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.
NRO Awards Contracts to Three Remote Sensing Companies
The contracts, announced on Tuesday, are intended to allow the intel agency to access multiple remote sensing phenomenologies from EO to RF and beyond.
Exclusive: Viridian Space Signs CRADA Agreement with US Air Force
LEO is getting crowded, but there’s plenty of real estate available closer to home if you can make it work. California-based Viridian Space is aiming to do just that.
York Space Systems IPOs at $4.75B Valuation
The IPO offered a prime opportunity for retail investors looking to ride the wave of US defense spending that’s been buoyed by the Trump administration’s promises of Golden Dome.
US Army Puts Out the Call for Space Soldiers
Space is the ultimate high ground, and the US Army just put out a call for a new type of soldier to keep watch on the walls.
ispace and Digantara are partnering to keep track of objects in cislunar space.
The pact between the Japanese lunar company and Indian space situational awareness (SSA) firm comes at a critical time. As traffic picks up around the Moon from government and commercial missions, knowing what else is in the neighborhood will be critical for safety and deconfliction.
“ispace has been at the forefront of private lunar exploration, and we are excited to complement their proven capabilities with our expertise in space domain awareness,” Digantara CEO Anirudh Sharma said in a statement on Friday. “Through this joint mission, we are laying the foundation for a sustainable lunar ecosystem, where safe operations, resource utilization, and long-term infrastructure go hand in hand.”
Keep reading