Axiom Space ejects CEO after six months, installs NASA veteran as replacement
(2025/10/16)
- Reference: 1760616908
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/10/16/axiom_space_ceo/
- Source link:
Updated Axiom Space has ousted its CEO after just six months, hiring Jonathan Cirtain to replace Tejpaul Bhatia.
Cirtain, who joined Axiom in 2025 and holds a PhD in physics, will serve as both CEO and president.
Executive chairman Dr Kam Ghaffarian [1]thanked Bhatia for his service and for "steering the company through a significant transition period." Ghaffarian praised Cirtain's "proven track record" of leadership from his time running teams at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and in the nuclear industry.
[2]
[3]Posting on LinkedIn, Cirtain wrote: "The next man and first woman to walk on the Moon will be in an [4]Axiom Space spacesuit and we are [5]building a commercial space station , what a mission and a company."
[6]
[7]
Axiom Space has faced some turbulence over the last year or so. Former NASA International Space Station program manager Mike Suffredini stepped down as CEO in August 2024. Ghaffarian took up the reins as interim CEO before Bhatia was [8]appointed in April 2025.
[9]NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Another 550 employees set to leave the building
[10]Weird ideas welcome: VC fund looking to make science fiction factual
[11]Engineers successfully reboost International Space Station after early Dragon abort
[12]NASA administrator says US should have 'village' on Moon in a decade
Bhatia joined Axiom Space in 2021 and oversaw several high-profile contracts over the years, including commercial spaceflight missions.
Axiom Space's finances were [13]called into question in 2024 when Forbes reported it had lost money on every commercial mission. In a letter seen by The Register at the time, Ghaffarian complained that the article painted "an inaccurate picture." However, he did not call out any specific inaccuracies regarding the figures.
A space industry source today questioned whether the leadership shuffle signals deeper problems, saying: "Perhaps the lesson learned here is that private spaceflight is still too expensive."
[14]
The Register asked Axiom Space for more information about the appointment and the fate of Bhatia. The company has yet to respond.
Axiom Space has another commercial flight planned for 2026, as well as a potential private British astronaut mission. Other activities include developing a spacesuit for NASA and a commercial space station, with the first module due to be launched in 2027. ®
Updated to add at 1441 UTC, October 16
Matthew Cook, head of space exploration at the UK Space Agency, told The Register : "We're looking forward to working with Dr Cirtain as he leads Axiom Space." Shortly before Bhatia's abrupt departure, the UK Space Agency [15]signed an extension to the Memorandum of Understanding for a UK-led mission.
A spokesperson from Axiom Space got in touch to say: "Axiom Space transitioned its CEO from Tejpaul Bhatia to Dr Jonathan Cirtain on Oct. 15."
Why? "Axiom Space's Board of Directors made this strategic leadership change to advance the development of critical space infrastructure during the company’s next phase of growth."
[16]
The Register also understands that the first module of Axiom Station is planned to launch in 2028.
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.axiomspace.com/release/jonathan-cirtain-ceo
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aPEWlgZweDsBpC25eRIQRQAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7384290962627522562/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/21/axiom_space_prada_spaceuit/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/07/nasa_changes_the_rules_of/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aPEWlgZweDsBpC25eRIQRQAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[8] https://www.axiomspace.com/release/axiom-space-appoints-tejpaul-bhatia-as-ceo
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/14/more_jpl_employees_set_to/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/11/deep_future_fund/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/29/international_space_station_successfully_reboosted/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/29/nasa_moon_prediction_iac_2025/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/23/axiom_space_finances/
[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aPEWlgZweDsBpC25eRIQRQAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[15] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/axiom-space_the-extension-of-the-mou-between-uk-space-activity-7379843906320044032-9-i2/
[16] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aPEWlgZweDsBpC25eRIQRQAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Cirtain, who joined Axiom in 2025 and holds a PhD in physics, will serve as both CEO and president.
Executive chairman Dr Kam Ghaffarian [1]thanked Bhatia for his service and for "steering the company through a significant transition period." Ghaffarian praised Cirtain's "proven track record" of leadership from his time running teams at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and in the nuclear industry.
[2]
[3]Posting on LinkedIn, Cirtain wrote: "The next man and first woman to walk on the Moon will be in an [4]Axiom Space spacesuit and we are [5]building a commercial space station , what a mission and a company."
[6]
[7]
Axiom Space has faced some turbulence over the last year or so. Former NASA International Space Station program manager Mike Suffredini stepped down as CEO in August 2024. Ghaffarian took up the reins as interim CEO before Bhatia was [8]appointed in April 2025.
[9]NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Another 550 employees set to leave the building
[10]Weird ideas welcome: VC fund looking to make science fiction factual
[11]Engineers successfully reboost International Space Station after early Dragon abort
[12]NASA administrator says US should have 'village' on Moon in a decade
Bhatia joined Axiom Space in 2021 and oversaw several high-profile contracts over the years, including commercial spaceflight missions.
Axiom Space's finances were [13]called into question in 2024 when Forbes reported it had lost money on every commercial mission. In a letter seen by The Register at the time, Ghaffarian complained that the article painted "an inaccurate picture." However, he did not call out any specific inaccuracies regarding the figures.
A space industry source today questioned whether the leadership shuffle signals deeper problems, saying: "Perhaps the lesson learned here is that private spaceflight is still too expensive."
[14]
The Register asked Axiom Space for more information about the appointment and the fate of Bhatia. The company has yet to respond.
Axiom Space has another commercial flight planned for 2026, as well as a potential private British astronaut mission. Other activities include developing a spacesuit for NASA and a commercial space station, with the first module due to be launched in 2027. ®
Updated to add at 1441 UTC, October 16
Matthew Cook, head of space exploration at the UK Space Agency, told The Register : "We're looking forward to working with Dr Cirtain as he leads Axiom Space." Shortly before Bhatia's abrupt departure, the UK Space Agency [15]signed an extension to the Memorandum of Understanding for a UK-led mission.
A spokesperson from Axiom Space got in touch to say: "Axiom Space transitioned its CEO from Tejpaul Bhatia to Dr Jonathan Cirtain on Oct. 15."
Why? "Axiom Space's Board of Directors made this strategic leadership change to advance the development of critical space infrastructure during the company’s next phase of growth."
[16]
The Register also understands that the first module of Axiom Station is planned to launch in 2028.
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.axiomspace.com/release/jonathan-cirtain-ceo
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aPEWlgZweDsBpC25eRIQRQAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7384290962627522562/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/21/axiom_space_prada_spaceuit/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/07/nasa_changes_the_rules_of/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aPEWlgZweDsBpC25eRIQRQAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aPEWlgZweDsBpC25eRIQRQAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.axiomspace.com/release/axiom-space-appoints-tejpaul-bhatia-as-ceo
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/14/more_jpl_employees_set_to/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/11/deep_future_fund/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/29/international_space_station_successfully_reboosted/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/29/nasa_moon_prediction_iac_2025/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/23/axiom_space_finances/
[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aPEWlgZweDsBpC25eRIQRQAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[15] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/axiom-space_the-extension-of-the-mou-between-uk-space-activity-7379843906320044032-9-i2/
[16] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aPEWlgZweDsBpC25eRIQRQAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Business model
Gene Cash
Space has the sort of problem open source used to have: how do you make money from it? Other than delivering satellites?
Companies do send experiments to ISS but they don't pay 10% of what it actually would cost if ISS was a commercial operation. And most companies just don't have the money for even that.
SpaceX is self-funding by launching their own Starlink satellites, and you see how expensive Starlink is. From what I hear, they're not making much money, they're just funding SpaceX and Starship.
Re: Business model
elsergiovolador
how do you make money from it?
Ask rich person a mundane question and add "in space".
Like "Have you ever had shrooms in space?" or "Have you ever eaten three star Michelin cuisine in space?" or "Would you like your partner to spend holidays in space?"
Re: Business model
MachDiamond
"SpaceX is self-funding by launching their own Starlink satellites, and you see how expensive Starlink is. From what I hear, they're not making much money, they're just funding SpaceX and Starship."
What? SpaceX often has multiple funding rounds each year to keep the doors open on top of government contracts. They are debt-funding their operation and Starlink may never make money. Some say that they'll never be allowed to fail, but it will get awfully embarrassing to NASA and politicians as they continue to not deliver on contracts they've been paid for.
Difference
What’s the difference between a NASA veteran and a veterinarian?
- One fixes rockets, the other fixes what rockets scare.