Phantom Space Corporation Announces New VP of Launch Operations

Phantom Space Corporation, a space transportation technology development and manufacturing company headquartered in Tucson, has announced the hiring of Mark Lester as the new VP of launch operations.

Lester was the CEO of Alaska Aerospace Corporation, where he provided comprehensive space launch capabilities, including operating the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska on Kodiak Island. Prior to that, he provided consulting services to aerospace and defense companies, and held several executive leadership roles at Doss Aviation, including CEO, COO and VP of business development. Lester also served as the VP for business development and marketing at Modern Technology Solutions, Inc., and was a principal at Booz Allen Hamilton in business development and program management roles. 

As the VP of launch operations, Lester will be overseeing Phantom’s launch efforts, including the launch of the Phantom Daytona, which employs the first U.S.-produced oxidizer-rich stage combustion LOX/RP engines built by Ursa Major Technologies in Denver. Currently, Phantom is building four launch vehicle development units, all of which will be overseen and operated under Lester in this new role. 

The trajectory for Phantom’s first orbital launch is at Q1 2023.