Astra chief engineer Benjamin Lyon resigns from rocket builder

Beleaguered rocket builder Astra is shedding its extremely touted chief engineer, Benjamin Lyon, the corporate stated in a securities submitting Friday.

Lyon resigned from his function as Astra’s chief engineer and government vp of operations and engineering on Monday, the corporate stated. Astra stated he’s leaving to pursue one other alternative and that his final day is anticipated to be Dec. 27.

In an announcement, Astra CEO Chris Kemp thanked Lyon “for his service and contributions.”

“We’re grateful to Benjamin for his stewardship in taking Astra to orbit, and serving to construct a world-class engineering and operations group,” Kemp stated.

Shares of Astra have been little modified in early buying and selling, from its earlier shut of 52 cents a share.

After disclosing Lyon’s departure, Astra introduced a quartet of promotions to its administration staff. The 4 new Astra program leads: Giovanni Greco on Launch System Supply, Jonathan Donaldson on Spacecraft Engine Supply, Doug Kunzman on Launch and Take a look at Operations, and Bryson Gentile on Manufacturing.

Lyon joined Astra in February 2021 from Apple, the place he had labored in improvement for merchandise together with the iPhone and Mac.

However Astra is going through an uphill battle after the corporate pivoted away from its Rocket 3.3 automobile after a mid-flight failure, and determined to pause launches to construct a bigger, upgraded rocket. The corporate introduced a layoff of 16% of its workforce on Nov. 8, as it really works to trim working bills because it strikes ahead with improvement work.

In October, Astra’s vp of communications, Kati Dahm, left the corporate, and final month Chief Monetary Officer Kelyn Brannon transitioned out of her function, with the corporate bringing in Axel Martinez as CFO from Virgin Hyperloop One.

Astra inventory is down 92% this 12 months as of Thursday’s shut. The corporate obtained a delisting warning from the Nasdaq in October after its inventory fell beneath $1 a share. The corporate has till April to elevate the inventory value again above the extent.