Kepler Communications’ LEO network. Photo: Kepler Communications

Stephen Bennett, former senior vice president at Blue Origin, has taken the role of Kepler Communications COO, the company announced Tuesday. Bennett is an aerospace industry veteran who has also held roles with L3Harris and Raytheon. At Blue Origin, he led the team working on the New Shepard rocket program.

Bennett joins Kepler Communications after the company closed a $60 million Series B round in June 2021. The company is working to build a network of Ku-band satellites in Low-Earth Orbit to provide connectivity service, and recently unveiled the connectivity service will be called Aether.

“Kepler continues to aggressively execute against our plan and mission, and the rate of growth will continue to ramp.” Kepler CEO and Co-Founder Mina Mitry said. “With all activities fueled by our recent Series B, now is the appropriate time to bring on a senior leader of Steve’s caliber. The coming weeks and months will continue to see Kepler scale to the next level, and we look forward to benefiting from Steve’s expertise and experience.”