Dr. Thompson commissioned into the U.S. Army as an infantry officer in 1990 and later transitioned to the U.S. Air Force Reserve as an aerospace engineer and space operations officer. He retired from the military with a total of 30 years of commissioned service. As a civilian, Dr. Thompson worked for 12 years as an aerospace engineer contractor at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. In 2016 he relocated with his family to Colorado where he worked as an engineer and instructor supporting various civilian and military space endeavors. In June 2023, Dr. Thompson assumed his present role as Assistant Professor in the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Department of Astronautics.

Air War College, Air University – remote, U.S. Air Force (2013)

Air Command and Staff College, Air University – remote, U.S. Air Force (2007)

Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder (2005)

M.Engr., Electrical Engineering, University of Idaho (2003)

M.S., Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder (2001)

M.Engr., Space Operations, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (1999)

B.S., Electrical Engineering, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. (1990)

U.S. Air Force Academy, Department of Astronautics, Assistant Professor (Jun 2023 – present)

Aerospace Corporation, Senior Astrodynamicist (Nov 2020 – Jun 2023)

Advanced Space Operations School / 319th Combat Training Squadron, Senior Instructor (Jun 2018 – Nov 2020)

Odyssey Space Research, Senior Research and Development Engineer, (Oct 2004 – Apr 2016)

U.S. Army (active duty), communications officer and company commander (May 1990 – Sep 1997)

William P. Clements Outstanding Military Educator Award, Department of Astronautics (2025)

United States Air Force Academy Civilian Category IV of the Year (2024)

Roger R. Bate Award, outstanding first-year astronautics instructor (2024)

Astrodynamics

Spacecraft guidance, navigation, and control (GNC)

Space communications

Satellite geodesy