Virgin Orbit Selects Brig. Gen. Mark Baird (USAF, Ret.) as President of Vox Space
Virgin Orbit is excited to announce that Brig. Gen. Mark Baird (US Air Force, retired) has been selected as the new President of VOX Space, the company’s wholly owned subsidiary that provides responsive, timely, dedicated, and affordable launch services for the national security community. In his new role, Mark will leverage more than 30 years of aerospace experience spanning both government and private entities to lead the VOX Space team forward as it builds on its early successes.
Entering the Air Force in 1989, Mark served the US’ national security space community for three decades, including positions as the Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office; the Director of Space Acquisition for the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force; the Vice Commander of the US Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center, and the Director of Space Superiority Systems. As the Deputy Director of the Space Force Planning Task Force at the Pentagon, Mark was responsible along with the Director for overseeing the detailed planning activities required to establish the U.S. Space Force, as well as all requisite activities from the US Air Force, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Executive Branch, and Congress.
Most recently, Mark served as Lockheed Martin’s Principal Director of Strategy for its space and special programs, where, among other achievements, he spearheaded the development of a ~$50 billion next-gen mission architecture for a classified customer.
Mark joins VOX Space fresh off the picture-perfect success of Virgin Orbit’s Tubular Bells: Part One mission, which delivered satellites for the US Department of Defense’s Space Test Program directly into their target orbit on June 30th, 2021.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Mark to the team. Mark has been a key leader across the national security space community over a distinguished career. He has unparalleled insights into how the space architecture must quickly evolve to maintain a critical edge for our nation and our allies,” said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart. “He’s joining a VOX team that has shown it can spearhead flawless missions for the national security customer community, and help our partners design entirely new ways to think about launch and resilient, responsive space. With the combination of insight, innovation, and leadership in place, we are all set to supercharge our VOX Space team in support of our customers.”
“I’m deeply honored to be joining the Virgin Orbit family to lead the incredibly talented VOX Space team,” said Mark. “The technology and the systems that Virgin Orbit has already proven out fundamentally change the nature of space, much like we’ve seen happen over the past decade due to the rapid advancement of small satellite capabilities. At a time when space is increasingly relied upon by both the US commercial and national security sectors, and is becoming more and more contested, the unique advantages of anytime, anywhere air-launch capabilities are vital to the US and its allies. I’m excited to dive in alongside the VOX team and our partners in government and industry to bring this capability to bear in ensuring the success of national security space operational plans and the commercial sector, both now and in the future.”
MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Virgin Orbit: press@virginorbit.com
ABOUT VOX SPACE
VOX Space, LLC is a US-incorporated, wholly-owned subsidiary of Virgin Orbit, LLC. VOX Space provides the national security community of the USA and allied nations with responsive, dedicated, and affordable launch services for small satellites bound for Low Earth Orbit. Headquartered in El Segundo, California, VOX Space provides study, analysis, integration, and launch services using Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne, while ensuring customers’ critical information is protected. For more information or to join the VOX Space team, visit voxspace.com.
ABOUT VIRGIN ORBIT
Virgin Orbit builds and operates the most flexible and responsive satellite launcher ever invented: LauncherOne, a dedicated launch service for commercial and government-built small satellites. LauncherOne rockets are designed and manufactured in Long Beach, California, and are air-launched from our modified 747-400 carrier aircraft — allowing us to operate from locations all over the world in order to best serve each customer’s needs. To learn more or to apply to join Virgin Orbit’s talented and growing team, visit virginorbit.com.
