Chris Thompson Continues His Space Race Journey Joining Phantom Space Corporation as Chief Technology Officer
Phantom Space Corporation, the space transportation technology development and manufacturing company, today announced the hiring of Chris Thompson, one of the space industry’s most sought after space engineers and executives.
Chris will serve as Chief Technology Officer, where he is responsible for the company’s direct development and oversight of launch vehicles and satellites including the Daytona rocket, which the company aims to start flying in 2023. Phantom currently has satellite programs underway and will be commencing stage level testing of its Daytona launch vehicle in early 2022.
Previously, Thompson was the Chief Engineer of Advanced Projects at Astra, where he led the development of rocket and launch systems. Prior, he was the Vice President of Advanced Programs at Virgin Orbit, as well as the second official employee of SpaceX, serving as the Vice President and Senior Director of Structures Production Development. At SpaceX, he was responsible for the development of vehicle structures, new manufacturing techniques and operations, with a focus on optimizing the product transition from design to production. He produced many key launch system innovations and his expertise in rocket development has become a critical component of the private space industry’s massive growth trajectory.