Michael P. Moses, President of Virgin Galactic oversees the commercial human spaceflight program and more.
Promotions upward within a company are always a good thing, as the person has already proven themselves capable and ready to take on more responsibilities. And so it is with Virgin Galactic, the privately funded space company owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments PJS which announced the promotion of Michael P. Moses to President.
Moses, who joined Virgin Galactic in 2011 as Vice President of Operations, after a decorated career at NASA, where he served as a flight controller, Flight Director, and ultimately as the Space Shuttle Launch Integration Manager will now oversee Virgin Galactic’s human spaceflight program. He will report directly to Virgin Galactic CEO George T. Whitesides.
In his role as Space Shuttle Launch Integration Manager Michael led all space shuttle operations from landing through launch for the final dozen flights of NASA’s space shuttle program. For his services, Mike was twice recognized with the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, one of the space agency’s most prestigious medals. Mike has also received both the Distinguished Science Alumni and the Outstanding Aerospace Engineer awards from Purdue University, among many other commendations.
Speaking at the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight in Las Cruces, Moses said, “I’m incredibly honored to be leading the fantastic women and men of our company, who continue to push so diligently to open the space frontier. I’ve been very fortunate in my career to play a part in safely sending many NASA astronauts to space. At Virgin Galactic, with our great vehicles and our fantastic team, I know we’ll get the chance to send not just tens but hundreds and thousands of people into space.”
Virgin Galactic’s vehicles include the reusable SpaceShipTwo (VSS Unity) and its air launch carrier vehicle WhiteKnightTwo (VMS Eve), with construction of additional SpaceShipTwo vehicles underway at Virgin Galactic’s manufacturing arm, The Spaceship Company.
Virgin Galactic CEO George T. Whitesides added, “Not only is Mike a well-respected member of the space community, but his leadership within our own company has been critical to our success in building a world-class organization and team. I am excited about the work ahead and look forward to helping make it possible for many more humans to reach space and experience our home planet from above.”