Sierra Space Taps Global Authority on Expandable Space Station Technology for Key Leadership Role
2024年5月21日 - 10:49PM
ビジネスワイヤ(英語)
Shawn Buckley elevated to expand company's
in-space destinations development to further its mission of
benefiting life on Earth
Sierra Space, a leading commercial space-tech company and next
generation defense-tech prime building a platform in space to
benefit life on Earth, announced today the promotion of Shawn
Buckley to Vice President of the company's in-space destinations
development.
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Sierra Space elevates aerospace industry
veteran Shawn Buckley to key leadership role, expanding the
company's space station technology portfolio and in-space
destinations development. In the photo, Buckley stands high atop
Sierra Space's first full-scale test article of its LIFE habitat
module ahead of a successful ultimate burst pressure test last
December. (PHOTO CREDIT: Andrew Hughes/ Sierra Space)
In his new role, Buckley will oversee all products in Sierra
Space's space station technology portfolio and in-space
infrastructure, most notably the company’s development of the
enabling technology for the world's first commercial space station.
During this critical phase of technology development, focusing on
the market application of space habitation, Buckley's team has
overseen six stress tests of its expandable space station tech; a
seventh test - the second on a full-scale test article -- is
scheduled for next month.
“Shawn is our industry's definitive voice on space station
technology, making him the ideal candidate to lead our team's
in-space habitation work during this critical phase of
development,” said Tom Vice, CEO of Sierra Space. “As the Dream
Chaser transitions into mission operations and our space station
testing campaigns ramp up to meet our company goals and the
industry needs, I can think of no one better to lead this highly
talented team.”
Buckley will lead Sierra Space’s effort to produce a robust
space habitation product line, which currently includes active
development of the LIFE® (Large Integrated Flexible Environment)
habitat, a large, three-story structure that launches compressed on
a conventional rocket and inflates on orbit, delivering unit
economics for in-space operations and can comfortably host four to
six astronauts as they conduct research and science experiments in
the unique environment of microgravity. This new, expandable space
station technology can replicate the entire capacity of the
International Space Station in just three launches.
“The past two years have been nothing short of amazing and we
have accomplished what others thought was the impossible,” said
Buckley. “Sierra Space is an industry-leading company that can
impact the complete space ecosystem from transportation to on-orbit
destinations and the supporting applications and hardware
components. I am looking forward to continuing to work with these
amazing teams at Sierra Space to drive the future of space
commercialization in the Orbital Age.”
Buckley is the global authority on expandable habitats –
structures that are built with chemically woven fabrics (aka
softgoods) – with unmatched technical expertise in the field of
space habitation. Prior to this appointment, he held the role of
Senior Director of Engineering and Chief Technologist of
EarthSpace™ Systems at Sierra Space, leading Phase 1 development
for the Orbital Reef program. Before joining Sierra Space, he held
roles as the Chief Technologist and Habitation Manager at Lockheed
Martin and Vice President of Softgoods and Deputy Program Manager
for the B330 program at Bigelow Aerospace. He was a key architect
in the success of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM),
which has been attached to the International Space Station (ISS)
since 2016. That program produced the only Softgoods expandable
habitat that has ever been pressurized and attached to the ISS.
Sierra Space recently achieved a groundbreaking milestone with a
successful full-scale structural test of LIFE habitat’s pressure
shell at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, exceeding NASA’s
safety and certification guidelines. Building upon this successful
test, the company will deploy this expandable technology in
collaboration with Blue Origin on Orbital Reef, and on Sierra
Space’s free-flying Orbital Pathfinder. Alongside the Business
Development team, Buckley will be responsible for attracting
customers and additional investment, while continuing to build deep
relationships with cutting-edge technology partners.
For more on Sierra Space Destinations and how the company is
unlocking the potential for anyone to live and work in space,
please click here.
About Sierra Space
Sierra Space is a leading commercial space company at the
forefront of innovation and the commercialization of space in the
Orbital Age®, building an end-to-end business and technology
platform in space to benefit life on Earth. With more than 30 years
and 500 missions of space flight heritage, the company is
reinventing both space transportation with Dream Chaser®, the
world’s only commercial spaceplane, and the future of space
destinations with the company’s inflatable and expandable space
station technology. Using commercial business models, the company
is also delivering orbital services to commercial, DoD and national
security organizations, expanding production capacity to meet the
needs of constellation programs. In addition, Sierra Space builds a
host of systems and subsystems across solar power, mechanics and
motion control, environmental control, life support, propulsion and
thermal control, offering myriad space-as-a-service solutions for
the new space economy.
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Alex Walker, Sierra Space (303) 803-2297 |
alex.walker@sierraspace.com