Chuck Beames pictured left. Image courtesy of Slingshot Aerospace

Chuck Beames, executive chairman of York Space Systems and founder of the SmallSat Alliance, is joining the board of advisors for Slingshot Aerospace, a space situational awareness company based in Texas and California. He joins KD Geospatial Solutions CEO Karen Diener, former NASA Astronaut Susan Helms, and several others on Slingshot’s leadership committee.

Beames previously served as the president of Vulcan Aerospace, where he managed asset allocation of a $1 billion aerospace and technology investment portfolio, and directed all aspects of its Stratolaunch project.

Slingshot Aerospace was founded in 2017 with a mission to provide space situational awareness data to government and commercial customers. The company harvests data from satellites and ground-based sensors and uses machine-learning technologies to produce advanced analytics for decision-making in complex space environments. In its four years of operation, it has signed contracts with  NASA, the U.S. Air Force, BAE Systems, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman.

“Our advisory board members are industry experts whose knowledge and experience are invaluable assets to our company as we continue to expand operations,” Slingshot Aerospace Co-Founder and CEO Melanie Stricklan said in an announcement. “We are thrilled to welcome these individuals to the Slingshot Aerospace team as we work towards creating a safer, more sustainable world through our innovative technologies.”