President, Odyssey Space Research, L.L.C.
B.S. ASE 1988, The University of Texas at Austin
Jana Rebmann is the president and co-owner of Odyssey Space Research, an aerospace engineering services company in Houston, Texas. Odyssey’s primary office is in Houston with a second location in Boulder, CO.
Rebmann received her B.S. in aerospace engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 1988.
Rebmann’s professional career began in 1989 at McDonnell Douglas in Houston supporting NASA Johnson Space Center’s Rendezvous and Proximity Operations Group. As part of this group, Rebmann played a significant part in designing the International Space Station (ISS) docking stand-off cross target originally used by Shuttle and still used today by ISS visiting vehicles. In 1990, Rebmann earned a McDonnell Douglas scholarship to attend the International Space University (ISU) summer program, and returned as ISU staff in 1991. During her career at McDonnell Douglas, Rebmann served as the Principal Investigator for the Hand-Held Lidar for a Shuttle Detailed Test Objectives flight and served as the JSC Rendezvous, Proximity Operations Working Group Co-chair. When McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing, Rebmann moved to the MAGIK team performing in-depth simulation analysis for ISS and Shuttle Remote Manipulator Arm on-orbit tasks. At the end of her Boeing career, Rebmann was the Boeing, IDS\Houston Division Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) lead for the Boeing Orbital Space Plane proposal.
Rebmann went on maternity leave in 2005 and stayed out of the work force until 2007, when she went to work at Odyssey as Lead for Rendezvous, Proximity Operation and Robotics projects. June 2008, Rebmann became president and majority owner of Odyssey. Since that time, Odyssey has grown from 35 employees to 120+ and currently supports several NASA Programs, including Artemis (return to the Moon), Gateway (Lunar Space Station), HLS (Human Lunar Lander System), Orion and ISS. In 2010, Odyssey was awarded the JSC Small Business Subcontractor of the Year.
Rebmann has supported UT Women in Engineering events for high school girls by providing lectures and a hands-on 101-rocketry session and has earned several awards during her career, including a JSC Individual Achievement Award for Robotics Analysis, a JSC Space Flight Awareness Award and ISS/Mir Docking Support Individual Achievement Award.
Rebmann lives in Houston where she enjoys spending time with her husband, David Strack, even though he is an Aggie. She also loves spending time with her son, Jett, a high-school junior, as well as her two daughters, Jade, a recent Savannah College of Arts and Design grad, working as a video game writer, and Jordan, at Colorado State University pursuing her Ph.D. in neuroscience. Rebmann’s passions, other than running her company, are traveling with her family, especially internationally, coin collecting, running her antique booth, supporting the arts and education, going to musicals and doing the occasional puzzle in her spare time.
