From left, Brian McCann, CEO of Intergalactic; astronaut Megan McArthur; RAM co-founders Melzie and Ray Ganowsky; and Gregg Robison, CEO of RAM Aviation, Space & Defense.One of NASA astronaut Megan McArthur’s favorite diversions during her six months aboard the International Space Station was looking down and finding Utah’s national parks during the craft’s passes over the American Southwest.
“NASA receives thousands of requests every year to have astronauts come, and they only grant a few of them,” said Intergalactic CEO Brian McCann. “For NASA to grant our request was a very rare thing. It speaks to the work that we have done with SpaceX.” RAM was founded in 1975 by Melzie and Ray Ganowsky, who relocated to St. George from New York and started the company in their garage with a single lathe. The couple soon began designing, manufacturing, and assembling precision parts for Kohler, Mack Truck, and United Technologies, among many others.
Currently, Robison said, RAM’s annual sales total about $40 million but are expected to reach $100 million or more by 2030. One reason for that is RAM is ramping up its space operations. Intergalactic is working with a variety of commercial aerospace companies, and its advanced thermal systems could also be featured on a lunar rover that is part of NASA’s Artemis mission to return to the moon and explore even more of its surface.