Adam Barton

Adam Barton helps space and defense tech companies turn technical capabilities into commercial products that win. He brings product strategy, unfiltered operator research, and human-centered design to bear -- because the discriminating capabilities that matter are never in the requirements. They're in the gaps only deep experience and situational judgment can find.

He spent over a decade building product at some of the most demanding consumer and enterprise tech companies in Silicon Valley -- negotiating deals at Google, helping people discover ideas at Pinterest, and building community at Reddit -- before bringing that foundation to space and defense.

At Astra Space he led product and design across the full software stack, including launch automation systems that reduced mission control operators from forty to two. At Slingshot Aerospace he served on the management committee and led product, design, and user research -- a player/coach who built the teams and directly led development of AI agents for space operations and tracking systems monitoring objects from LEO to cislunar space.

Today he runs 12o2, partnering with space and defense startups as an angel investor, advisor, and fractional product leader. He is a graduate student at the Colorado School of Mines focusing on the intersection of space resources and national security.

When he's not working he can be found playing with his kids, gardening with native California plants, or scanning the skies for birds. He lives in the East Bay with his wife, two kids, and a dog.