Sidus Space CTO Exits Amidst Successful LizzieSat Satellite Tests

Sidus Space, the Space-as-a-Service satellite company, issued a pair of announcements this week related to a major change in executive management and final testing of its LizzieSat. On Monday (October 30), Sidus Space announced that CTO Jamie Adams will be leaving his company, vacating his board seat, and that the company is eliminating the CTO position altogether, potentially indicating major changes for the company’s future direction. Then, the next day, the company also announced that it “successfully completed environmental testing” for its debut LizzieSat-1 satellite.

LizzieSat

Sidus Space’ latter announcement was about LizzieSat, its new satellite platform made out of 3D-printed carbon fiber with a modular and lightweight design. According to Sidus, LizzieSat will be “capable of housing custom payloads for any customer mission”, as well as featuring on-orbit edge computing capabilities that allow for AI-based analysis of payload data.  Sidus has focused heavily on the incorporation of AI into its products, describing its satellite as “AI-enhanced.”

Sidus is working to build a constellation of up to 100 LizzieSat satellites. Sidus announced in June that its LizzieSat satellites, due to launch next year, will feature hyperspectral and multispectral imaging capabilities using cameras made by Raptor Photonics, and is looking to monetize the satellites further through agreements with Skywatch and other customers.

This monetization may be of key importance to the company. While Sidus did achieve a significant revenue increase last year, from $1.4 million in 2021 to $7.3 million in 2022, the company still battles to avoid being delisted on the NASDAQ. 

In this final set of environmental tests, performed at NTS Orlando, LizzieSat-1 was tested for its ability to withstand random vibrations much like the ones it will encounter at launch. Sidus’s announcement said that the tests at NTS resulted in “flight-qualification levels” of success, indicating that LizzieSat is nearly ready to fly. The satellite has now been fully integrated in preparation for its launch early next year

Lindsey Waitt, LizzieSat’s new Program Manager, said in Sidus’ October 31st announcement that “this test is a critical step in validating that LizzieSat is ready for flight,” adding that “we have completed other critical actions including obtaining the necessary launch and operating license.” 

Waitt’s new role was revealed on October 30th in the announcement on management changes, where the company said that Waitt had been promoted to this new role from her former role as Mission Operations System Engineering Manager. This follows several recent promotions. Last month, investment banker Leonardo Reira was named Chairman of the Board at Sidus, and Jared Novick, who joined the company in June, was elevated from Senior Vice President, Strategy and Special Projects, to Sidus COO. 

No more CTO

Exiting CTO Adams’s departure after two years at Sidus Space contrasts from the rest of his career, during which he had the tendency to establish long tenures at companies, including his six years at Lockheed Martin, nearly nine years at NASA, and (according to his resume on LinkedIn) nearly twenty years at Boeing. Adams has a history of long tenure.

Notably, the CTO position is also being eliminated. Sidus’ announcement said that “the responsibilities … associated with the CTO position are now being managed and overseen by other key roles within the company.” The company named Chief Mission Operations Officer John Curry, along with Waitt and Novick, as the three people who will be sharing Adams’ former duties.

Regardless of Adams’ reason for resigning, Sidus said in its announcement that the change to the position “reflects the evolving needs and priorities of the organization,” and that it will create “more streamlined and efficient management of technical and operational aspects within Sidus Space.”

Novick’s Linkedin indicates a background that is specifically tied to intelligence, rather than aerospace or defense. This includes seven years working for cybersecurity firm BlueVoyant (after it acquired his own firm BitVoyant), four years working for the Office of the Secretary of Defense where he “supported activities in highly classified programs,” and four years working “extensively across the US Intelligence Community, Department of Defense and with foreign partners” in a position described only as “Intelligence Community – Civil Servant.” 

Considering Novick’s extensive and sometimes-secretive history with the intelligence community, and considering that this extensive experience in intelligence is what distinguishes him from Adams, his recent hiring and swift elevation to Sidus COO suggests that the company may be looking to pivot its offerings towards becoming a key vendor for the intelligence community. 

Sidus Space has not yet responded to SpaceRef’s requests for comment as of this article’s publication, however, and Adams has not yet made any public comments regarding his resignation.