EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (Aerospace Corporation PR) — The Aerospace Corporation (Aerospace) announced today it is investing nearly $100 million in a second state-of-the-art research and development facility in Colorado Springs, Colo.

This facility, recently approved by the Aerospace Board of Trustees, is planned to be 70 percent classified space and includes a multi-purpose high-technology center to meet the growing requirements of the U.S. Space Command, the U.S. Space Force, and a variety of other customers.

Some very sad news to report. Matthew Isakowitz passed away on May 25. He was 29. Matthew served as associate director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) for three years after graduating from Princeton University in 2009. While an undergraduate, he worked for two months at SpaceX on the Dragon spacecraft. After leaving CSF, Matthew worked at the asteroid mining company, Planetary Resources. More recently, he was working at Astranis, […]

Steven J. Isakowitz (Credit: Virgin Galactic)

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (Aerospace Corp PR) — Steve Isakowitz, president of Virgin Galactic, has been elected president of The Aerospace Corporation effective Aug. 1. He will assume the position of Aerospace president and CEO upon the retirement of Dr. Wanda Austin on Oct. 1.

“After a year-long search process, the board of trustees is pleased with the result. Building on Dr. Wanda Austin’s legacy of excellence and accomplishment, Steve Isakowitz has the right set of skills and experience—in government and industry—to lead Aerospace in a rapidly changing environment of constrained customer resources, challenging threats, and exciting new space technologies,” said Ambassador Barbara Barrett, chair of The Aerospace Corporation board of trustees.

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Platforms for Innovation

Chair: Jeff Foust, Editor, The Space Review

Speakers:

• Steve Isakowitz, President,Virgin Galactic
• Brett Alexander, Director, Business Development and Strategy at Blue Origin
• Khaki Rodway, Director, Payload Sales and Operations, XCOR Aerospace

TWEETS

• LA [Michael Lopez-Alegria] says @jeff_foust is a certified “Smart Guy” – and he’s ready to roll at #ISPCS (Kay Anderson ‏@SpaceRiter)
• Reply to @SpaceRiter @jeff_foust — So the vehicles they are flying will be licensed but not certified, but there’s a certification for Smart Guys. Huh! (Parabolicarc.com)
• Watching @jeff_foust on the podium at #ISPCS talk about the various types of innovation quoting from Jon Gertner’s book (Wayne Hale ‏@waynehale)

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Virgin Galactic President Steven J. Isakowitz (Credit: Virgin Galactic)

MOJAVE, Calif. (VG PR) — George Whitesides, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic, today announced the appointment of Steven J. Isakowitz as President of Virgin Galactic LLC. Isakowitz has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer since he joined the company in 2011. He will continue to report directly to Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company.

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Hey everyone. Greetings from Pasadena, home of the Rose Bowl, the Tournament of Roses Parade, and (for this week only) the AIAA Space 2012 Conference & Exposition. Not much news being made this week, but here are a few tidbits: Orbital Sciences Corporation is STILL waiting for the Commonwealth of Virginia to turn over the Antares launch site on Wallops Island. The turnover is expected to occur soon. Once it […]

It looks like Steve Isakowitz is now out of the running for NASA administrator. President Barack Obama announced yesterday that he has nominated Isakowitz to continue as Chief Financial Officer at the Department of Energy.

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The New York Times reports that we can scratch one more person off the list of possible NASA administrators:

President Obama plans to appoint a close adviser and retired general to be his special envoy to Sudan as the administration ratchets up pressure against the government in Khartoum for expelling humanitarian relief organizations from the ravaged region of Darfur, administration officials said Tuesday.

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Bill Nelson and Co. take down Obama’s NASA frontrunner
Orlando Sentinel

Word is that Steve Isakowitz, the frontrunner for the NASA Administrator’s job, has been taken down by a group of his opponents on Capitol Hill.

According to Washington insiders and Hill staff, a group of lawmakers led by Florida’s Democratic senior Senator Bill Nelson are taking credit for pushing Isakowitz out of the picture.

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Steve Isakowitz leads the pack for NASA Administrator job
Orlando Sentinel

According to administration insiders, the list of candidates to be Barack Obama’s new NASA Administrator now stands at four: Retired Air Force Gen. Lester L. Lyles; retired Air Force Gen. Scott Gration; former NASA astronaut and retired Marine Corps general, Charles Bolden; and Steve Isakowitz, the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Energy and a former top NASA official…

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