Ronald Birk
Principal Director of Space Enterprise Evolution Directorate, The Aerospace Corp.; President of American Astronautical Society
Ronald Birk’s biggest recent achievement was accelerating the deployment of innovative commercial capabilities by building confidence using in-space testbeds and proving grounds.
In many cases, there are impacts of the “flight-proven paradox,” where acquisition and integration of innovative commercial solutions expected to maintain U.S. leadership are impeded by expectations to be “flight-proven.” The nation must overcome this barrier to deploying innovative solutions and leverage emerging space capabilities in critical functional areas, including communications; navigation; the cislunar ecosystem; and in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing, he said.
“We are fortunate to benefit from wide diversity of experience and expertise across government and the private sector to bring to bear in addressing and solving complex challenges,” Birk said. “Let’s welcome opportunities to grow and strengthen the network of people and organizations to advance the many facets of U.S. space capabilities, all in the national interest.”
Why Watch
James Myers, the senior vice president of the Civil Systems Group at The Aerospace Corp., described Birk as a significant enhancer of U.S. global leadership and technical superiority in various essential areas for the developing space industry.
“His foresight and actions to bring organizations together contribute to sustaining U.S. leadership through forging international partnerships, accelerating new commercial space capabilities, and charting a course for impactful developments to achieve national space policy goals and objectives,” Myers added.