Elon Musk's Most Important Engineer in SPACEX History: Tom Mueller

Enjoy my interview with SpaceX legend, Tom Mueller. He designed the Merlin engine, the sturdy backbone of the most reliable rocket today!
Tom may not work at SpaceX anymore, but his impact on the company is lasting!
‪@ImpulseSpace‬
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Hi! I am now FULL TIME Ellie in SPACE!
My channel started as a way to keep people up to date on the world of SpaceX's Starlink, the satellite internet service. The channel has grown to include the broader Elon Musk universe.
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[@ross077]

This excellent, wide ranging interview is a real feather in your cap Ellie. Thanks for sharing the story of Tom Mueller's vital contributions to the space industry and I hope you can make the tour of Impulse Space happen in due course.

[@Crunch_dGH]

Huge "get" by EIS!🙇🙇‍♀️🙇‍♂️ THE Mr. Merlin, you kidding us?🤯 17:00 Ground up discovered by EM at an amateur rocketry event, rising from employee #1 to CTO & beyond!

[@i_might_be_lying]

It's probably one of the best all-round interviews with Tom Mueller. Great questions! Thanks!

[@ellieinspace]

Wow, thanks!

[@balaji-kartha]

Of course we know who he is. And wonderful that you go to interview him. And the part that he was the one who realised they needed a different fuel engine is historic! It is that realisation that will make humankind multiplanetary! Well done 👍❤

[@irrefudiate]

Noticed where he said the Raptor is the max engine right now. Any further step will require "new technology"!? Hmm.

[@madelineremy5128]

😂🎉

[@keithnance4209]

Cannot have any SpaceX biopic without Tom being a main character…legendary and how lucky are we to be able to witness living history in real time!

[@mycophyle]

Ellie, Thank you for interviewing a modern day HERO of rocket science. Tom Mueller is our modern day incarnation of Wernher von Braun!

[@user-gk9oj3nb1m]

This is exactly where informative interviews should be.. With the engineer's (Brilliant video)!

[@douginorlando6260]

There are a lot of KZbinrs focusing on SpaceX and lots of good videos. Ellie … this is one of the top 5 videos ever made. Excellent interview.

[@douginorlando6260]

The only other video that comes close is Everyday’s deep dive into rocket engines.

[@douginorlando6260]

Anyone wanting to get their message out can see from this interview Ellie is the best way to do it. ElonMusk, Jeff Bezos, I hope you see this video.

[@Ravenought69]

Awesome. Great that you got Muller vor an interview. He seldomly does any. I have seen some comments by him in documentaries, always wondered what further stories he could share about the spacex early days. I really enjoyed this interview. Thx Ellie.

[@donotcomply1628]

I could see Daniel Day-Lewis playing Tom. Not because the roll would be so difficult but because Daniel is a fantastic actor and maybe they resemble each other slightly.

[@dherman0001]

Home run video after home run video! Ellie is on a roll! Thanks for working to get this interview Ellie!

[@briangroene7756]

Awesome interview, Ellie. My wife and I were just wondering who are/were the inside people behind SpaceX's success. Please do more like this.

[@dansbrown1313]

Thank you Ellianna, I suppose Tom is part of the actual magic of Elon Musk. He attracts experts to join his team and then convinces them to do more than they thought they could and then let's them go and hopes they come back for round two.

[@grantguy8933]

This is the best interview ever and also Tom is one of the most heavy weight among ALL Elons companies. ❤good job

[@jimparr01Utube]

So great to listen to Mr. Mueller and his positive attitude to everything. Thank you Ellie.

[@andycampbell91]

👍👍👍 Tom and Elon are the real deal...thank you Ellie...💛

[@salty_berserker_channel]

Fantastic interview Ellie. Ashlee Vance also did a video with him and tour of his facility recently. I wish this was an hour long. Thank you !

[@ellieinspace]

My tour with him is next, how can I make it better than the last video you saw?

[@salty_berserker_channel]

@@ellieinspace I'm a bit biased because I'm a nerdy nerd when it comes to the engines. I understood 100% of what he said in this interview. If he went further into detail including perhaps any 3d renders, mock ups, prototypes, or hands on demos of working flight hardware, id be pretty stoked. Most of this detail might bore your average viewer, I'm not sure. However the working hardware, maybe a test, I'm sure would please all. 😁

[@melissachasteen4452]

Ellie, this was an excellent interview. You do such a nice job on these individual interviews. The knowledge that you bring both of space in general and the individual in particular makes them so good.

[@bru512]

This is the first time I have heard Tom Mueller speak. Nice catch!

[@jwestney2859]

I was so excited to see you interviewing Tom Mueller! I admire your work. You have come so so far from being the chicky setting up dishy in your back yard. ROCK ON!

[@lang1892]

holly cow you got mueller the goat

[@ellieinspace]

My next interview with him will be in person!

[@alanhart9992]

Great grab and interview of Tom. Wishing great success with Impluse for Tom and his team.

[@gregorychaney7604]

This was an excellent interview! I can't wait until you are able to tour the facility in Southern California. Cheers from Alaska

[@LegendaryInfortainment]

Zero hyperbole there in the introduction. IMO "one amazing interview" falls a trifle short in accuracy of description. I enjoyed that more than most of the sum total of channel content observed in the past week. Really. And... he should add "most reliable valves in rocket propulsion history" too. Thank you SO much Ellie. You're rocking the -Space- space. I'd put an emoji here to personalize, but there isn't an 'old fart with gray beard' to be found.

[@steveperreira5850]

Entertaining to read what you wrote! I’m gray without the beard! No Know if there’s an emoji

[@john_hind]

Your best interview yet! I knew the name of course, but not the face as he seems to be very rarely interviewed! If you get to interview him, or Gwynn Shotwell, or Elon, some questions that have been bugging me: 1. Why did SpaceX never operate the Falcon 1 commercially? It was designed for the small launcher market and it was way ahead of the competition like Rocket Lab. Why not fly Falcon 1 while Falcon 9 was being developed? Was it always really just a learning project? 2. Why is everybody doing methane now? The physics has not changed and methane has always been available. Why was it not used in rockets until now? 3. Why was there such a reluctance in the US space industry to develop new motors, to the extent of reusing decades old designs and buying from Russians! Has motor development got easier recently (better materials or computation?), or was it just a matter of courage and ambition?

[@Coyote27981]

I can answer 2 for you. Multiple reasons. From reusability standpoint, specially for off planet missions, which is something relatively recent, methane is a better fuel. So right out of from the start, Kerosene is out due to coking. SpaceX has to really scrub down those Merlins after each flight. Not a thing you want to do off planet. Sure the shuttle engines running hydrogen where reusable. But compared to hydrogen, methane is way easier to manage. Methane has better energy density than hydrogen, so that means smaller and lighter tanks. Hydrogen leaks like crazy. It needs way colder temperatures to keep it liquid (and this matters, because you need lots of insulation, even from "hotter" liquid oxygen). Methane and oxygen are liquified at similar temps, so its easier to keep them closer. ISRU is a big part of future missions so being able to keep fuel liquid easier matters a lot. In both cases you can manufacture it with resources in Mars. Hydrogen does have an upper hand here as you can manufacture it in the moon, but not methane. At the end of the day, its a very good halfway compromise between whats good from hydrogen, and whats good from kerosene.

[@MichaelWinter-ss6lx]

To nr. 3: US American rocket engine production has always been a senat job program. Russian rocket engines were cheaper and faster to get. Now they're off limits. SpaceX were the first to commercialy produce rocket engines, and also rockets. That includes streamlining production to reduce costs. The part of the buissiness that NASA never wanted to learn from their captured Germans and why SpaceShuttle costs went too high. See it again on SLS. A shame that SLS needs these solid boosters as they are too dangerous for human space flight and even were prohibited before the SpaceShuttle.

[@john_hind]

@@Coyote27981 The question was 'why methane (only) now' not 'why methane'. None of the reasons you give has changed since the dawn of the space age. Indeed, it should be easier to handle hydrogen today than in the past (better materials, more experience). Hydrogen has better specific impulse, but the larger tanks required to hold it tend to cancel out that benefit (plus it makes everything else harder). My theory is early rockets were designed by scientists while recent ones more by engineers who pay more attention to the practicalities!

[@Cape_Cod_Steve]

👍👍 This , was , the , Best ! So cool Ellie . Well done putting this together, making it look easy , but it takes so many ingredients to pull it off as you did . 🎉

[@MolloRelax]

I like the fact that it was mentioned that Elon is SO busy with everything that is going in his carreer. And yet ; he took a tiny portion of his precious time , to respond to a comment that I made a couple months ago; regarding the FAA's decision that SpaceX had to do some insignificant study of acoustics on marine mammals before he was allowed to pursue his attempt at his second launch ot starship.

[@clarasorchard88]

Oh yeah, the seal with headphones…. That was ridiculous….

[@cuisinartOH1]

Great interview Ellie.

[@MissingTools]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Top notch episode! Totally enjoyed this interview!

[@kstaxman2]

Great interview with one of amazing people who was there with Elon from the very beginning. His work was fundamental to SpaceX. Few people could have done what this visionary has. Truly a genius who designed so much of all the rocket engines SpaceX needed.

[@c0t1]

Great interview, Ellie! Awesome job. Thank you, Tom Mueller, for your time and amazing insight. God speed, Impulse!

[@calvincheney7405]

Outstanding interview Ellie. It would have been great to ask what he perceived of the issue with fuel slosh in the Starship booster 2nd launch during hot staging separation.

[@Readerb86g]

Great interview Ellie. And Thanks to Tom for his time and passing on the insights!!

[@MediaWML]

Without knowing what went on behind closed doors (there are always unsung heroes), I would say the three most important SpaceX people are Elon Musk, Tom Mueller and Gwynne Shotwell (negotiation of the Commercial Resupply Services contract with the NASA etc etc).

[@anthonyd.8067]

Wow never realized how much time he spent on dedicating to Mars. Despite obviously being the ultimate destination we aren’t at the point yet where we see all the work SpaceX has already put in on getting to Mars beyond the point of Starship getting into orbit. You would think they would first be working on getting Starship into orbit and then point their attention and resources to Mars but fascinating how it has all been happening side by side this whole time.

[@MichaelWinter-ss6lx]

It needs an explicit goal to develope a space craft. It's a complex job and many things must be considered and taken into account.

[@clavo3352]

Great comment. We must learn to walk and chew gum at the same time, now add a paper route (the realities of commerce) to that.

[@alkimball8920]

I just discovered this channel a couple of days ago (better late than never) and the thing that's attracting me the most are these insider technical interviews. As an engineer with 40 years of experience, I love it when guests and topics are aimed at my own experience level. Thank you for doing this... I don't work with Impulse but I have done work with ULA, Sierra Space, and Space Force just over the last 10 years alone. This video stimulates my brain's synergy response. Thank you!

[@ellieinspace]

Well, you will be happy to know I’m interview tom IN PERSON in less than a month! I’m so happy you enjoyed this interview, get ready for an even better round 2!

[@randyscorner9434]

Yep, Tom is the guy who figured out all the propulsion problems. He gets great credit for persevering even sometimes in contrast to Elon. It was not always easy but Tom got it done. Tom, I hope you're still racing that Porsche!

[@GarretL757]

This was great, thanks Ellie and Tom for your time!

[@BrainDamagedBob]

Congrats on this interview Ellie. Your charm and charisma opened this door. I'd like to hear from the top guys in project management. I am amazed how they manage to have so much coordinated activity going on at the same time. Is there a single piece of project management software that helps tie things together is it all in Elon's head or what?

[@regolith1350]

Excellent interview. Really looking forward to the Impulse Space tour!

[@tarkajedi3331]

ANOTHER BRILLIANT INTERVIEW................ TOM MUELLER IS A LEGEND IN THE INDUSTRY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SUCH A GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW TO GET A GUEST TO REVEAL IMPORTANT DETAILS COMFORTABLY....... GREAT JOB ELLIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@doug3691]

Another great interview, Ellie, thank you!

[@jeffrey5961]

Thank Tom Mueller for all of his contributions. Thank Ellie for her reporting.

[@jamesg7822]

Great interview, this why I am a patron supporter 😊

[@ellieinspace]

And it really makes a difference! Thank you so much for going above and beyond

[@JohnWilliams-nj2nd]

Great interview Ellie. I have just recently read a book about the early days of SpaceX, so it really hit home. Such a genius. Good luck on Impulse Space Tom Mueller!

[@devjaxvid]

What is the book title?

[@pauljnellissery7096]

LiftOff I guess?

[@JohnWilliams-nj2nd]

Liftoff@@devjaxvid

[@darrellpugh6186]

Brendan Fraser to play Elon Musk. Excellant Interview.

[@zapfanzapfan]

Oh, this will be interesting!

[@Ugottahaveit]

Fantastic interview Ellie!

[@richardduede9767]

Wonderful interview. Thank you.

[@chrissmart9625]

Top stuff Ellie,,, great interview, can’t wait for the tour video 👌💯

[@gannong1]

Very nice job, Ellie, thank you!

[@daviddipasquale5479]

Great interview. Very informative and interesting. Keep up the good work Ellie. And excellent engineering to the gentleman Tom !

[@deekay1810]

Thanks for sharing the wisdom, so exciting to be here now! 💖

[@royjohnson366]

Good work scoring this interview. 👍

[@mymodely7755]

Good interview, nice catch!

[@calarndt]

Very, very good interview Ellie!

[@paulruscito4885]

Awesome interview, great job Ellie. I hadn’t seen a Tom interview yet. I’m going to look for more, doubt I’ll find better though.

[@winstonmontgomery8211]

It would be cool to see a bio pic of Elon especially if they accurately depict a potential future showing us what a moon base could look like and then jump farther into the future showing Elon as an elderly man and having the first person land on Mars right before he dies. That would be a cool ending 😅

[@DroidURLuking4]

Thanks for this one Ellie!

[@jamesdubben3687]

Great interview!

[@Primaate]

Good interview. Awesome to see entrepreneurs and engineers given recognition in modern culture, if only via a movie. Last time was arguably during Apollo.

[@TimFrench-tx1xj]

Great interview’ Thanks!

[@davecurtis8833]

Excellent content. I think Tom enjoyed the interview too.

[@robertdujin1365]

Top interview!👏👏👏

[@datamatters8]

Great interview. Thanks.

[@myyklmax]

LMU ... Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. The Elon Movie may be waiting for the successful test flight of Starship before making or announcing the film.

[@andycampbell91]

👍

[@zmm978]

Great interview, lots of good questions.

[@chrisroger2000]

Great interview and nice suit Eliana!

[@richardstewart1784]

One of your best. Great interview. Thank you

[@ellieinspace]

WOW! I am shocked by how much people love this interview. Here I was feeling nervous about it because I was in a hotel room in Vegas LOL

[@edwinhensley]

Excellent interview.

[@sxsignal]

great interview! thnx

[@johnlynch5007]

Great interview Elie.

[@airmagic2199]

Kudos on this interview!! Brilliant guest.

[@ellieinspace]

Thank you for watching, I've been trying to interview Tom for a long time now!

[@richardtrustallen4192]

Great interview, thank you

[@donfields1234]

Awesome Job Ellie. You go girl. 😊

[@MarkTimeMiles]

Excellent Ellie and Tom. 🙌

[@techiheed1845]

What a great interview, I loved it. I'm going to have a look at these new companies. Nice one Ellie. Did @Farzad edit this one ;-)

[@steveewing9601]

Excellent interview!

[@minisurfboardscouk]

Amazing interview love this interview would be great to see Elon and Tom do a catch up video chat in a Space bar with yourself as the interviewer Ellie

[@Edward-tz7xz]

Wow! Excellent. My favorite by far. Thank you.

[@ellieinspace]

Glad you like it!

[@joseorozco1383]

Congrats on securing an interview with a legend. ❤

[@solomonkassa778]

Elle thank you letting us know the most decisive people that made spaceX to be where it is now🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥♥♥

[@Urgelt]

Good catch!

[@andrewkeating3690]

Good job seeking out worthy interviewees. Keep it coming.

[@ourwetdogs5232]

You make a good listener Ellie and that brings out the best in your guests 😎

[@Shew0000]

Awesome video.

[@gregwise5377]

Another awesome interview, Ellie!!

[@ellieinspace]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@michaelp1258]

Very informative and COOL VIDEO ❤

[@william53]

Very nice - enjoyed!

[@ellieinspace]

Thanks for listening

[@richardrogers7339]

Very interesting thank you 🙏 from Australia 🇦🇺

[@jw_yt]

This is excellent!

[@stevehockley5613]

Great interview.

[@ValenHawk]

Great interview !!!

[@tomumn4216]

Great interview❤

[@TurinTurambar72]

Favourite interview of him so far from the bunch he has done

[@ellieinspace]

Wow, that means a lot. What stood out about this one?

[@MicrogravityMischief]

super cool interview!!! what a guy.....

[@randycharland806]

Awesome interview Ellie!

[@ellieinspace]

Thank you!!

[@kennethwilliams7731]

Great interview! A brilliant man! If only America's schools could churn out thousands of brilliant and curious young men & women like him each year,we would be not only on Mars in the short term,but even beyond!

[@YouT-DJ]

Very good! Thanks!

[@ellieinspace]

Glad you liked it!

[@darrylthayer2692]

Really eye opening, thanks from a space inthueadt

[@lordinquis8r679]

Thanks, Ellie!

[@ellieinspace]

Any time!