SKYRORA, the Edinburgh-based rocket company, has appointed SpaceX veteran Lee Rosen as chief operations officer as it gears up for its maiden launch from British soil, in Shetland.
Mr Rosen brings extensive operational expertise to the role as a veteran of over 150 missions with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The retired US Air Force Colonel is also ex-vice president of mission and launch operations and customer operations and integration at SpaceX.
The move comes as the Scottish company aims to work towards 16 launches per year from the Saxavord launch complex in the Shetland Islands by 2030.
Mr Rosen has built experience as an engineer, space operator, and acquisition professional over the course of his career, first discovering his passion for launch at an early age as the president of his high school rocketry club.
He spent 23 years in the US Air Force with command tours at both launch bases, Vandenberg Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral, prior to joining SpaceX.
Lee Rosen, centre, with President Barack Obama and Elon Musk, SpaceX.
He started as a launch site director, leading on the construction of the Vandenberg launch site for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy.
He then led the team responsible for launch operations and then government, civil and commercial mission management and the team that operated, and trained astronauts to fly the Dragon spacecraft.
He said: “With Skyrora leading the way in UK launch and building infrastructure for the future of the UK’s space economy, it’s an exciting time to join the company.
“Currently, the UK is completely reliant on the US and, although this is a crucial relationship, Skyrora is building towards a future when space capabilities in this country will allow for regular sovereign launches.”
Mr Rosen also said: “Space capability is now critical to providing an edge when it comes to defence.
“Skyrora’s mobile, agile and responsive launch and on-orbit capability can provide the UK with something it has been missing and bolster its special relationship with the US.
“Additionally, we’re setting an example for the space industry with a responsible and sustainable attitude towards spaceflight."
READ MORE: Edinburgh-based company to launch rockets from UK
He said: “We need to ensure that our environment is cared for. This doesn’t just mean launching remote sensing and Earth observation satellites but ensuring that space companies are planning their launches and manufacturing with sustainability both on earth and in outer space at the core.”
Skyrora last year agreed a multi-launch deal over the next decade for the site on Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland Islands.
The company is sending its 23-metre long, 56-tonne XL rocket to deliver satellites into orbit from this year.
Once operational, the SaxaVord Spaceport is expected to create 140 jobs locally, with an additional 70 jobs across Shetland.
READ MORE: First rocket launched from Shetland soil
Volodymyr Levykin, founder and chief executive of Skyrora, said: “Developing sovereign, mobile and sustainably focused launch services is of the utmost importance for the UK’s ability to follow through on its commitments to address climate change, provide cutting edge defence capabilities, and fulfil its potential in the emerging global space economy."
He added: "Having completed some 200 launches over the course of his career, we’re delighted that Lee has joined Skyrora and offering his unparalleled leadership and expertise to the team as we continue to hit crucial milestones in our push towards a maiden launch from UK soil.”
Skyrora also said: “The milestone is now set for as early as 2023 as we are in the process of getting our launch license application granted from the CAA.
“No launcher in the UK has been able to obtain this so far because the legislation for launch in the UK is so new.”
Skyrora, which has 160 employees, also opened a new engine testing facility in Midlothian in March.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here