Benjamin Lyon, chief engineer and govt vice chairman of engineering and operations
Astra
Beleaguered rocket builder Astra is shedding its extremely touted chief engineer, Benjamin Lyon, the corporate mentioned in a securities submitting Friday.
Lyon resigned from his position as Astra’s chief engineer and govt vice chairman of operations and engineering on Monday, the corporate mentioned. Astra mentioned he’s leaving to pursue one other alternative and that his final day is anticipated to be Dec. 27.
In an announcement, Astra CEO Chris Kemp thanked Lyon “for his service and contributions.”
“We are grateful to Benjamin for his stewardship in taking Astra to orbit, and helping build a world-class engineering and operations organization,” Kemp mentioned.
Shares of Astra had been little modified in early buying and selling, from its earlier shut of 52 cents a share.
After disclosing Lyon’s departure, Astra introduced a quartet of promotions to its administration staff. The 4 new Astra program leads: Giovanni Greco on Launch System Delivery, Jonathan Donaldson on Spacecraft Engine Delivery, Doug Kunzman on Launch and Test Operations, and Bryson Gentile on Manufacturing.
Lyon joined Astra in February 2021 from Apple, the place he had labored in improvement for merchandise together with the iPhone and Mac.
But Astra is dealing with an uphill battle after the corporate pivoted away from its Rocket 3.3 car after a mid-flight failure, and determined to pause launches to construct a bigger, upgraded rocket. The firm introduced a layoff of 16% of its workforce on Nov. 8, as it really works to trim working bills because it strikes ahead with improvement work.
In October, Astra’s vice chairman of communications, Kati Dahm, left the corporate, and final month Chief Financial Officer Kelyn Brannon transitioned out of her position, with the corporate bringing in Axel Martinez as CFO from Virgin Hyperloop One.
Astra inventory is down 92% this 12 months as of Thursday’s shut. The firm obtained a delisting warning from the Nasdaq in October after its inventory fell under $1 a share. The firm has till April to raise the inventory worth again above the extent.