Bridenstine Takes Over as Quantum Space CEO

Former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine will become CEO of Quantum Space, a company working on maneuverability in orbit.  Blame it on my roots: Bridenstine, who was NASA chief between 2018 and 2021, told Payload that the new position allows him to get back into national security and defense—“That’s where my background is, and where my heart is,” he said.  Bridenstine served as a Navy pilot, flying combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan from the USS Abraham Lincoln, as well as F-18s at Top Gun’s parent command. After leaving active duty, he served in both the Navy Reserve and the Oklahoma Air National Guard. He was elected to Congress in 2012, where he served on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. Quantum’s special sauce: Bridenstine said Quantum fills an important need for the military—the importance of maneuvering sats without regret, for dynamic space missions. The company’s Ranger spacecraft—which can refuel other craft, and be refueled itself—can use chemical propulsion for high-speed urgent demands, or electric propulsion for long-duration needs. “It really, I think, changes how we think about sustained maneuver for orbital operations,” Bridenstine said. “I thought this was a really unique opportunity to do something that could be transformational for space.” Up and coming: Quantum is part of Kam Ghaffarian’s portfolio, which also includes Axiom Space, Intuitive Machines and X-energy, a nuclear reactor company that went public last month.  “Now that that’s behind him, Kam has said [Quantum Space] is his next big project,” Bridenstine said. “It will get a lot more of his attention. As the requirements of the Space Force continue to evolve…I think it will absolutely be a much higher-profile company as time goes on.”  Staff shuffle:  Current Quantum Space CEO and cofounder Kerry Wisnosky isn’t going far. With Bridenstine move to CEO, Wisnowsky will become president. Ghafarrian will be executive chair of the board of directors. The Artemis Group—the consulting group founded by Bridenstine—will also continue on. Gabe Sherman, a senior partner at the Artemis Group and former NASA chief of staff, will take over as managing partner, Bridenstine said.  Related Stories Business • Technology Muon Space Unveils New, Larger Satellite Bus Condor-Ultra is three times larger than its Condor-XL satellite bus, and geared toward the nascent orbital-data-center market. Business Voyager Will Acquire Astrobotic “With Astrobotic, Voyager is now a lunar platform that will have capability at every infrastructure layer needed to put Americans on the lunar surface and keep them there.” Business • LEO • Technology Aitech Upgrades its Space Supercomputer By integrating NVIDIA’s IGX Thor platform into the S-A2300 COTS AI Supercomputer, Aitech officials say the company is drastically expanding customers’ ability to process data in orbit. Business SpaceX Reveals Financial Data Ahead of IPO SpaceX generated $18.67B in revenue in 2025, according to paperwork filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of the company’s IPO, expected next month. More Stories Europe • Startups • Technology ESA Taps Edge Aerospace for Space Cloud Contract Douglas Gorman May 5, 2026 May 5, 2026 Share Twitter Linkedin Facebook Copy Email Radiation testing. Image: Edge Aerospace In-space computing startup Edge Aerospace landed a contract under ESA’s Space Cloud program to study the future of orbital data centers. Under the agreement, announced today, the Luxembourg-based company will develop an architecture and use-case road-map for orbital data centers. The company will:  “The first goal of ESA—and also our goal—is to find out in a structured, very analytical way if [orbital data centers] make sense, and if so, in what way it could be useful and how it could be commercial,” Edge CEO Jarosław Jaworski told Payload. “Europe was very often late with reusable launchers or telecom constellations, [so] one of our goals is that when it comes to orbital data centers, Europe will also be moving fast.” Keep reading Load More