John Noto joined Orion Space Solutions in 2021 as chief scientist and is responsible for innovation, research and strategic technological development.

John has more than 25 years of experience as an optical scientist and engineer, with expertise in remote sensing. He has been awarded six patents in optical telecommunications and optical sensing. Specializing in the design and construction of optical sensors, his team built and tested the UV optical system in the CTIP photometer delivered to Boeing for the SENSE SMC CubeSat mission. John was the principal investigator on the ExoCube CubeSat mission funded by the National Science Foundation.

John holds a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Rochester, a Master of Science in physics from Tufts University and earned his doctorate degree in astronomy from Boston University.

As an advocate for small business, he continues to serve as a mentor for the NSF I-CORP program and the E_for_all business accelerator; and, in 2013, co-founded Lowell Makes, a 501(c)(3) community maker space and business incubator in Lowell Massachusetts.