Bailey Burns
A Space Story exists where outer space meets inner space — a journal of engineering, humanity, and everything in between.
I am an Aerospace Systems Engineer with a focus on human spaceflight and the systems that keep people alive, safe, and capable beyond Earth. I currently work at Blue Origin in the Lunar business unit as a Vehicle Integrator. I have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering ('18) and an M.S. in Space Resources ('21) from the Colorado School of Mines.
But engineering is just part of my story.
Outside of work, I am deeply involved in outreach and community-building within the space world, trying to have as much fun as possible along the way. I have served as a Rubik’s Cube ambassador, completing a cube solve in microgravity with ZeroG. I have also supported operations on multiple analog astronaut missions, contributing to research and testing inside simulated lunar habitats. I also serve on the board of SpaceKind, a global nonprofit dedicated to bringing empathy, collaboration, and ethical leadership into the space industry.
About A Space Story
As I’ve tried to tell my story over the years, I’ve realized something important: I am not just an engineer or “the space girl.”
I mean of course I am proudly those things. But I’m also someone who is deeply curious about the world, about myself, and about how to express the experiences of what being alive.
My space story includes more than spacecrafts and systems engineering. It includes my path in becoming a philosopher and a poet. Perhaps it is the story of becoming a space philosopher.
A Space Story is where I explore both outer space and inner space—the intersection of aerospace engineering, human behavior, and the philosophical questions that come with imagining ourselves among the stars.
This blog is part journal, part thought-laboratory, and part compass as I navigate my own path in the space industry. I write about the things I’m learning, the challenges of being human in high-pressure environments, the awe of exploration, and the very real emotional landscape behind pursuing work that often feels bigger than any one person.
Here, I reflect on what it means not just to build the future of spaceflight, but to build the kind of humans who will inherit that future.
All opinions on this site and social media are purely my own and do not reflect my company or any other entity.