lv154@lavieohana.com:~$ cat home
//
lavie ohana — (she/they)
hi there. i’m lavie.
helping build bridges to the stars by day, general-purpose nerd by night.
expect random thoughts on here, possibly some build logs, who knows.
// a little more about me
existing at the intersection of space, urbanism, photography, design, and a general love for things that move fast. los angeles native representing the 818 til the day i die. one of those folks, if you couldn’t already tell.
// the story so far
started and led a team called space scout from 2019 until 2023. broke some barriers, broke the news about the birth of a new lunar human spaceflight program, and wrote about some test flights.
also helped start a group called the hot nozzle society in 2021. did some branding work, designed and flew some rockets, helped organize some events. on my own time, got level 1 and level 2 certified with the tripoli rocketry association (#28294). level 3? watch this space.
joined a scrappy lil rocket company called abl space systems in 2023. got to shoot some hotfires, help take some cool photos, and pursue a bunch of other cool opportunities. switched to the dark side leading into 2024 and had a fun time selling rockets and other cool tactically responsive space things with the strategic development team. got to tell the world about a not-so-very-fun day. joined a bunch of friends on an involuntary 2-month paid vacation in august 2024.
currently working on a whole lot of █████ with some friends at █████. we’ll see where that goes
// words, other such things
i talk a lot, sometimes too much. i have a medium page where i rant about the space industry, public policy, and all sorts of other stuff. i’ve been writing a lot about Starship over the years – Starship III: Risk is the most recent installation. let me know what you think!
// things i’ve built
current project is quark – a 75 lbf N2O/E85 liquid rocket entirely self designed and built. inspired heavily by half cat rocketry’s 1Cat/4. expecting flight by end of summer 2025
other things:
– professionally, a whole lot of launch vehicle concept development and CONOPS work. something along these lines…
– optical comms work in the ~single photon space. sorry, no public examples
– lots of previous rocketry projects, some experimental propulsion work, lots of 3d printed rockets and silly builds. some favorites: not a pipe bomb, quark SV0, thermal runaway
// interests, other things, etc
i’m generally a nerd for systems engineering and infrastructure. the way huge systems work is something i’ve always been trying to figure out, most of my interests are an extension of that.
/ what i’ve been reading
from an engineering perspective, wayne hale’s blog is a must. i think about How to be a -10x Engineer a lot. personally – a couple good reads:
– my friend nik’s Proxima: A Human Exploration of Mars
– been enjoying Katalepsis by heather young a lot lately (cw: horror!)
– Everything Now: Lessons from the City-State of Los Angeles by rosecrans baldwin
/ what i’m listening to
usually a mix of a whole lot of things. emperor x remains a favorite of all time. but i’ll listen to anything. lately: sidney gish, femtanyl, a tribe called quest, k-dot, everything everything, dutch uncles, public service broadcasting…
/ games
haven’t been playing much lately, but have always had a soft spot in my heart for kerbal space program (duh). temporarily retired EVE online second lifer. i’m in Celeste, if you know where to look. risk of rain 1, cities skylines, and a few others.
last updated — 1748903515 (2025-06-02T22:31:55+00:00)