Mechanical Engineer, Leader in Aerospace: Jason Barton

When UND alumnus Jason Barton first began his studies at UND, he did not know where this path would lead him. Now, he is engineering vehicular landings on the moon through his company, Iron Ring Technologies.

Time at UND

Growing up in Bemidji, Minnesota, Barton earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from North Dakota State University. After working for some time in Fargo, an interest in aerospace brought him to UND, where he began his master’s in the Space Studies program in 2003.

“I had a great time,” said Barton. “I really loved it. Some of my favorite times actually were during the summer semesters. I felt like I had the campus to myself and got a lot of time with the instructors, which was really nice.”

After graduating from UND in 2005, Barton moved to Houston to begin work on extravehicular activity (EVA) operations for the ISS, helping spacewalks to become safer. This led him to an interest in space suit development.

Startup Space

After working with smaller companies on space suits, Barton and co-worker Michael Oelke decided to form their own company to work on space suits. Iron Ring Technologies was founded with Barton as the Chief Engineer.

“As it turns out, that wasn’t what fate held for us,” said Barton.

“We are eight years into the company and are just now getting involved in some space suit work. Over the years, we have been involved in commercial space station work, we’ve done design and development with EVA, and throughout those years worked on manned and unmanned lunar landing development.”

Creating a startup comes with its obstacles. However, Barton and Oelke had learned through their work experience what it takes to work as a small company in the aerospace industry.

“We approached it how any engineer would,” said Barton. “We broke it down and counted on each other. We’ve got that ‘Midwest work ethic,’ and we just worked hard. Now, years down the road, I feel really successful.”

From Dreams to Reality

With their partnership with companies such as Intuitive Machines and Oceaneering Space Systems, Iron Ring Technologies have worked as engineering contractors on lunar lander missions. In February of this year, their efforts culminated when an unmanned lunar lander they helped develop touched down on the moon.

“I have to pinch myself from time to time,” said Barton. “Being able to actually see tangible things such as a vehicle that you helped build land on the moon is really exciting. It’s been a lot of fun. We helped propose the mission. We’ve been there since day one, working on the initial designs all the way through to the final as flown flight units.”

In the future, Barton and Iron Ring Technologies will continue to work with Intuitive Machines and other companies in the Houston Spaceport area on future lunar missions. Barton also sees potential for a variety of work in commercial space in the future.

“We are really privileged,” said Barton. “We’re proud to be involved in projects with partners who have enabled us to be involved in all sorts of neat stuff.”

Earn a Master’s in Space Studies

Written by: Averie Eixenberger, Commercial Aviation and English major at UND.