OneWeb's US government arm hires new president
Former NASA astronaut Tim Kopra joins OneWeb's U.S. government subsidiary as president. COURTESY OF ONEWEB
By
Ross Wilkers
Global satellite Internet provider OneWeb has a new president for its subsidiary focused on the U.S. government market and that executive is a former NASA astronaut.
The U.S. government-focused subsidiary of global satellite Internet provider OneWeb has hired a new president in Tim Kopra, a former NASA astronaut and 25-year Army veteran.
OneWeb Technologies said Thursday that Kopra will be responsible for leading growth as the business works to expand its real-time satellite connectivity offerings use by federal agencies, U.S. allies and customers in certain commercial markets.
Formerly known as TrustComm, OneWeb Technologies operates under a proxy agreement with the U.S. government so it can work on classified programs for those organizations and also those in the Five Eyes partnership.
TrustComm was acquired by the OneWeb parent company in September.
Houston-headquartered OneWeb Technologies has access to its parent company’s satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit so it can tailor that commercial offering for federal agencies.
Most recently, Kopra was vice president for robotics and space operations at MDA. His NASA career includes two spaceflights to the International Space Station with one of them as commander.
Kopra is currently a civilian aide to the Army secretary for the East Texas region.