Axiom Space President Jonathan Cirtain Appointed CEO

Jonathan Cirtain has been named CEO of Axiom Space and will continue serving as president.

Axiom Space said Wednesday the leadership change is aimed at advancing its mission to develop commercial space infrastructure and human spaceflight technologies while expanding its role in low-Earth orbit operations.

Kam Ghaffarian, executive chairman of Axiom Space, stated, “His proven track record of leadership and commitment to excellence align perfectly with our mission of building era-defining space infrastructure that will drive exploration and fuel the global space economy.”

Ghaffarian added, “I also want to extend my sincere gratitude to Tejpaul Bhatia for his years of service to Axiom Space, as well as his contributions during his tenure as CEO.”

Cirtain Brings NASA, BWXT Experience

Cirtain, a physicist by training, became president of Axiom Space in June after serving as president of IBX. He previously spent eight years at BWX Technologies in executive roles, including senior vice president and president and CEO of BWXT Medical, overseeing the company’s nuclear medicine business. His other BWXT positions included chief technology officer, president of advanced technology programs and director of commercial technologies.

Earlier, he was director of the transformational challenge reactor program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and chief scientist at Astraea.

Cirtain spent nearly nine years at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, managing science programs and leading astrophysics research. He held leadership roles, including chief strategist, senior astrophysicist and manager of multiple offices. Cirtain earlier served as a research astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Sponsor