SCK CEN in Belgium. An author of several books, including 'Python 3: From None to AI,' 'Software Engineering: DevOps, CI/CD, Software Quality Assurance, and Systems Architecture,' 'Astronaut Selection and Training for Long Duration Spaceflight and Extravehicular Activity,' and 'Geophysics Experiments from Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package.'

Designed and flight-tested a human centrifuge Soyuz MS acceleration profiles for launch, ascent, reentry, descent, landing and contingencies like abort launch and ballistic reentry. First to flight test LEM suits in the human centrifuge and in high-altitude chamber (up to 10k meters). Currently involved in the development of neutral buoyancy and parabolic flight tests of the Advanced Crew Medical Restraint System for commercial astronaut ACLS and CPR procedures. An instructor of Emergency First Response for both primary and secondary child/adult care with AED.

Education¶

2021 - 2021, Postgraduate studies, ESA Space Radiation Summer School, European Space Agency
2019 - 2020, Postgraduate studies, Analytical Chemistry, AGH University of Science and Technology
2019 - 2019, Postgraduate studies, European Master in Radiation Biology at SCK CEN, Belgium
2018 - 2019, Postgraduate studies, Extreme Medicine and Travel Medicine, Jagiellonian University
2018 - 2019, Postgraduate studies, Applied Geophysics, AGH University of Science and Technology
2014 - 2015, Postgraduate studies, Air Traffic Management, Polish Air Force Academy
2014 - 2019, Master of Science, Aerospace and Astronautics, major in Aircraft Systems Engineering, Polish Air Force Academy
2007 - 2011, Bachelor of Engineering, Computer Science, major in Security of IT Systems, Poznan University of Technology

Postgraduate studies - one year long university course at Masters level (equivalent to graduate certificate in the USA)

M.Sc. thesis: HabitatOS: an operating system prototype for Moon and Mars habitats
B.Sc. thesis: Botnet analysis and protection methods

Education Analytical Chemistry Education Applied Geophysics Education SCK-CEN Certificate of Attendance Education ESA Summer School

Current Work Experience¶

Director of Human Spaceflight Training¶

Since Jun 2020, Analog Astronaut Training Center (https://www.astronaut.center)

Supervising organization of 62 analog missions with multidisciplinary science and international collaboration
Design and implementation of training programs in spacecraft simulation, mission operations, water egress and sea survival
Design and implementation of military grade trainings: human centrifuge, hyperbaric chamber, aerospace robotics
Design and implementation of operations training: scuba diving (rec, technical, trimix), flight operations
Support of 4 PhD, 9 MS and many BS researches at Analog Astronaut Training Center

CEO, Director of Aerospace Systems Engineering¶

Since Jul 2014, Astro Tech and Bioastronautics

Building Moon/Mars habitat for analog simulations (Analog Astronaut Training Center)
Developing HabitatOS an open source operating system for extraterrestrial habitats on Moon and Mars
Development of IoT sensor networks, data analysis, creating machine learning prediction models
Developing Advanced Crew Medical Restraint System for BLS/ACLS in microgravity (CPR, intubation, IV/IO access, AED, Monitor)
Supervising development of Random Positioning Machine for microgravity research
Supervising development of two types of pressurized suits for surface EVA operations and high altitude (stratospheric) flights
Supervising development of two types of pressurized suits for underwater (neutral-buoyancy) EVA operations

Trainer and Consultant in Software Engineering and Project Management¶

Since Dec 2015, Sages (https://www.sages.pl)

Trainer and consultant in machine learning, data science and Python programming, project management, CI/CD
Python: Foundations, Intermediate, Advanced, Networking, Numerical Analysis, Data Science, Machine Learning, Django
DevOps and Continuous Integration / Delivery (CI/CD)
Agile Software Engineering / XP, Scrum, Kanban, Lean Startup, Project management, change management, incident management
Atlassian tools (JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket, Bamboo): User + System Administration + Server Administration
Software Architecture and Cloud Systems Architecture
Project management, program management, portfolio management
Processes: change management, incident management, problem management

Director of Project OTTER - Orbital Technologies and Tools for Extravehicular Research¶

Since Jul 2020, International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (https://astronauticsinstitute.org/)

Lead instructor for Fundamentals of Underwater EVA Operations (course EVA 105)
Lead instructor for Underwater Engineering and Space Suit Evaluation (course EVA 106)
Lead instructor for Scientific Diving (course EVA 107)
Staff instructor and safety diver
Leading evaluation space suit in underwater neutral buoyancy environment at Survival Systems, Groton USA
Leading day and night EVA trainings

Past Work Experience¶

2017-2017 - YGT Engineer at European Space Agency
2016-2017 - ESA Bioastronautics Research Collaborator for Moon Village Concept
2014-2016 - Process Architecture Main Specialist at Center for Information Technology, Polish Ministry of Interior
2011-2013 - Developer Tools Specialist at Allegro Group
2006-2009 - Network Administrator at Consdata sp. z o.o.
2006-2011 - Software Engineer at MBP sp. z o.o.

Book Author¶

2020 Mar, Astronaut Selection and Training for Long Duration Spaceflight and Extraterrestrial Activity (ISBN 978-83-957186-0-1)
2020 Jan, Space in Practice: How to Prepare and Conduct Stratospheric Balloon Mission (editor, ISBN 978-83-956752-0-1)
2019 Sep, HabitatOS - Development of operating system prototype for Lunar and Martian habitats (ISBN 978-83-957186-4-9)
2019 Jun, Geophysics experiments from Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ISBN 978-83-957186-1-8)
2019 Mar, Python 3 - from None to AI (ISBN 978-83-957186-2-5)
2017 Dec, Software Engineering - DevOps, CI/CD, Docker, Provisioning and Git (ISBN 978-83-957186-3-2)

Scuba Diving¶

Awards:

2024 Mar, PADI 2023 Elite Instructor Award
2023 Apr, PADI 2022 Elite Instructor Award
2022 Sep, PADI certificate of excellence for outstanding customer service and professionalism

PADI Certificate of Excellence PADI Elite Instructor Award 2022

Instructor:

2023 Nov, IANTD Instructor
2023 Oct, PADI Tec Rec Trimix Diver Instructor /hypoxic trimix/ (446562)
2023 Jul, NAUI Instructor (64419)
2023 Jun, PADI Tec Rec Deep Instructor (446562)
2022 Aug, PADI IDC Staff Instructor (446562)
2022 Feb, PADI Ice Diver Instructor (446562)
2022 Jan, PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer (446562)
2021 Nov, PADI Self-Reliant Diver Instructor (446562)
2021 Nov, PADI Search and Recovery Instructor (446562)
2021 Oct, PADI Full Face Mask Instructor (446562)
2021 Oct, PADI Diver Propulsion Vehicle Instructor (446562)
2021 Oct, PADI Underwater Photography Instructor (446562)
2021 Jul, PADI Wreck Instructor (446562)
2021 Jul, PADI Deep Diver Instructor (446562)
2021 Jul, PADI Enriched Air Instructor (446562)
2021 Jul, PADI Dry Suit Instructor (446562)
2021 Jul, PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor (446562)
2021 Jul, PADI Emergency First Responder Instructor (446562)
2021 Jul, PADI Care for Children w/AED Instructor (446562)
2020 Oct, PADI Assistant Instructor (446562)
2020 Oct, PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Instructor (446562)

PADI Tec Trimix Instructor PADI Tec Deep Instructor PADI IDC Staff Instructor

Certification:

2023 Jun, Scientific Diver in accordance with the standards of Florida International University and the American Academy of Underwater Sciences
2023 Jun, TDI Advanced Trimix Diver (1405385)
2023 May, PADI Trimix Diver /hypoxic/ (2305UN8545)
2021 Sep, PADI TEC 50 (2109UL2898)
2021 Sep, PADI TEC 45 (2109UL2897)
2021 Aug, PADI TEC 40 (2108UF0078)
2021 Feb, PADI Ice Diver (2103UG7843)
2020 Oct, PADI Full Face Mask Diver (2103UK3935)
2020 Oct, PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider (2010UI8676)
2020 Oct, PADI Emergency First Responder (446562)
2020 Sep, PADI Enriched Air Diver (2010UI8675)
2020 Aug, PADI Wreck Diver (2010UI8673)
2020 Aug, PADI Diver Propulsion Vehicle (2010UI8674)
2020 Jun, PADI Self-Reliant Diver (2010UI8671)
2019 Sep, PADI Divemaster (446562)
2018 Sep, PADI Rescue Diver (1811US8489)
2017 May, PADI Dry Suit Diver (1705UJ1398)
2017 May, PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy (1705UA3273)
2017 May, PADI Night Diver (1705UA3271)
2017 May, PADI Advanced Open Water Diver (1705UA3267)
2017 May, PADI Deep Diver (1705UA3264)
2016 Jun, PADI Open Water Diver (1607UK5070)

AAUS Scientific Diver

Training Courses¶

Awards:

2018 Jan, Copernicus Medal for creating foundations for human spaceflight in Poland
- 2018 Jun, India Modern School Distinguished

Copernicus Medal for creating foundations for human spaceflight in Poland India Modern School Distinguished 2018

Aerospace:

2023 Oct, Advanced Egress and Post-Landing Space Suit Evaluation
2019 Dec, Engineering the Space Shuttle (MITx - 16.885x)
2019 Mar, Space Mission Design and Operations (EPFLx - EE585x)
2017 Apr, Project PoSSUM Scientist-Astronaut Qualification Program
2017 Mar, Human Spaceflight - An introduction (KTHx: SD2905.1x)
2016 Dec, Introduction to Aerospace Engineering: Astronautics and Human Spaceflight (MITx: 16.00x)
2016 Sep, ECSS Training Course (conducted by Experts of the European Space Agency)

Aerospace PoSSUM Scientist-Astronaut Aerospace Space Flight Physiology Engineering ESA Citizen Debate Engineering PARP ECSS Training

Aviation:

2024 Mar, Balloon Pilot course
2019 Aug, The Aeromedical Training in High "G" Environment up to +5Gz (Human Centrifuge Training)
2019 Aug, The Aeromedical Training in a Hypobaric Chamber up to 35 000 feet /10.000m/
2017 Apr, Advanced Chamber Program Scenario Based Psychological Training Program (FAA FITS Accepted)
2017 Apr, Aviation Survival and Egress Training EBD (ASET2)
2015 Jul, Glider pilot course

Aerospace Centrifuge Certification +7.5G Aerospace Aviation Survival and Egress Training Aerospace Advanced Chamber Program

Medicine and Biomedical Engineering:

2019 Apr, Space Flight Physiology
2019 Nov, Understanding Genetics: DNA, Genes, and their Real-World Application
2017 May, Biology: The Science of Life
2017 Mar, Emory School of Medicine: Emergency Medicine
2017 Feb, Molecular Biology: RNA Processing and Translation (MITx: 7.28.3x)
2017 Jan, The Extremes of Life: Microbes and Their Diversity (KyotoUx: 003x)
2017 Jan, Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) training course

Medical ACLS Medical TCCC level 2 - Black Tactics

Survival:

2017 May, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) level A and B (Spacesuit, Hypoxia, Micro-G, High-G, Suborbital Flights)
2017 Apr, Sea Survival Course
2017 Apr, Spacecraft Egress, Sea Survival, and Rescue Operations Course
2017 Feb, Winter Survival and Arctic Shooting course
2016 Aug, SOF Combat Medic PJ Medevac Team - Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) level III
2016 Apr, SOF Combat Medic Black Tactics - Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) level II
2016 Mar, SOF Combat Medic Care Under Fire - Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) level I
2016 Jul, Basic Life Support for an Adult (European Resuscitation Council 2015 guidelines)

Aerospace Spacecraft Egress and Rescue Operations Aerospace Sea Survival Course

Other:

2015 Jun, Agile Project Management (APM) level Foundations and Practitioner

Engineering PCB Awareness Engineering Lead Awareness

Conferences and Workshops¶

2018 Oct, International Astronautical Congress 2018 (speaker)
2018 Apr, Electronics Show 2018 - International Trade Fair of Consumer Electronics, (technical director of space section)
2017 Dec, ESA ESLAB "Extreme Habitable Worlds" (attendee)
2017 Nov, ESA Human Dependability Workshop (attendee)
2016 Nov, ESA Innovation Exchange: When Space Meets Health, with brainstorming session on radiation protection (attendee)
2016 Nov, Moon Village workshop on Architecture aspects (organizer, attendee)
2016 Oct, Moon Village workshop on Geology aspects (organizer, attendee)
2016 Sep, ESA ECSS - European Cooperation for Space Standardization - training course (attendee)
2016 Sep, Symposium "Astronaut Preparation for Long Duration Spaceflight" (speaker)
2016 Sep, European Rover Challenge (attendee)
2016 Mar, Poland in Space Symposium (attendee)
2015 Sep, European Rover Challenge (attendee)
2015 Sep, ESA ESMATS 2015 - European Space Mechanisms and Tribology Symposium (attendee)
Additionally attendee and speaker at 100+ conferences on Software Engineering

Analog Astronautics Experience¶

MCC, Capcom and Primary Investigator during more than 80 analog missions
2017 Dec, Zero-G Flight campaign with VESTAND research experiment (Vestibular system stimulation in micro-g and hyper-g env.)
2017 Oct, ICAres - Astronaut: Executive Officer / Biosystems Engineer, mission with visual and motion impaired crew member
2017 Jun, LunEx - Astronaut: Crew Medical Officer
2016 Dec, ILEWG geo-biological campaign in volcanic region in Mandig, Germany and European Astronaut Centre in Cologne
2016 Aug, M.A.R.S. Astronaut: Crew Medical Officer

Stratospheric Missions¶

Awards:

2019 Feb, First prize for Best Educational Initiative in Global Space Balloon Challenge

Global Space Balloon Challenge 1st Prize

Experience:

More than 20 stratospheric missions
2020 Jul - Stratos 1 - Max Altitude 31 012 m; start: Rzepiennik Biskupi, PL; landing: 50°7.8510'N 20°5.3772'E
2019 Jul - Stratos 0 - Max Altitude 29 236 m; start: Rzepiennik Biskupi, PL; landing: 49°55'10.8"N 21°43'12.9"E
2019 May - Pamela - Max Altitude 24 133 m; start: Gliwice, PL; landing: 50°37'17.9"N 17°54'09.6"E
2016 Nov - ELF - Max Altitude 30 258 m; start: Gliwice, PL; landing: 50°05'51.4"N 20°32'25.7"E

Sport activities¶

Aerodynamic tunnel
Skydiving
Glider pilot
PPL(A)
PADI Recreational, Technical and Trimix Instructor (446562)
Aerobatic introduction at Embry Riddle, Daytona Beach, Florida
Sport sailing (multiple starts in Polish championship at age 11-15)

Memberships¶

Current:

since 2018, Honorary member of Astronautical Student Association at Polish Air Force Academy
since 2016, PADI Diver Network (Diver Number: 1811US8489)
since 2014, Polish Parachuting Association

Past: