Derek Tournear, the inaugural director of SDA, is leaving his position after six years running the office tasked with quickly building satellite constellations to better serve troops.
New faces: Tournear’s departure sets off a chain reaction of new leaders of the agency, at least temporarily.
- Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo, who has been serving as deputy director, will become acting SDA director. Sandhoo is a military veteran who previously worked at Quantum Space, Northrop Grumman, and the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), among other entities.
- Mike Eppolito, the chief program officer, will backfill Sandhoo as acting deputy director. He previously supported NGA and NRO as a contractor, according to a bio provided by SDA.
Context: Earlier this year, SDA got a taste of what it will be like without Tournear at the helm. He was placed on administrative leave from January to April during an investigation concerning contracting processes.
What’s next: Tournear’s next move isn’t clear. A spokesperson for the agency just said he is “departing for a new opportunity.”
SDA’s next milestone, however, has a date with space that’s rapidly approaching. Its Tranche 1 Transport Layer B block of sats is expected to launch on Wednesday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9.
