Updated 8:25 at 12:53 p.m. PDT: Provided more details about Lindner’s reason for resigning.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Todd Lindner resigned earlier this month as CEO of the Mojave Air and Spaceport at Rutan Field after 16 months on the job.

“Todd has a family member with severe health issues and needed to relocate back to Florida to be near family,” said Jim Balentine, a member of the spaceport’s Board of Directors, in an email.

Lindner had given two week’s notice prior to the Aug. 2 meeting of the spaceport’s Board of Directors, a spaceport spokesperson said. Meeting minutes indicate the board appointed Tim Reid, the spaceport’s director of operations, as acting CEO while a search for a permanent replacement is undertaken. Board members also thanked Lindner for his service.

WASHINGTON, D.C.  February 2, 2022 (CSF PR) – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) announced today individual and organization winners of awards in recognition of milestone accomplishments in commercial space. The 2022 winners are:

• Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) for The Commercial Space Policy Award: recognizes a policymaker who has made significant and lasting contributions over the past year to the advancement of commercial space policy.
• Blue Origin New Shepard Team for The Commercial Space Pioneer Award: recognizes outstanding technical contributions over the past year that has enabled commercial access to space.
• Elon Musk, SpaceX, for The Commercial Space Business & Finance Award: recognizes an investor, financier, or benefactor of commercial space activities whose support has benefited the industry as a whole.
• Jeff Foust, SpaceNews, for The Excellence in Commercial Space Journalism Award: recognizes a member of the media who has published critical stories on commercial space, contributed to expanding public awareness of the industry, and demonstrated the highest levels of journalistic integrity.
• The Future Space Leaders Foundation for The Patti Grace Smith STEM Award: recognizes a student, teacher, or program who/that has demonstrated a commitment to scientific excellence and the expansion of knowledge for the next generation of commercial space pioneers.
• Tim Hughes, SpaceX  and Clay Mowry, Voyager Space Holdings, for The James Kuzma Space Community Award: recognizes outstanding contributions to the commercial space industry through advocacy and community building.

WASHINGTON, DC (CSF PR) – Tommy Sanford, Executive Director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, is joining Blue Origin, effective January 31, 2022. Sanford has served as Executive Director of CSF since 2014. “Tommy has been an integral part of this organization over the past eight years during a period of substantial industry growth,” said Karina Drees, President of CSF. “He has led a number of efforts to help shape CSF, […]

MOJAVE, Calif. (MASP PR) — A new Chief Executive Officer will take the controls of the Mojave Air and Spaceport (MASP) in April.

Todd Lindner, former Director of the Jacksonville, Florida, Aviation Authority’s Cecil Spaceport , was selected by members of the Mojave Air and Spaceport board of directors from more than 100 applications.

A veteran pilot, Lindner will be the first person with airport management experience to manage the Mojave Air and Spaceport.

“With 30 years of aviation management experience, Todd Lindner understands the unique financial and operating requirements of an air and spaceport,” said Jim Balentine, president of the MASP board of directors. 

Three industry groups have written a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to emphasize the importance of the Office of Space Commerce in supporting the U.S. space industry.

“Given the constant developments, from start-ups to new technologies in the space sector, and the uncertainties of the post-pandemic and changing regulatory environment globally, the space industry requires a strong U.S. Office of Space Commerce to drive continued growth here and abroad for U.S. space industry,” the letter said.

The document was signed by the Aerospace Industries Association, Commercial Spaceflight Federation and Satellite Industry Association.

The Mojave Air and Space Port’s Board of Directors has appointed former board member David Evans as interim CEO to replace Karina Drees. Evans will serve in the post under a consulting contract while the board searches for a permanent replacement for Drees, who is leaving the position on Jan. 4. Evans resigned from the board in October after serving for more than six years. He was originally appointed to […]

Washington, DC (CSF PR) – Commercial Spaceflight Federation announced today that Karina Drees will join the organization as its new president, effective January 4, 2021.

Since 2012, Drees served as CEO and General Manager of Mojave Air & Space Port (MASP) and held several other senior leadership positions at the company. She is currently the vice chair of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) and has been an active member of the CSF Board of Directors for five years, including serving as treasurer from 2017 to 2020.

“Karina brings an impressive amount of senior leadership and business acumen to CSF, as well as in-depth knowledge and experience in the policy and regulatory arenas and the proven ability to grow an organization and build strategic alliances with key industry stakeholders,” said Audrey Powers, CSF Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and Vice President of Legal and Compliance for Blue Origin.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CSF PR) – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) elected new Board Leadership and Officers at its bi-annual Board of Directors meeting in Washington, D.C., on September 29, 2020.

Audrey Powers is CSF’s new Chairwoman of the Board of Directors. Powers is the Vice President of Legal & Compliance for Blue Origin. She is a seasoned policy and regulatory expert and has testified before Congress on commercial spaceflight regulatory matters.

Former Commercial Spaceflight Federation President to lead public policy for the organization from new Washington D.C. office

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2020 (Voyager Space Holdings PR) — Voyager Space Holdings, Inc. (Voyager), a global leader in space exploration, today announced the appointment of Eric Stallmer as executive vice president of government affairs and public policy. Stallmer will lead Voyager’s Washington D.C. office and will be responsible for representing the interests of Voyager to key government institutions including Congress, the White House and the many federal agencies that impact the success of Voyager and its subsidiaries.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — The Commercial Spaceflight Federation today praised the Department of Commerce’s release this week of a rulemaking that dramatically reforms the U.S. government’s regulation of the U.S. commercial remote sensing industry. “We wish to thank Secretary Wilbur Ross, the Office of Space Commerce and its Director Kevin O’Connell, and NOAA’s Office of Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs for publishing this forward-leaning, streamlined set of rules for this […]