WASHINGTON — Former White House space policy official Audrey Schaffer has joined Slingshot Aerospace, an area data analytics and tracking firm focused on spaceflight safety.
Schaffer was named vice chairman of strategy and policy, Slingshot announced Sept. 11.
Founded in 2017, Slingshot relies in El Segundo, California; and Austin, Texas. The corporate operates a worldwide network of ground-based telescopes to trace space objects, and provides space traffic control software utilized by satellite operators to coordinate satellite maneuvers and communicate with other operators to avert collisions.
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Schaffer previously worked as director of space policy on the White House National Security Council. She helped guide the U.S. initiative to ascertain a world ban on destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missile testing that Vice President Kamala Harris announced in April 2022.
Prior to joining the White House, Schaffer was a Defense Department official, and led DoD efforts to ascertain in law the U.S. Space Force because the sixth branch of the armed forces. Schaffer also led a government-industry team that represented america in negotiating United Nations guidelines for space sustainability.
At Slingshot, Schaffer will “advance policy that supports secure space operations and continues to drive the industry forward,” said Leslie Hildebrand, the corporate’s senior vice chairman of presidency business development and strategy.
“Her extensive experience in national security space and space policy uniquely qualifies her to advance Slingshot’s vision of accelerating space sustainability,” said Hildebrand.
In an announcement, Schaffer said the growing variety of objects in space and the “increasing complexity of space operations is making a more unpredictable orbital operating environment for the satellites we depend on for our national security, economic prosperity, and every day lives.”
“I joined Slingshot because I would like to assist be sure that space stays secure for future generations,” Schaffer said.