Tag: Barry Matsumori

Matsumori Leaves Virgin Galactic, Joins BridgeSat

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Barry Matsumori

BOSTON, July 12, 2017 (BridgeSat PR) – Allied Minds plc (LSE: ALM) today announces the appointment of Barry Matsumori as CEO of BridgeSat, Inc. (BridgeSat) effective 17 July 2017. The appointment follows the successful Series A funding round announced by BridgeSat on 5 May 2017. BridgeSat, an Allied Minds subsidiary, was founded on technology sourced from The Aerospace Corporation, seeking to revolutionise satellite data downlinking with an advanced optical communications network. Delivering faster, more reliable and affordable data transmission to the rapidly growing low earth orbit (LEO) satellite sector, will enable a new era of applications and services.

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Virgin Galactic Taps Tim Buzza to Lead LauncherOne Program

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George Whitesides
George Whitesides

With Virgin Galactic President Steve Isakowitz heading out the door for the Aerospace Corporation, CEO George Whitesides has made an interim appointment in the meantime.

“I have asked Tim Buzza, the program director of LauncherOne, to step up and lead our LauncherOne enterprise as we search for Steve’s successor. Tim joined Virgin Galactic in 2014, and has led the overall program management of LauncherOne since early 2015. Prior to joining Galactic, Tim served as the Vice President of Launch and Test at SpaceX, in addition to prior leadership roles at Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. Tim will be supported by our Senior Vice President of Business Development and Advanced Concepts, Barry Matsumori, who was previously SpaceX’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development, as well as key roles at Qualcomm, Space Systems Loral and General Dynamics.”

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LauncherOne’s Long & Winding Road to Orbit: A Timeline

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LauncherOne stage separation. (Credit: Virgin Galactic)
LauncherOne stage separation. (Credit: Virgin Galactic)

If the current schedule holds, Virgin Galactic’s revamped LauncherOne program will enter commercial service sometime in 2018 after roughly a decade of development. During that period, the program has been redefined several times, lost two of the key people hired to lead it, and changed its launch platform from WhiteKnightTwo to a jumbo jet. The estimates for the initial flight tests also have slipped by about  four years from 2013 to 2017.

Below is a timeline of the program’s major events, milestones, announcements, hires and departures, and other things. Feel free to let me know if I’ve missed anything significant.

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Virgin Galactic Hires SpaceX, Qualcomm Vet to Run Launch Program

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Barry Matsumori
Barry Matsumori

LONG BEACH, Calif., August 19, 2015 (Virgin Galactic PR) – Virgin Galactic, the privately-funded space company owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments PJS, is pleased to welcome Barry Matsumori as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Advanced Concepts for the LauncherOne satellite launcher service.

Matsumori joins Virgin Galactic with more than 25 years of experience in technology and development. Prior positions include Senior Vice President Sales & Business Development at Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Qualcomm’s Vice President, Wireless Connectivity. His Qualcomm responsibilities included the development of mobile telecom module products as well as satellite communication infrastructure and terminals.

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