LeoStella welcomes Aerospace veteran CEO, opens inaugural production facility

Hattich joins the company at its newly unveiled production facility in Tukwila, Washington, which opened last month. In an email, a company spokesperson told Evertiq the suburban Seattle facility employs 34 people and occupies a 10,000 sq. ft. plant. According to a media release, Hettich brings three decades of experience in aerospace system design, development and production and has held leadership positions at Astronics, Collins Aerospace, Iridium and Boeing. He will lead the company as it enters the next phase of growth, which includes designing and manufacturing 20 small satellites at scale for BlackSky’s Earth-observation constellation. LeoStella, a joint venture between Spaceflight Industries and Thales Alenia Space, entered the small satellites market with the goal of building smallsat units cost-effectively and at scale.