Voyager Space (Voyager), a global leader in space exploration, and its operating company Nanoracks, announced the appointment of Tim Kopra as Chief Executive Officer of Nanoracks. Kopra, a retired NASA astronaut and former president of OneWeb Technologies, will oversee Nanoracks’ continued growth as a global leader in providing commercial space services, including the development of Starlab, the companies’ proposed commercial space station.
“Nanoracks is paving the way for what’s possible in space,” said Matthew Kuta, President and COO, Voyager. “Tim is a one-of-a-kind leader with a level of experience that is unmatched in this industry. As an astronaut who served on the International Space Station, he understands the unique needs, challenges, and opportunities for commercial space services and will provide invaluable insight as we continue down our development path on Starlab. We couldn’t be more excited to have Tim on the Voyager team and look forward to seeing him take Nanoracks to new heights.”
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A seasoned executive and leader, Kopra served as the President of OneWeb Technologies and as Vice President, Robotics and Space Operations for MDA. Prior to his work in the private sector, Kopra spent 18 years as an astronaut for NASA, including his role as a flight engineer on Expedition 46 and commander of Expedition 47. Kopra is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He earned his BS from the United States Military Academy, a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, an MS in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech, and MBAs from Columbia Business School and London Business School.
“This is a very critical and exciting time to join Nanoracks. I am looking forward to applying my skill set and experience as a former astronaut as well as a space industry executive to further our technologies and capabilities powering the space revolution, forging the next generation of space infrastructure and technology,” added Kopra.
Kopra’s appointment comes among other exciting announcements for Voyager and Nanoracks. The companies announced a historic partnership with Hilton to design crew lodging and hospitality suites aboard Starlab in September. Voyager and Nanoracks also announced The Ohio State University will host the George Washington Carver Science Park’s terrestrial lab and signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with five Latin American space agencies.