Axiom Space’s Chief Revenue Officer tapped as new CEO

The new leader at Axiom Space is a familiar face around the office. On Friday, the Houston-based company announced that its Chief Revenue Officer, Tejpaul Bhatia, is taking the reins as the new Chief Executive Officer.

Bhatia takes over the position from Kam Ghaffarian, the Executive Chairman and co-founder of Axiom Space, who has been serving as interim CEO since Aug. 9, 2024. That’s when co-founder Mike Suffredini announced he would step down as CEO “for personal reasons,” but continue on as a board member.

“I’ve been inspired by space exploration since childhood, and leading Axiom Space at this critical inflection point in human spaceflight is the realization of a lifelong ambition,” Bhatia said in a statement. “We are accelerating our investment in next-generation technologies — spacesuits, orbital infrastructure, and microgravity research and manufacturing — and we’re actively seeking passionate, visionary engineers, technologists, and entrepreneurs who want to help build humanity’s future in space.”

Bhatia joined Axiom Space in July 2021 after coming from a three-year stint at Google where he worked as a Startup Ecosystem Manager and then helped manage the company’s transition from remote work to a return to the office following the pandemic.

Axiom Space said in a statement that he was pivotal in overseeing the reception of Private Astronaut Missions to the International Space Station from Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) through Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), which is due to launch in late May.

“Axiom Space was founded to expand the boundaries of what’s possible in space, and Tej has been instrumental in turning that vision into a reality,” Ghaffarian said. “His blend of entrepreneurial drive, global perspective, and deep commitment to our mission will ensure Axiom Space’s leadership at the forefront of the rapidly growing commercial space market.”

The shift in leadership comes at an exceedingly important time for the company. Axiom Space is one of four companies competing for a task order from NASA as part of the agency’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Development Program (CLDP).

The company first received a firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract valued at $140 million back in 2020 to support the development of a habitation module, dubbed Habitat 1 or AxH1, that would attach to the ISS as part of developing a future, independent space station.

That first module would allow them to progressively build out the Axiom Station prior to separating from the ISS. On Dec. 18, 2024, Axiom Space, in coordination with NASA announced that it was changing its assembly sequence.

Instead of the first module being AxH1, it would now launch the Payload, Power, and Thermal Module (AxPPTM), which would be followed by AxH1, an airlock, then Habitat 2 and finally the Research and Manufacturing Facility (AxRMF), which includes the Earth Observatory attachment.

The restructuring of the assembly order will allow the Axiom Station to depart the ISS earlier, clearing the way for the arrival of the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle (being created by SpaceX) and the end of life of the orbiting outpost no earlier than 2030.

“We were ready to answer the call when NASA asked us to relook at our space station development plan,” said Mark Greeley, Axiom Space Chief Operating Officer and Axiom Station program manager, back in December. “Our ongoing assessment of the assembly sequence revealed opportunities for flexibility and enhancements. With the International Space Station needing to protect for the ability to accommodate a Deorbit Vehicle on station, we were able to accelerate this work to support the program’s requirements.”

Earlier this month, Axiom Space announced the completion of the first simulated mission for the AxPPTM, which demonstrated a docking with the ISS. The AxPPTM is expected to launch and dock with the ISS in 2027.

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Beyond working toward the company’s space station ambitions, Bhatia will continue to be involved in the development of spacesuits for the Artemis Program.

During his more than three-year career at Axiom Space, the company said he “oversaw high-impact, cross-industry collaborations, such as partnering with Prada on NASA-awarded, next-generation spacesuits for the Artemis III lunar mission, and with Nokia to integrate high-speed cellular connectivity into the lunar exploration spacesuits.”

Axiom Space will also bid for the fifth and sixth Private Astronaut Missions to the ISS, which are targeted for launch in 2026 and 2027. It has at least one other competitor in the commercial space station field — Vast, another space habitation company, which is working towards its own commercial space station ambitions.