lv154@lavieohana.com:~$ cat home
//
lavie ohana — (she/her, it/its)
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, and 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, helped take some cool photos, poked at some test stands in the desert, and pursued 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.
since feb 2025, a few friends and i have been toying with a project called Blacklight. there’s space lasers, optics, and all sorts of other cool stuff. we’ll see where that goes – if you want to help keep the world running on time, hit my line and let’s talk!
// words, other such things
i talk a lot, some would say 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 soon enough…
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. if you wanna hear more, you know where to ask.
– 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.
on a more persona/fun level, 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!)
– if you want to understand my home (los angeles), Everything Now: Lessons from the City-State of Los Angeles by rosecrans baldwin is a must read.
/ what i’m listening to
usually a mix of a whole lot of things. emperor x remains my favorite of all time. but i’ll listen to anything. lately: magdalena bay, the mountain goats, rush, dutch uncles, subsonic eye, origami angel, everything everything. regrettably, i like coldplay.
/ games
haven’t been playing much lately, but have always had a soft spot in my heart for kerbal space program (duh). forever a 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.
/ credits
you know who you are, and thank you :)
AA AB AM AP CR CV CW EX JD LD MW NA SC SO TE
last updated — 1764371245(2025-11-28T11:11:00Z)