Astroscale Holdings Inc. (“Astroscale”), the market-leader in developing a service to remove space debris and secure long-term orbital sustainability, today announced that Gene Fujii and Mike Lindsay, two experienced and highly respected space industry professionals, will join the management team. Fujii joins the company as Chief Engineer and Lindsay joins as Chief Technology Officer with appointments effective as of December 9, 2019. Both positions will be based in Japan, working out of Astroscale’s Tokyo headquarters.
Fujii joins Astroscale with over 25 years’ experience in technology management and satellite mission design in the commercial space sector. He most recently held the role of Vice President, Space Segment Group at ORBCOMM, overseeing the development, test, launch and on-orbit checkout, and on-orbit operations of a constellation of small communications satellites from multiple manufacturers. Prior to working at ORBCOMM, Fujii was a Principal Systems Engineer at Orbital Sciences Corporation (now Northrop Grumman) where he worked on several small low-Earth orbit and geosynchronous equatorial orbit commercial communications satellites.
Lindsay comes to Astroscale from OneWeb, where he most recently served as Director, Spectrum Architecture. His extensive experience includes not only areas such as mission design, systems engineering and spacecraft performance, but also background in regulatory compliance and spectrum management. Bringing a passion for orbital sustainability, Lindsay joins Astroscale after working at NASA, Google, and OneWeb, where he designed the initial constellation of satellites with attention paid to the necessity of an adequate deorbit plan.
The roles that Fujii and Lindsay will play in leading Astroscale technology development will be fully complementary. Fujii will lead the global engineering team, including management of resources and delivery of multiple projects with adherence to high quality aerospace engineering practices. Lindsay’s role will be to drive the technical strategy and shape future mission architecture, taking into account current and future Astroscale markets and customers. In this position he will work closely across multiple Astroscale offices to lead the definition of mission and system strategies for future opportunities from a commercial and technical viewpoint.
Lindsay’s background in technical strategy and mission development, coupled with Fujii’s expertise in satellite engineering and management, will further Astroscale’s mission of securing long-term spaceflight and orbital sustainability for the benefit of future generations.
“In the next ten years space debris removal will become as routine as roadside car service is today thanks to our talented global team that is creating this commercial market,” said Nobu Okada, Founder & CEO of Astroscale. “Gene and Mike are renowned leaders in their fields and these two key appointments are great indicators that Astroscale is heading into the next phase of our mission to clear up the orbital highways.”
On his appointment, Lindsay said, “The movement towards sustainability in space is not only exciting, but absolutely critical. I’m deeply honored to join this amazing team that is setting a new bar in responsible and innovative technologies.”
Fujii added: “Astroscale is on the forefront of space debris removal satellite designs. I’m very excited for this opportunity to help contribute and further develop these new technologies.”
Since its founding in 2013, Astroscale has made significant progress, raising more than US $140 million and growing the team to over 100 staff across four global offices. The pioneering End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d) mission is currently in the AIT phase with scheduled launch in 2020, and a global team is working to solve the complex nature of orbital sustainability from the technical, policy and business case perspective.
About Astroscale
Astroscale is the first private company with a mission to secure long-term spaceflight safety and orbital sustainability for the benefit of future generations. Founded in 2013, Astroscale is developing innovative and scalable solutions for satellite end-of-life and active debris removal services to mitigate the growing and hazardous buildup of debris in space. Headquartered in Japan with offices in Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States, Astroscale is a rapidly expanding venture company, preparing to solve a growing environmental concern.
For more about Astroscale, visit: www.astroscale.com
