TIMOTHY KOPRA, Partner Blue Bear Capital, Engineer, US Army Colonel, NASA Astronaut, former commander of the International Space Station

Tim Kopra is a partner with Blue Bear Capital, a venture capital firm investing in companies that provide innovative technologies for the energy supply chain.  In addition to serving as an advisor for LunaCap, he is an advisor for Austin-based Pennybacker Capital, a real estate private equity firm, and Equinox, a medical device startup with a new treatment for glaucoma and diseases of the optic nerve.  Tim is also a senior faculty member at the Institute for Personal Leadership and a leadership instructor with Thayer Leader Development Group.

Previously, Tim served as a NASA astronaut. While at NASA, Tim lived and worked on the International Space Station, completing two spaceflights and three spacewalks over the span of 244 days.  In 2016, Tim served as the ISS Commander for Expedition 47.

Tim served in the US Army for 25 years as an Army aviator.  He was deployed to Operations Desert Shield and Storm and then commanded an AH-64 Attack Helicopter Company.  Following studies at Georgia Tech and completing the US Navy Test Pilot School, Tim served as the Developmental Test Director for the Army’s Comanche Program until his assignment to NASA in 1998.  Tim was selected as an astronaut in 2000.

Tim earned his BS from the United States Military Academy, a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, an MS in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech, and MBAs from Columbia Business School and London Business School.