On May 21, Louisville, CO-based Sierra Space announced the promotion of Shawn Buckley to vice president of the company’s in-space destinations development.
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.”
Source: Sierra Space
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By Loren Blinde
May 23, 2024
