Tim Kienberger appointed CEO of LeoStella. Photo: Business Wire

LeoStella has appointed Tim Kienberger as CEO, to lead the smallsat manufacturer succeedingCEO Mike Hettich. LeoStella, based in Washington State, is a 50-50 joint venture between Thales Alenia Space and BlackSky. 

Kienberger joins LeoStella with three decades of aerospace and defense technology experience and has worked for Boeing and L3Harris and has led teams through rapid development, launch and operations of small spacecraft constellations. He succeeds Hettich, who retired from LeoStella after leading the company since 2019.

Kienberger is tasked with developing new products and refining LeoStella’s manufacturing techniques to meet the increasing demand for smallsats.

“Tim’s leadership will play a critical role as LeoStella capitalizes on the growing market demand for mission-flexible commercial small satellite products and services at scale,” said BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole. “His proven experience guiding business growth will be important for the next chapter of success, particularly as LeoStella moves into production on BlackSky’s next generation of satellites.”