What is the
Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship

Program?

The Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program is a non-profit organization honoring the memory of an engineer, entrepreneur, and extraordinary individual whose passion for commercial space exploration led to great strides in the industry and inspired all who knew him. The Program seeks to instill that same enthusiasm into the next generation by providing impactful career training to those who embody Matthew's drive for exploring our universe to help better humankind.

The highly selective program awards exceptional college juniors, seniors, and graduate students passionate about the commercial spaceflight industry with paid summer internships at cutting-edge commercial space companies, one-on-one mentorship from accomplished members of the space community, and a memorable summit during which the Fellows visit space start-ups, network with top industry leaders, and develop entrepreneurial skills. When the summer ends, the Fellows remain part of the MIFP Alumni community and continue benefitting from the Fellowship’s network on their path to becoming future space icons.

Since launching in 2017, there have been seven classes of Matthew Isakowitz Fellows, totaling 200 students. Many MIFP Alumni have gone on to work in the industry, pursue graduate degrees, and even start their own businesses.

What is


commercial space?

Commercial space is broadly defined as activities in entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship, and innovation that will enable new or dramatically improved products or services that do not depend solely on government cost-plus contracting to prove viable. In its most aspiring terms, commercial space promises to revolutionize the space industry through new business models that will open up the space frontier for all.

WHAT DO FELLOWS RECEIVE?

INTERNSHIP

The Matthew Isakowitz Fellows receive a paid summer internship, typically lasting 10-12 weeks, at one of the leading commercial spaceflight companies in our “host company” pool. Fellows are matched to a position that may include assignments in engineering designs, market studies, strategic planning, policy evaluation, and business analysis and development.

EXECUTIVE MENTORSHIP

Prior to the beginning of the internship, each Fellow is paired with an experienced and notable commercial space industry leader for mentorship to make the best use of their time during the Program, in addition to receiving advice for their academic and future professional careers. These executive mentors include engineers, entrepreneurs, investors, company executives, astronauts, and many more who have contributed to the success of the space industry.

SUMMIT

The summer culminates in a summit that brings together the current class of Matthew Isakowitz Fellows in a memorable and celebratory event, typically in Los Angeles. This summit allows the Fellows to network with one another, while also getting behind-the-scenes insights into companies and learning more about the latest developments in commercial spaceflight from top innovators in the field.

COMMUNITY FOR LIFE!

The fun doesn’t end when the summer does! Once the Fellows complete their summer internships, they become official Alumni of the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program. Not only can they continue networking with one another for career opportunities and advice, but they also get to enjoy being part of an awesome community of space enthusiasts. Alumni often attend industry events together, organize virtual talks with leaders, help mentor the incoming classes of Fellows, and more—not to mention enjoy having lifelong friends!

WHO INSPIRED THE PROGRAM?

The program honors Matthew Isakowitz (1987–2017), an extraordinary young man whose passion for opening the commercial space frontier was only matched by his kindness and generosity to those around him.

Despite leaving us far too soon, Matthew’s contributions left an outsized impact on the space community. Finding inspiration in Carl Sagan’s words, “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known,” Matthew began exercising his passion in high school by serving on the XPRIZE Foundation during the flight of SpaceShipOne, the first privately piloted spacecraft. In college, Matthew worked on NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto at the Applied Physics Lab, human space travel at Space Adventures, and the Dragon capsule at SpaceX. Matthew’s career took flight as Associate Director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, which contributed to the transformation of commercial space pioneers—such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic—into the notable players they are today. Afterwards, Matthew continued to push humanity’s frontiers as an entrepreneur and engineer at Planetary Resources and Astranis. Read more about Matthew here.

The Program’s structure is patterned on the prestigious Brooke Owens Fellowship Program. Inspired by its great success and with the full support of its founders, the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship uses a similar model but focuses specifically on the commercial spaceflight industry and expands eligibility to men and women who are soon-to-be college graduates or current graduate students, with the goal of providing professional development to those who have narrowed their desired career path to the commercial space industry.

Who runs the program?

The Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program is led by members of Matthew's family and volunteer coordinators. We are partnered with the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, whose over 70 members represent the top organizations in commercial space activities, and the Future Space Leaders Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit encouraging the career development of young space and satellite industry professionals.

HOw CAN I SUPPORT THE PROGRAM?

Help spread the word about the program! Follow the program on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

You can make a tax-deductible financial contribution to support various aspects of the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Please click here to donate.

For further questions about how to get involved or promote the program at your university, please email apply@matthewfellowship.org or reach out via the contact form here.