Sean Auffinger

Sean is the Mission Integrator for the MIT Space Exploration Initiative, acting as liaison between the project teams and the flight provider.

Sean brings with him experience working on many different commercial and military aircraft programs from his time at Boeing Research and Technology. As Mission Integrator, Sean works intimately with all flight opportunity bound projects across the SEI and MIT community to ensure they are flight ready by advising on technical requirements, design decisions, and flight operations, as well as interfacing with the various flight providers and providing engineering support as needed. Sean supports teams on-site for all flight missions, the most recent being SEI’s May 2024 Zero Gravity flight, and has personally flown on ten parabolic flights (250 total parabolas).

Alongside his Mission Integrator role, Sean facilitates the Zero-Gravity Flight Prep and Operating in the Lunar Environment courses.

Sean is now Denver, CO based and enjoys all of the hiking and skiing opportunities with his wife and two young children.