Special Aerospace Services, backed by Godspeed Capital Management LP, has named new vice presidents of business development – capture executives – to strengthen its delivery of engineering, manufacturing and communication solutions for national security and space exploration.
The addition of Rich Kolberg, Garrison Thompson and Adam Liddle supports SAS’ mission to expand across the space, defense and intelligence sectors, strengthen customer engagement and scale its capture strategy nationwide, the company said.
Kolberg is a seasoned aerospace and defense executive with over 25 years of leadership in the Defense Department and intelligence community. He brings expertise in government acquisition, mission operations and advanced aerospace technologies, with experience spanning space vehicles, aircraft, ground systems, weapons platforms and command and control centers.
Before joining SAS, he was senior portfolio manager for Boeing Defense’s Space Ground & Intelligence Mission Operations, leading business development for space systems and national security programs. A retired U.S. Air Force officer, he served at the Pentagon and held roles as a chief acquisition contracting officer and combat pilot.
Thompson brings over 30 years of experience in aerospace and defense business development, civil space systems and commercial technology leadership. He held senior roles at Fortune 100 companies and led growth in engineering, product development and federal contracting. His work includes close collaboration with DOD and NASA on range training, launch modernization and spaceflight programs.
Before joining SAS, Thompson held executive roles including chief operating officer, vice president of strategic markets and chief technologist. He received NASA’s Space Flight Awareness Launch Honoree Award for his leadership during Space Shuttle Mission STS-111.
Liddle is a retired Air Force space acquisition officer with over 25 years of experience in government and industry. Before joining SAS, he was vice president of growth operations at Terran Orbital, where he led a team that secured over $700 million in new business. He also spent seven years at L3Harris Space Systems in roles including business development director, program manager and systems engineer, supporting classified national security programs across multiple DOD and U.S. government agencies.
In the Air Force, he served at the National Reconnaissance Office, managing classified payload R&D for the IMINT Directorate and later overseeing payload testing for a $2 billion National Technology Mission constellation. He concluded his service as spacecraft processing infrastructure flight commander with the 45th Launch Group at Cape Canaveral.