WASHINGTON — Voyager Space Holdings announced June 29 the appointment of former Department of the Air Force general counsel Tom Ayres as the company’s chief legal officer and general counsel.
Denver-based Voyager was founded in October 2019 as an alternative to the traditional venture capital models. It has since acquired several companies with the goal of becoming a vertically integrated space exploration industry player.
Ayers, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and retired Army major general, served as the Department of the Air Force’s top counsel during the Trump administration. He was responsible for compliance and investigations, and provided advice on national security strategies. Ayres also worked on the implementation of the legislation that created the U.S. Space Force.
“National security has been and will continue to be an important part of Voyager’s growth plan, as is civil space and commercial space,” Dylan Taylor, CEO and chairman of Voyager said in a statement to SpaceNews. “Tom Ayres brings tremendous DoD experience and broad legal skills to the Voyager team and his accepting the role of chief legal officer exemplifies Voyager’s position as a significant player in the defense community.”
Ayres said in a statement: “I am looking forward to applying this expertise to help the entire Voyager organization continue to ensure the United States and our partners remain the leaders in space technology for the benefit of all mankind.”
Voyager recently announced the hiring of other high profile former government officials including former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and former Undersecretary of Defense Ellen Lord.
