Orbital Operations

FoundersRoss Doherty Ross is the Co-founder and COO of Orbital Operations. He has spent his entire career in the aerospace industry, from Aerojet Rocketdyne, to Blue Origin, and most recently Relativity Space, where he owned all turbomachinery manufacturing and assembly for the Aeon-R engine. He was also responsible for the Flight Termination System test and qualification program for the TM-1 rocket. Ross has deep expertise in complex manufacturing processes, assembly, test, and chemical propulsion development.Ben Schleuniger Ben Schleungier is the Co-founder and CEO of Orbital Operations. He started his career at NASA in propulsion before moving on to SpaceX and then as an early employee at Relativity Space. He owned the fluid systems for the TM1 rocket, the complex heat exchangers on the AeonR engine, and built the Components team and the Integrated Design and Analysis teams from the ground up. Ben has an deep understanding of rocket engine design and analysis and building high performance engineering teams.AboutAt Orbital Operations, we’re developing a high thrust space vehicle for satellite defense. Our mission is to enable rapid-response orbital capabilities, executing maneuvers without hesitation and without regret.TechOur Cryogenic Propellant Management System (CPMS) allows us to store liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen out in orbit. Designed for our Astraeus spacecraft, the CPMS paired with a 10,000 lbf engine enables high efficiency, high-thrust maneuverability in low earth, geosynchronous, and cislunar orbits. Beyond defense, Astraeus is poised to transform commercial orbital logistics. It can slash LEO-to-GEO transit times from six months to just eight hours—unlocking new possibilities for satellite servicing, deployment, and beyond.